Roasting a whole filet

I'm catering a birthday party this weekend and want to rosst a whole filet for small sandwiches. (Serving with dinner rolls - I usually get them from Dinkel's but i'm open to suggestions here too; and Bleu cheese butter, horseradish cream, and rosemary aioli)

Before I just call Paulina to order one, has anyone else had good luck elsewhere for less $$?

Devon, Costco, Sam's, etc?

Thanks!

Costco will most likely have the best deal. Their meat is consistently good, so no need to worry about quality either.

It may not be as good as Paulina's, but it will be significantly cheaper.

Hi,

Cook's Illustrated had an article where they demonstrated how to trim and properly cook a tenderloin within the last 2 years. They did a shopping comparison with tenderloins originating from a range of vendors from Neiman Ranch to Costco and Sams. They had the full weight, the trimmed weight and recalculated the price per pound on the trimmed weight. Costco came up as the best value.

You can obtain a copy of that article by subscribing to their website for a year or a mini subscription for a month.

Regards,

Unless you are just wed to the filet idea, I would suggest a roast of NY strips (aka shell steaks in NY), uncut. I find it more flavorful, just as tender (without being mushy, which filet sometimes seems to be), and a tad less espensive.

Personally, I like the filet for small sandwiches over the NY Strip.

On the other hand, I had a catering client who insisted that I take a half-thawed NY Strip, place it on a slicer raw and slice it real thin. Then, grill the steak on the grill like a Philly cheesesteak. I thought it was a stupid idea at the time, but ... I thought the product was great AND my customers really liked it.

Costco is probably your best bet. for the meat. I love Paulina, but the high-choice vacum-packed whole strip loin from Costco is a no-brainer. Freeze any excess.

For a nice alternative to regular dinner rolls, you might consider Filipino pan de leche and/or Gautemalan bread, which my in-laws also call pan de leche (similar but not as sweet). Markellos on Lawrence is a good option.

The whole choice beef tenderloin you get at Paulina and what you take home from Costco can't really be compared by the "as purchased" price.

At Paulina, you get a completely cleaned tenderloin roast. The chain, tail, any peripheral fat, silverskin, the blood inside the bag, and the bag have been removed. You now have 40 to 45% less weight than you started wih. The highly skilled butchers at Paulina will even wrap the roast in thinly sliced suet before tying it with butcher's twine. This costs money. Your 7lb. whole tenderloin now weighs 4.2 lbs (or less)! (That's before shrinkage. Roast that puppy at high temperature, and you'll lose another 16-18%! Slow roasting, only 7-9%.)

OK, switch to costco. You take home everything...the chain, tail, fat, silverskin, blood, plastic bag. Let's say just for argument's sake, that Costco's price is $12 per lb.

This is a nice event that kafein is catering, so he can't just roast the whole tender, right out of the bag, like the Holiday Inn does (not that there's anything wrong with that). He can't serve that fatty, gristly chain to upscale clients, so he trims it away. His clients want to see that same elegant slice of perfectly cleaned tenderloin on a cocktail roll that they get at The Four Seasons. His cost is now at least $20 a pound, up in the Paulina ballpark.

But he does have some tasty scraps for a couple of good meals at home. Beef tenderloin tips, tenderloin tail medallions, or he could even grind it for hamburgers or meatloaf. Only thing, those scraps cost him $12 a lb.

Kaffein might be able to take home a completely cleaned, oven ready tender for the same price. He now has no labor for the butchering, and heck, he doesn't even need to go out and buy twine! Paulina can sell those medallions from the tail for 9-10 a pound, and those tenderloin tips for the same. If he decides to do the butchering at home, he will have to deal with that waste.

Ronnie,

Thanks for the numbers from a pro. You confirmed my suspicions.

I bought a whole strip loin at Sam's Club for Christmas dinner. By the time I finished trimming, I questioned how good of a deal I really got. You are correct about how much trimming is needed to turn it into filet-like pieces.

Best,
Al

Ronnie,

Thanks for the excellent post and information. People tend to forget that you are not simply buying a product from a butcher, but you are also buying a service. In the service industry, you get what you pay for.

Paulina's butchers are true professionals, but it is still possible to save a few bucks and still get a very high level of service. I have been buying cleaned and trimmed pork tenderloins from the butchers at Marketplace on Oakton for quite some time. Their prices are low, their butchers are skilled, and I enjoy the quality of their meat.

As a constant Marketplace booster, I must sound like a bit of broken record. I guess the lesson is to check out some of the butcher counters at the smaller, inependendent grocers. Often times you will find a skilled, friendly butcher offering good product at a lower price than a premium butcher like Paulina.

Best,
Michael / EC

Ronnie, good points. I guess I should have noted my affection for both the "waste" parts of the Costco product (the tail is mine) and the process of trimming and portioning it at home. In my mind, it's part of the cooking process.

Again, I love Paulina, from the hot lamb sticks to the chaep goose liver pate to the thoughtfully selected dry goods, the veal and lamb (why doesn't anyone else carry much veal?) and the country ham. But for something as straight-forward as choice beef, I gotta go with the mega-box Costco.

PS, I find Sam's meats to be inferior; those that I've had seemed to be fairly worked over with enzymes and whatnot, but it has been a long while.

I roasted 3 whole filets from Costco for a new years event I catered. I personally, have never found the trimming process to be excessively difficult. The quality of the meat was quite nice as well.

For Christmas Eve I was commissioned by my large(60ppl) family. In order to make a reasonably good meal for them I purchased 2 full strip loins. Roasted and sliced with enough leftovers to carry my Grandparents for a few lunches.

Kafein, it's up to you if you want to spend the extra time to trim yourself, or the extra money to have someone else do it for you.

Flip

Thanks to everyone for your input. I'm doing this as a birthday gift for a friend who wanted to throw a schwanky part. They enjoy good food, but are by no means a Four Seasons crowd - more Goose Island and an occassional jaunt to Morton's.

That being said - I have a healthy budget, but will squander it on good beer, bubby, and cheese and go for the Costco cut.

I can pick up a case of diapers while I'm there.

Flip wrote:I roasted 3 whole filets from Costco for a new years event I catered. I personally, have never found the trimming process to be excessively difficult. The quality of the meat was quite nice as well.

I'm with you - After trimming a bit of fat and silverskin, its usually good to go after you fold in the end...

But I'm sure there is something to be said for a perfect looking filet cut by the butcher, rather than a butchered-looking one prepared by me. Gonna guess the extra fat I leave on doesn't hurt the taste tho.