Celebrate Filet Mignon Day This Saturday!

This weekend, there’s an “odd holiday” we’d like to encourage you to celebrate. Filet Mignon simply means delicious in French and we’re thrilled that August 13th is the day dedicated to the Tenderloin, aka Filet Mignon.

Executive Chef Dave Zino from the checkoff’s Beef and Veal Culinary Center, tell us more about what makes the filet the perfect cut.

“Well, first of all, it’s the most tender cut in the animal. Filet Mignon is a fanciful name for a beef tenderloin steak. And as I said, it’s tender, it’s perfect at medium rare and just I think iconic when it comes to talking steaks,” Zino said.

Zino also tells us about his favorite way to prepare a filet.

“It is summertime even in Chicago where I’m from and I love to put them on the grill. If you marinade them, we only have to marinade them for 30 minutes up to 2 hours because it is a tender cut and we don’t want to over-marinade. One of my stand-by favorites is just taking a bottle of vinegarette, add a little garlic to it, some basil, salt and pepper and it’s just in your fridge, you’ve got it, it’s easy to use and it really pairs well with a steak,” Zino said.

And Zino also tells us why consumers can feel good about eating a filet.

“You know we often don’t think of our steakhouse favorites like filet mignon as being a lean cut but it certainly is – it’s one of our 29 lean. So it’s not only good for you but it’s also great to eat. So you get that great taste and the benefits of zinc, protein, iron, B vitamins. We like to say that steak is nature’s best-tasting multi-vitamin,” Zino said.

Enjoy Filet Mignon Day!

For more about your beef checkoff investment in new products and culinary initiatives, visit MyBeefCheckoff.com.

The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval.

Source: The Beef Checkoff Program