Filet mignon - wikipedia Filet mignon hide This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. ( Learn how and when to remove these template messages ) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( May 2009 ) The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with North America and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate. ( September 2015 ) Filet Mignon Type Tenderloin cut of beef Filet mignon with mashed potato, string beans and mushrooms Filet mignon wrapped with bacon with assorted vegetables Filet mignon ( / ˌfiːleɪ ˈmiːnjɒ̃ / ; French for `` tender fillet '' or `` delicate / fine fillet '' ) is a steak cut of beef taken from the smaller end of the tenderloin, or psoas major of the cow carcass, usually a steer or heifer. In French this cut is always called filet de bœuf, which translates in English to beef fillet. The reason that this cut in French is always called filet de boeuf is because, in French, filet mignon always means pork tenderloin. The tenderloin runs along both sides of the spine, and is usually harvested as two long snake - shaped cuts of beef. The tenderloin is sometimes sold whole. When sliced along the short dimension, creating roughly round cuts, and tube cuts, the cuts ( fillets ) from the small forward end are considered to be filet mignon. Those from the center are tournedos ; however, some butchers in the United States label all types of tenderloin steaks `` filet mignon ''. In fact, the shape of the true filet mignon may be a hindrance when cooking, so most restaurants sell steaks from the wider end of the tenderloin -- it is both cheaper and much more presentable. The tenderloin is the most tender cut of beef and is also arguably the most desirable and therefore the most expensive. The average steer or heifer provides no more than 500 grams of filet mignon. Because the muscle is not weight - bearing, it contains less connective tissue, which makes it tender. However, it is generally not as flavorful as some other cuts of beef ( example, primal rib cuts ), and is often wrapped in bacon to enhance flavor, and / or is served with a sauce. Contents 1 Other names 2 Preparation 3 See also 4 References Other names The same cut of beef can also be called : French : filet de bœuf French ( Québec ) : filet mignon English ( U.S. ) : filet mignon English ( UK, Ireland, South Africa ) : fillet steak English ( Australia, New Zealand ) : eye fillet Italian : filetto Indonesian : has dalam Swedish : filé mignon or oxfilé Norwegian : indrefilet Spanish : solomillo or filete miñón Dutch : filet mignon Bahasa Melayu : hujung batang pinang Portuguese : filé or filé mignon Russian : филе миньон Persian : راسته In the U.S., both the central and large end of the tenderloin are often sold as filet mignon in supermarkets and restaurants. The French terms for these cuts are tournedos ( the smaller central portion ), châteaubriand ( the larger central portion ), and biftek ( cut from the large end known as the tête de filet ( lit. `` head of filet '' ) in French ). Porterhouse steaks and T - bone steaks are large cuts that include the fillet. The small medallion on one side of the bone is the fillet, and the long strip of meat on the other side of the bone is the strip steak -- in Commonwealth of Nations usage, only the strip steak is called the porterhouse. Preparation Traditional filet mignon with grilled asparagus spears Filet mignon may be cut into 1 - to 2 - inch ( 2.5 to 5 cm ) thick portions, then grilled and served as - is. One also may find filet mignon in stores already cut into portions and wrapped with bacon. High heat is the usual method for cooking the filet mignon, either grilling, pan frying, broiling, or roasting. Bacon is often used in cooking filet mignon because of the low levels of fat found in the cut ( see barding ), as fillets have low levels of marbling, or intramuscular fat. Bacon is wrapped around the fillet and pinned closed with a wooden toothpick. This adds flavor and keeps the fillet from drying out during the cooking process. Traditional cooking calls for the filet mignon to be seared on each side using intense heat for a short time and then transferred to a lower heat to cook the meat all the way through. Filet mignon is often served rarer than other meats. Those preferring a more well - done steak can request a `` butterflied '' filet, meaning that the meat is cut down the middle and opened up to expose more of it to heat during the cooking process. See also Tournedos Rossini -- A French dish prepared with filet mignon Food portal References Jump up ^ Oxford University Press, `` Oxford Dictionaries Online : ' filet mignon ' '', Oxford Dictionaries Online, Retrieved 2015 - 11 - 13. Jump up ^ Child J ( 1961 ). Mastering the Art of French Cooking. 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Question: where does the filet come from on a cow
Answer: the smaller end of the tenderloin, or psoas major of the cow carcass