What did they do?...

[fire34fighter]

So out for dinner the other night and I decided that I am going to get a fillet Mignon. The restaurant is Grace's Mandarin (it's not a chain)...So I get the fillet, it comes in a sizzling fajita platter with a sake peppercorn butter sauce...The fillet has already been cut up into a few strips. I eat one strip and am AMAZED at how tender it is, so I challenge my self. The goal is to cut the next piece with my fork. And to my surprise, the fork cut right through it without much resistance. I've had very tender steaks before, but this was beove and beyond anything i've had previously. So my question is, what do they do to get the fillet that tender? Dry age it? some kind of secret recipe? Any guesses?

 

[jrhodo]

How much did you pay? Could be good meat, could be tenderizer.

 

[fire34fighter]

Steak was $32 for the fillet and some peppers with rice.

 

[Andy M.]

Filet Mignon comes from the tenderloin. It's called that because it's easily the most tender part of the steer. I cut filet slices with my fork as well. The tenderloin is a seldom used muscle. As such, it remains tender, unlike the harder working muscles in the fore and rear quarters.

In addition, the steak you had may have been prime grade, which is the top for meat grades. Supermarket meat counters and butchers usually offer choice grade beef - the next step down from prime.

 

[masteraznchefjr]

Probably top grade meat or Chinese restaurant trade secret, which I shall not share haha xD

 

[ChefJune]

Filet Mignon usually doesn't need a knife to cut it, but since you were at a Chinese restaurant, they probably also used some kind of tenderizer, and almost certainly ajinomoto.