Easy Filets by Hunter Lewis :if like most of us, you possess an appetite for filet mignon that regularly exceeds your budget for it, you can save by buying a whole tenderloin and cutting it into steaks. (They are sold with the fat on, as pictured at far left, or cleaned and trimmed.) For tips on how to do this, we consulted Robert Esposito of Giovanni Esposito & Sons, a butcher shop in New York City.

1. Arrange an untrimmed beef tenderloin in front of you, with the tapered end to your right and the wider, butt end to your left.

2. Using a knife, trim off the long, 1"-wide strip of muscle, known as the chain, that runs the length of tenderloin; reserve for stew meat.

3. Use your fingers to find the seam separating the "ear" (the large, 10"-long lobe extending from the side of the butt end) from the rest of the tenderloin. Separate ear along seam.

4. Trim fat off ear; cut it crosswise into three 2"–3"-thick steaks.

5. Working with the other side of butt end, cut and remove 2 smaller lobes using same method as above; these can be treated as steaks and pan-seared.

6. Pull fat membrane off tail end; it should come off easily.

7. Slip tip of knife under the silver skin, the membrane surrounding most of the muscle. Tilt edge of knife at a slight upward angle; cut away silver skin in a thin strip. Repeat all over tenderloin. Flip; trim away fatty flaps from back.

8. Slice off tail and butt end from the thick center portion, the chateaubriand.

9. Slice butt end and chateaubriand into 2"–3"-thick steaks. Cut a 4"–5" piece off tail; cut it crosswise, three-fourths of the way through. Open this piece at its hinge so that the cut ends face up; tie them together with kitchen twine to form a steak. You should end up with 13–15 steaks; most of them are filet mignon. Wrap each steak in plastic wrap; refrigerate for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 6 months. This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #116 . I found this article in the December 2008 issue Page 87.

Here is the recipe I used for Christmas dinner 2008 for my family, it was great, thanks to Saveur and Hunter Lewis. Click on the web site below to go directly to the article in the magazine.


Herb-Crusted Beef Tenderloin with Horseradish Sauce Be the first to rate this recipe SERVES 10 Hunter Lewis, SAVEUR Kitchen Director, prepares this flavorful tenderloin every Christmas Eve.
1 3 1⁄2–5 lb. fully trimmed beef tenderloin, butt end left intact 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil Kosher salt, to taste 3 tbsp. dijon mustard 3 tbsp. cracked black peppercorns 2 tbsp.

finely chopped fresh rosemary 2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh thyme 1 1⁄2 cups sour cream 3 tbsp. prepared horseradish 1. Put beef on a sheet of plastic wrap; rub with oil. Sprinkle with salt; rub with mustard, then season with pepper, rosemary, and thyme.
 
Wrap in plastic wrap; let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. 2. Heat oven to 425˚. Place beef on a rack on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest end reads 115˚, about 35 minutes. Switch oven to broiler setting; broil until crusty, 5–10 minutes. (A thermometer inserted into thickest end should read 125˚.)
Let roast rest on a cutting board for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, combine sour cream and horseradish in a bowl to make a sauce. Thinly slice beef and serve with sauce. This recipe was first published in Saveur in Issue #116
 
Herb-Crusted Beef Tenderloin with Horseradish Sauce