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I usually cook vegetarian dishes because it's easier for me although I'm a huge carnivore. I'm taking a stab at this steak sandwich recipe which calls for "fillet of beef". What does that mean? Which cut (chuck roast, london broil, etc...) can I get? Surely Ina Garten does not mean fillet mignon?

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I believe it's another name for the tenderloin. http://www.recipes4us.co.uk/Beef%20Cuts.htm

Also, if you check out this other fillet of beef recipe from the same show: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/fillet-of-beef-recipe/index.html You can see a much better picture of the meat. That one is clearly a tenderloin.

So The Fillet Mignon is part of that technically...

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    Filet mignon is the smaller end of the of the fillet/tenderloin.
    – ElendilTheTall
    May 22, 2013 at 10:29
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A fillet is steak cut from the tenderloin. If you cut the tenderloin into "medallions" it becomes a fillet (better when wrapped with bacon...but isn't everything) and is ready to be grilled or broiled. If you leave the tenderloin in tact, then it is a 'tenderloin roast' suitable for use in a beef wellington.

For a good lesson on using tenderloin, see Alton Brown's "Tender is the Loin"

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A filet is any boneless cut of meat (it's a generic term); usually one of higher quality. You could have a filet, for instance, off the strip loin (a manhattan filet). Typically, however, when someone says "filet", they're referring to the "filet mignon" (literally "small boneless cut of meat"), which is a cut from the front end of a beef tenderloin, a sub-primal cut that crosses the sirloin and short loin.

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I believe the Filet of beef is just what it says..not from the tenderloin. It substantially cheaper, it comes from a different part of the cow, just a cut of beef that is wrapped I'm bacon.. the tenderloin is much more tender than the beef filet. I have experienced the wrapped filet of beef and it is much tougher....

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  • Welcome to the site. Please visit the help center and take a tour. On the help pages you will find information about what constitutes a good answer, which is the reason for your downvotes.
    – bob1
    May 12, 2022 at 23:12
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"Fillet" is any cut of boneless meat.

It may be spelled "filet" (single "l"), but this spelling varient may imply French cuisine or a specific cut of meat.

"Filet of beef" aka "filet mignon" is cut from the tenderloin.

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  • Are you trying to say that the two different spellings have different meanings?
    – Cascabel ♦
    Dec 4, 2013 at 6:00
  • I don't think that's what he's getting at. I made a proposed edit that adds some punctuation for clarity.
    – Preston
    Dec 4, 2013 at 16:41
  • Well, okay. But at this point you might as well have posted your own answer. There's really no way to tell what the original meant besides already knowing.
    – Cascabel ♦
    Dec 4, 2013 at 18:15

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