How To Cook A Whole Beef Tenderloin Or Butcher Into Smaller Cuts

Beef tenderloin is more than filet mignon—this master guide shows you how to turn a whole beef tenderloin into a chateaubriand roast, grilled filet mignon, and flavor-packed beef cubes without wasting a bite

Beef tenderloin is worshipped because it is the most tender muscle on the steer. It’s also one of the most misunderstood. Most people know beef tenderloin only as filet mignon, but that’s like buying a whole toolbox just to use the screwdriver.

In this recipe, we show you how to get the most flavor, value, and versatility from a whole beef tenderloin, whether you roast the center cut into a show-stopping Chateaubriand, slice it into buttery filet mignon steaks, grill the ends as quick-cooking tenderloin steaks, or turn the flavorful trim (the chain) into marinated beef cubes for stroganoff, stews, or stir-fries, or for beef spiedies that beg for hot coals and crusty bread. Along the way, we’ll explain the why behind each method—because great BBQ isn’t about fancy cuts, it’s about understanding meat and the best way to cook it.

What’s is a Beef Tenderloin?

The whole beef tenderloin is the muscle group that gives us filet mignon, tenderloin tips, and a Chateaubriand roast. After the whole beef tenderloin is trimmed and carved, there can be 2 pounds or more of great beef cubes and trim for spiedies/kebabs, stroganoff, boeuf bourguignon, stir fry, stew, or grinding for burgers.

This recipe shows how to break down a whole beef tenderloin so nothing goes to waste:

• The center-cut psoas major muscle becomes a chateaubriand roast or filet mignon steaks
• The tapered ends become grilled tenderloin steaks
• The long thinner chain (psoas minor muscle) becomes spiedies, stir-fry, stroganoff, stew meat, or beef to be ground into burger

It’s a classic example of whole-animal cooking applied to a premium cut.

What are spiedies? They’re a type of grilled meat sandwich made from marinated meat cubes grilled on a skewer and served into a steak roll bun. Beef tenderloin spiedies traditionally use the chain, the long, thin muscle attached to the whole beef tenderloin.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• One purchase, multiple meals: a single beef tenderloin yields roasts, steaks, and skewers
• Maximizes value from an expensive cut by utilizing every usable muscle
• Different cooking methods, same beef:
  • Roast for elegant dinners
  • Grill for quick weeknight meals
  • Marinate trim for bold, high-flavor dishes like stir-fries and spiedies
• Skill-building recipe that teaches butchery basics alongside grilling and roasting techniques
• Perfect for cooks who want to master beef tenderloin preparation beyond filet mignon

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Whole beef tenderloin
  • What it brings: unmatched tenderness and versatility
  • Substitution: individual tenderloin steaks, though you’ll miss the trim options
• Center-cut tenderloin (psoas major muscle)
  • Best for chateaubriand roast or filet mignon
• Tenderloin ends
  • Slightly uneven but still tender; ideal for grilled tenderloin steaks
• Tenderloin chain (psoas minor muscle)
  • Looser grain absorbs marinades beautifully; perfect for spiedies and stir-fries
• Marinade ingredients
  • Acid + oil combination works especially well on chain meat and trim

How to Make This Recipe (Using the Entire Beef Tenderloin)

• Break down the tenderloin
  • Remove silver skin and fat
  • Separate the outer, thinner chain from the main tenderloin muscle
  • Square off the center section for even cooking
• Choose your path
  • Leave the center intact for a chateaubriand roast
  • Slice center into thick filet mignon steaks
  • Cut ends into grilling steaks
  • Cube chain for spiedies or stir-fry
• Cook each section appropriately
  • Roast center cut low and slow
  • Grill steaks hot and fast
  • Marinate chain meat longer for maximum flavor

How to Use Beef Tenderloin (Multiple Preparations)

