The filet mignon is cut from the tenderloin, which is part of the loin primal. The tenderloin itself runs through the short loin (which also includes the strip) and the sirloin (which includes the top sirloin) sections of the loin primal. This highly-prized cut of beef only represents 2-3% of the total animal.
What beef come from?
Beef does come from cows but it is better to say beef comes from cattle. The word “cattle” is a broad term that includes cows, bulls, oxen, or calves. The cow is the most common domestic/farm animal.
The appropriate answer to this question is that it comes from cattle. Cattle is a widely used term that includes cows, bulls, oxen, and calves. So, the beef comes from cows, bulls, oxen, and calves as well. The most beef available in the market comes from castrated males called oxen.
What cut of meat is filet mignon called in French?
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.
While writing we ran into the query “What is the difference between Tenderloin and filet mignon?”.
The tenderloin runs along both sides of the spine, and is usually butchered as two long snake-shaped cuts of meat. The tenderloin is sometimes sold whole. Filet mignon is usually presented as a round cut taken from the thinner end of a piece of tenderloin.
Where is the Tenderloin located on a beef roast?
Picture two long, slender cuts of beef that are located behind the ribs and along the spine. This is the tenderloin. It begins as a smaller, conical shape near the ribs and grows in thickness, ultimately ending in the sirloin (towards the butt). The Filet Mignon comes from the smaller, conical end of the tenderloin.