Buying guide · Muscle vs steak

Filet mignon vs tenderloin

The tenderloin is the whole muscle; filet mignon is a steak cut from it. All filet mignon is tenderloin, but not every piece of tenderloin is filet mignon. In the United States the steak is a round cut 3–5 cm / 1¼–2 in thick, taken from the center or the thinner end, while the thick center can be sold whole as chateaubriand; in other countries the same words describe different pieces.

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Also known as: Filet mignon vs lomo (tenderloin) · Filet mignon và thăn nội (tenderloin)Last reviewed Nov. 2, 20266 sources

Is filet mignon the same as tenderloin?

They are the same muscle, but not the same thing on the counter. The tenderloin is the psoas major, a long tapering muscle along the underside of the lumbar vertebrae. Because it barely works, it has a fine grain and almost no connective tissue, which makes it the most tender cut and one of the leanest and mildest.

A whole tenderloin has a thick head, an even center and a thin tail, plus a strip of side muscle, the chain. Filet mignon is a steak cut across that muscle. “Tenderloin” can mean the whole piece or a roast; “filet mignon” is always a portion.

How do they compare side by side?

The table adds chateaubriand, the third name that appears with them.

Which name means what in each country?

The muscle is the same everywhere; the words are not. In the United States and Canada “tenderloin” is the muscle and “filet mignon” a steak. In the United Kingdom both are “fillet”. In Australia and New Zealand the tenderloin is the “eye fillet”, while a “Scotch fillet” is the ribeye.

In France filet mignon usually refers to pork tenderloin, and the beef equivalents are filet de bœuf and tournedos. In Argentina and Uruguay the cut is lomo, in Spain solomillo, in Mexico filete, and in Brazil filé mignon is the whole tenderloin. Because use varies by country and seller, a menu that says “filet mignon” does not fix the thickness or the part of the muscle.

How is each one cooked?

The tenderloin has little fat and little collagen, so long cooking gains nothing: it is cooked rare to medium-rare, 48–54 °C / 118–129 °F at the core, and dries out past medium. Thick steaks of 4–5 cm / 1½–2 in are seared hard on all faces and finished gently in a low oven or basted in butter, and the muscle is usually tied so that it keeps a round, even shape. See the method in Filet mignon.

The whole muscle, tied to an even thickness, is roasted at moderate heat (Beef tenderloin roast), and the thick center becomes chateaubriand, classically with béarnaise. Raw, the tenderloin is the usual cut for steak tartare and carpaccio. Doneness targets are in Steak temperatures.

How do you buy each one?

A tenderloin is sold in three states: untrimmed, with fat, silverskin and the chain still on; trimmed, with the chain removed; and as ready-cut center steaks. The untrimmed piece costs less per kilo, but a large share of its weight is lost in trimming, so the price per kilo means little until that loss is counted. The chain, tail and head trim are still good meat for tartare, carpaccio or stir-fries.

For even steaks, ask for the center: the head is wider and looser, the tail thin. When buying “filet mignon”, ask which part of the muscle it comes from and how thick it is cut. A tenderloin is rarely dry-aged on its own, as it has no fat cover to protect it. Marbling matters less here than in a striploin or ribeye, so look for fine grain, deep red color and firm meat. If the choice is between tenderness and richness, see Filet mignon vs ribeye.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

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1. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. Institutional Meat Purchase Specifications: Fresh Beef Series 100. Washington, DC, 2014. www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/IMPS_100_Fresh_Beef%5B1%5D.pdf
2. AUS-MEAT Limited. Handbook of Australian Meat, 7th ed. (International Red Meat Manual). Brisbane, 2005. www.ausmeat.com.au
3. Instituto de Promoción de la Carne Vacuna Argentina (IPCVA). Cortes de carne vacuna argentina — nomenclatura y usos. Buenos Aires. www.ipcva.com.ar
4. Larousse Gastronomique, rev. ed. London: Hamlyn, 2009.
5. McGee, Harold. On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, rev. ed. New York: Scribner, 2004.
6. Huerta-Leidenz, Nelson. International Nomenclature Guide of Beef Cuts for the U.S.A. and Other Countries Targeted by the U.S. Meat Export Federation. Denver: U.S. Meat Export Federation, 2013. www.usa-beef.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/1064.GUIDE_beef-cuts_ingl%C3%A9s_09oct13.pdf