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The cut is 'plat nerveux' and was purchased at a Parisian (French) market. It is beef, long-ish, round (like a sausage), and boneless. The meat is deeper red than most beef cuts I am used to. Deep red, but not liver or other organ color.

This cut is not even listed on https://tasteofsavoie.com/2018/10/23/french-meat-cuts/

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    Plat nerveux means "nervous dish" literally translated, which isn't helpful. What you describe sounds like a filet, but then they'd just call it that. A picture may help a lot.
    – GdD
    Oct 27, 2019 at 14:18
  • I would add one, but my wife already cut it up and put it in marinade. And yes, the literal translation was not very helpful to me either. Reminds me of "mystery meat".
    – LabGecko
    Oct 27, 2019 at 15:43
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    What were the general dimensions? When you say 'sausage', I suspect it's the tenderloin, but if it was larger, then AMtwo is likely correct with the eye of round.
    – Joe
    Oct 27, 2019 at 18:19
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    @GdD Like English, French words have many meanings. In this context 'nerveux' means {En parlant de la viande de boucherie} Qui présente des ligaments, qui est coriace, tendineuse. (Of cuts of meat - to be tough, having ligaments, tendons).
    – J...
    Oct 28, 2019 at 12:00

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Different countries can have very different names for their cuts of meat, and in some cases, there isn't an obvious/direct equivalent from a French cut to an American or English cut. If you look at a French butcher's diagram, you'll see the lines and cuts don't correspond directly to a US diagram.

I believe that what you saw labeled as "plat nerveux" is likely "gite de noix" which in the US is "eye of round roast". "Nerveux de gite" is a braised beef dish that is kind of like an American pot roast.

Eye of round can have a shape similar to a tenderloin, but is a tougher, less expensive cut of meat.

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    I think 'eye of round' is usually called 'rond de gîte'. I don't think 'gîte à la noix' has an American or English equivalent - it's one of the individual muscles that make up the rump and the French tend to take them apart rather than cross-cut through them as a unit. see : Gîte à la noix, rond de gîte. Il comprend le gîte à la noix, la semelle, le rond de gîte et le nerveux de gîte à la noix.
    – J...
    Oct 28, 2019 at 12:27
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From your description- maybe its a hanging tender also called butchers cut. It's the muscle that supports the heart. Long (9-20 inches), cylindrical, no bones and very red like a liver or heart. May have a lot of silver skin if the butcher didn't clean it. Normally its costs mid range for beef. I can find it for $8-12 depending on the age. Tastes like a filet mignon if cooked hot and fast (and older). (It's my personal favorite cut). Hope you liked it

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