How to Cut Tips of Whole Filet Mignon
- 1). Put on disposable gloves before handling raw beef. Lay the whole tenderloin on a clean cutting board.
- 2). Explore the whole tenderloin with your fingers. Feel the meat to discover the seam that runs the length of the tenderloin. The seam is marbled connective fatty tissue similar to a defined dip in the tenderloin. The seam separates the seam meat from the tenderloin body. The tenderloin body is the section you will cut the filet mignon from. Separate the meat seam with your fingers. Feel along the length of the tenderloin to discover which end of the tenderloin is the head and which is the tail. The head is the largest end, encased in thin, skin-like connective tissue, and the tail is the pointed end.
- 3). Trim the seam meat away and off of the whole tenderloin by placing the knife into the seam and trimming it away from the tenderloin body without harming it. Begin trimming at the tail, working your way through the seam using short knife strokes until you reach the head. Place the trimmed seam meat into a bowl to use for ground beef later. Trim the head meat off the meat by using short strokes with the knife. Trim the center cut of the head meat into one filet mignon steak, 1 to 2 inches thick.
- 4). Remove the silver skin from the outer layer of the tenderloin body if the tenderloin you purchased has not been cleaned. Tilt the knife in an upward position and slice beneath the skin. Hold the silver skin and continue to slice beneath it with the knife, pulling it off the meat's body carefully. Complete this process slowly around the entire steak, until all fat and skin has been removed, without cutting into the tenderloin. If you are unable to cut some fat without damaging the meat, leave it. You can always trim it once the filet mignon steaks have been portioned.
- 5). Trim the ends off of the tenderloin to use for stir fry or other recipes.
- 6). Cut the tenderloin into slices, depending upon how large you want the filet mignons. Start from the center, for center-cut filet mignon steaks. Cut all steaks uniformly. The number of filet mignon steaks you can cut depends on the size of the tenderloin.
