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. Landon Nordeman
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. Landon Nordeman
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. Landon Nordeman
4. Trim fat off ear; cut it crosswise into three 2"-3"-thick steaks. Landon Nordeman
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. Landon Nordeman
6. Pull fat membrane off tail end; it should come off easily. Landon Nordeman
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. Landon Nordeman
8. Slice off tail and butt end from the thick center portion, the chateaubriand. Landon Nordeman
9. Slice butt end and chateaubriand into 2"-3"-thick steaks. Landon Nordeman
10.Cut a 4"-5" piece off tail; cut it crosswise, three-fourths of the way through. Landon Nordeman
11. Open this piece at its hinge so that the cut ends face up; tie them together with kitchen twine to form a steak. Landon Nordeman
12. 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. Landon Nordeman
Landon Nordeman
LANDON NORDEMAN
Cutting a Tenderloin
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. Landon Nordeman
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. Landon Nordeman
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. Landon Nordeman
4. Trim fat off ear; cut it crosswise into three 2"-3"-thick steaks. Landon Nordeman
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. Landon Nordeman
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6. Pull fat membrane off tail end; it should come off easily. Landon Nordeman
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. Landon Nordeman
8. Slice off tail and butt end from the thick center portion, the chateaubriand. Landon Nordeman
9. Slice butt end and chateaubriand into 2"-3"-thick steaks. Landon Nordeman
10.Cut a 4"-5" piece off tail; cut it crosswise, three-fourths of the way through. Landon Nordeman
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11. Open this piece at its hinge so that the cut ends face up; tie them together with kitchen twine to form a steak. Landon Nordeman
12. 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. Landon Nordeman
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