Fabricated Filet Mignon

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Right, Jo. The false labeling I don't like either. That needs to be fixed. But there's a good market for these things at walmart and they are priced THERE not much different than a pack of hot dogs which I'm sure would clue in the discernable buyer.
 
ga. prime":30460r8z said:
Yeah I was out, now I'm in. Who cares. Genuine filet mignons(no marbeling, no flavor) are way over rated and overpriced and not very good anyway unless you make some butter/horseraddish/chive/cream sauce with bacon and smother them in it and serve with a lot of mashed potatoes and spinach salad with a side of toast made from some well made bread. People are paying good money for these imitations at walmart($3.97 for a twin pack) and loving them. Rejoice in it.

Check out Wynnona.
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The beauty of the filet mignon is that it has pure beef flavor that is accented so well by sauce. It is not my favorite cut either, that would be a ribeye, but it does have a definite place in the prime cuts category. As a producer you should also be pleased to know that some of the extra value gained from your harvested carcasses is accentuated by the fact that the filet is not only the priciest cut, but also adds value to the bones which are used to make glace, demi-glace, and stock to make sauces that make the filet more flavor forward than it really is. Add to the above that an average cow is only going to have twelve pounds of this, before it is trimmed, you have a money maker on your hands because more animals need to be harvested to feed the need for this steak when properly done. Top choice and prime graded filets do have substantial marbling. Not nearly as much as a ribeye, or even better, the flap of muscle that tops the ribeye, but sufficient enough to provide true stand-up beef flavor. If you are having lack of flavor issues with a filet I recommend some wet or dry aging. Some of that water content leaking out will intensify the beef flavor we all crave.

What irks me to no end is that someone has found a way to bastardize a prime cut in such a way to mimic its appearance using lesser quality meat. This devalues the true prime cuts which is where most of the value of the harvested carcass is substantiated.
 
GP, what gets me is all this talk, debate and research on what is organic or what is grassfed. It seems to me we have already lost the ballgame if there is no standard set for what a cut of beef is. I always thought there was a standard. I got no problem with the meat industry making alternative foods or manufactured foods but I think it should be labelled as such. Now these steaks that my MIL bought were not steaks but she paid a small fortune for them. She was not a happy camper. Said she didn't like them - hence the gift. ;-)

What irks me to no end is that someone has found a way to bastardize a prime cut in such a way to mimic its appearance using lesser quality meat. This devalues the true prime cuts which is where most of the value of the harvested carcass is substantiated.
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My fears in a nutshell. I don't want to see us follow the same path that the pork and poultry industry has taken.
 
Jogeephus":8ulrd3z0 said:
Pwilli, what do you know about Sterling Silver Beef? There is a butcher shop in Georgia that carries it. I asked the guy at the counter about it but he didn't seem to know too much. Said it was raised a little differently. He said it was good.
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Sterling Silver is the premium beef brand offered by Cargill. It is hormone and anti-biotic free for the last 120 days of feeding. The cattle used for the program are selected only from the top 15% of cattle for marbling on the ribeye (I assume using ultar-sound at the packer). Since it is the top 15% it is a bit too broad to be classified a pure prime product, but is only prime and the very top of choice grade beef. I have butchered thousands of the Sterling Silver tenderloins, sirloins, top sirloins, and ribeyes and have had very few disappointments with the quality of marbling. The only complaint I can come up with for the meat is that at this time of year the cattle used are so dang big that the ribeye and sirloin are huge! This means I can't cut them thick enough when portioning. Instead of 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick for a twelve ounce cut I usually have to cut to an inch or little more.

Hope this helps.
 
Good info, Pwilli. I've had some good fillet dishes at fine restaurants. No luck cooking them myself.

I'm hearing you Jo. :D
 
pwilli3":cj6b1jy6 said:
Jogeephus":cj6b1jy6 said:
Pwilli, what do you know about Sterling Silver Beef? There is a butcher shop in Georgia that carries it. I asked the guy at the counter about it but he didn't seem to know too much. Said it was raised a little differently. He said it was good.
Click to expand...

Sterling Silver is the premium beef brand offered by Cargill. It is hormone and anti-biotic free for the last 120 days of feeding. The cattle used for the program are selected only from the top 15% of cattle for marbling on the ribeye (I assume using ultar-sound at the packer). Since it is the top 15% it is a bit too broad to be classified a pure prime product, but is only prime and the very top of choice grade beef. I have butchered thousands of the Sterling Silver tenderloins, sirloins, top sirloins, and ribeyes and have had very few disappointments with the quality of marbling. The only complaint I can come up with for the meat is that at this time of year the cattle used are so dang big that the ribeye and sirloin are huge! This means I can't cut them thick enough when portioning. Instead of 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick for a twelve ounce cut I usually have to cut to an inch or little more.

Hope this helps.
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OMG, come over to my house and make us dinner. It's 11.00p.m. and I dropped in to take a little look and now I have a hankering to BBQ.
This thread made me puke in the beginning and now my mouth is watering, thanks chef. :cboy:
 
Last time I was by the meat shop that had the Sterling Silver steaks my plan was to buy some to try. In the pan beside them were some other steaks that were by far the best looking steaks I'd ever seen on a meat counter. The ribeyes had small flecks of fat in them that looked like a blizzard in Montana. Definitely high prime. I opted for these and told the butcher I thought they were the best steaks I'd ever seen in a store. He said they were some of the best he had seen as well but stated they were not selling well cause most of the customers seemed to think they had too much fat on them. :???: I guess a lot of these problems just boil down to customer ignorance. Checkoff at work?
 
ga. prime":3pd0yvsr said:
Glad you asked, CK. I couldn't find the GAC one either but here's another.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CpWkYc1 ... re=related This is Wynnona, baby. It's a beautiful thing.
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WOW! I don't know what this has to do with Fabricated Filet Mignon but Wy has pipes! I really haven't ever heard her sound anything other than spectacular! Beautiful rendition! :clap:
 
Oprah in there just spoils the whole thing.
Now, Ashley Judd, in the rain, when her husband Dario Franchitti won the Indy 500, that was a moment. I don't have a link, but I bet it is on UTube. Can you say "wet T shirt".
 

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