Meat

Tenderloin

Tenderloin is the North American trade name for the same psoas major barrel sold as fillet elsewhere—the under-spine muscle that does almost no load-bearing work. Packers ship it as a peeled or unpeeled wholesale tender, often with the chain still attached until the fabricator cleans it. From that barrel come filet mignon steaks (typically cut from the centre), Chateaubriand-style centre roasts, and tapered tips for tips recipes or kebabs. It is prized for spoon-tender texture and for consistent portioning in hotels and steakhouses. The trade-off is low marbling and a quieter flavour than strip or rib cuts, so quality hinges on cattle grade, wet- or dry-ageing of the carcass, and not pushing past medium. Many kitchens reverse-sear or butter-baste to build a crust without drying the lean centre.