How to Cut up a Beef Tenderloin
Updated from 2022
Have you ever wondered how to cut up a beef tenderloin into filet steaks? Well, it’s easy to do and I can show you how.
We love steak and our favorite way to eat it is to grill it at home. We’ve tried all kinds of cuts and beef filets cut from a beef tenderloin have turned out to be our favorite.
It’s always tender, it cooks quickly. We like to prepare it with just salt, pepper, and butter. It’s great wrapped in bacon too!
Grill those steaks, add a baked potato or a side of roasted vegetables, a crisp green salad, iced tea and we’re in heaven. You don’t even think about the bread you are leaving off)))
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Beef Tenderloin
Steak is pricey, especially right now. But even at the price of $132 for this beef tenderloin, extra trim, I could cut 11 filets. So that’s about $12 a steak, $24 for the two of us. We can’t eat out and have steak anywhere for that price.
I didn’t weigh the filets but they would have averaged 6-10 ounces each. We usually prepare a smaller one for me and a larger one for my husband. It just depends on what we have left in the bag! Sometimes we might cook three if they are on the small side.
How to Cut up a Beef Tenderloin
- Remove from bag and drain liquid
- Dry with paper towels
- Trim the silver tissue off with a sharp knife. Put the tip of the blade under the silver tissue which is very tough and sort of filet it off. This is connective tissue and does not cook soft or melt like fat.
- Cut filets to desired thickness. We usually do about 2″ to 2.5″
- Wrap in heavy-duty tinfoil or butcher paper. Fold the edges of the tinfoil or paper more than once.
- Place the wrapped filets in a ziplock bag, remove the air, and store them in the freezer.
- Properly wrapped beef filets will last for months in the freezer.
Thawing Beef Filets
The best way is to place the filets in the refrigerator the day before. But if you’re like me, I never remember to do this, Or if I do, there may be a change of dinner plans and then we don’t cook them! They would still be good for a few days though in the frig)))
So, we usually do the “quick thaw” method. Leave the steaks wrapped and in the ziplock bag, Place them in a bowl or pan in the sink, and run cold water on them. Just let the water drip slowly,
Depending on the size of the steak it could take 20 to 45 minutes to thaw out. We do let the steaks come to room temperature before placing them on the grill, but this doesn’t mean laying them out on the countertop to thaw!
Gifting a Beef Tenderloin
Give someone a beef tenderloin you say? Yes! Our first one was a gift from Carrie and David. That year our Christmas was a little different and they showered us with a wonderful beef tenderloin and a basket of gourmet goodies. We thoroughly enjoyed it all, and nothing went to waste! It was my first time cutting up a beef tenderloin and now I’m an old pro doing it! I grew up in a household where it was common to have to cut up a whole chicken to fry. It’s been a while, but I could still do it)))
Since that first beef tenderloin gift, it’s been the only kind of steak we grill. So store that nugget of a gift idea away for later. Just be sure that the person you might gift it to has a place to store the whole tenderloin until they can cut it up, and a freezer to keep the filets in.