• Chateaubriand roast
  • Perfect for holidays or dinner parties
  • Slice and serve with pan sauce or compound butter
• Filet mignon
  • Pan-seared or grilled; minimal seasoning needed; compound butter works here too
• Grilled tenderloin steaks
  • Ideal for quick, high-heat grilling
• Chain meat
  • Marinate for beef spiedies
  • Slice thin for stroganoff or stir-fry
  • Cube for quick stews

Expert Tips (Buying, Butchering, Make-Ahead)

• Buy whole when possible: whole tenderloins cost less per pound than pre-cut filets
• Know the muscles:
  • Psoas major = center-cut roast or filet
  • Psoas minor (chain) = best marinated
• Make-ahead friendly: trim and portion the entire tenderloin at once, then freeze portions
• Don’t overcook: tenderloin lacks fat; cook to medium-rare for best texture
• Marinate trim longer: chain meat benefits from extended marination (24–48 hours)

Beef Tenderloin Recipe FAQs

If You Like This Recipe, You’ll Love

• Prime Rib Roast Recipe
• Surf n Turf Recipe (Filet Mignon and Lobster)
• Reverse Seared Steak Recipes
• Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow Crust: The Perfect Beef Rub
• Buying Beef: Beef Grades and Labels

Preparing Beef Tenderloin

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If you've ever come across a whole beef tenderloin at your local grocer or butcher shop but had no idea what to do with it then this recipe tutorial is for you. Here's how I take a whole beef tenderloin and make chateaubriand, filet mignon steaks, and more. All you need is a really sharp filet knife.

Serve with: a cabernet.

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Course:

Dinner

,

Main Course

Cuisine:

American

Author: Pitmaster

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Makes:

Servings: 14 servings (1 Chateaubriand, about 3 pounds, enough for 8 servings, plus trimming, enough for another 6 servings, for a total of about 14 servings)

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Takes:

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

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Ingredients

US Customary – Metric

• ▢ 1 beef tenderloin, unpeeled (approximately 6-7 pounds)
• ▢ 3 teaspoon  Morton Coarse Kosher Salt  (approximately 1/2 teaspoons per pound of meat)
• ▢ 4 tablespoons Ms. O'Leary's Cow Crust

Notes:

About the salt. Remember, kosher salt is half the concentration of table salt so if you use table salt, use half as much. Click here to read more about salt and how it works. 

 

Metric conversion:

These recipes were created in US Customary measurements and the conversion to metric is being done by calculations. They should be accurate, but it is possible there could be an error. If you find one, please let us know in the comments at the bottom of the page

Method

• Shopping. Here is an image of the whole beef tenderloin, code #1189 in the NAMP Meat Buyer's Guide. It is varies in size, but an average is about 2 1/2 feet (76.2 cm) long, 4" (10 cm) in diameter in the center, weighs 6 to 7 pounds (2.7 to 3.2kg), and can feed 12 to 16 people depending on how it is trimmed. This is the most economical way to buy this expensive cut of meat.
  
• It is bulbous on one end, called the "head" or the "nose", and tapered on the other, the "tail". In between is a nearly perfect cylinder 3 to 4" (7.6 to 10 cm) in diameter. It is typically sold in a plastic vacuum bag "unpeeled," meaning it still has silverskin, fat, and a long skinny secondary muscle called the "chain". The silverskin is tough connective tissue and needs to be removed. The fat should also be removed. It does not moisturize the meat when cooked.
  
• Trim. The fat is really easy to remove. To remove the sliverskin, slip a sharp pointy knife between the silverskin and the muscle and slide it along with the blade angled upward slightly along the underside of the silverskin. Don't try to peel it with your hands or a paper towel. The meat is so tender you will damage it. When you are done, you have what is called a "Tenderloin PSMO" (Peeled, Side Muscle On), pronounced "pismo". 
  
• Break it down. The large central muscle is the Psoas major. The long thin side muscle, the chain, is the Psoas minor. The football shaped muscle attached to nose end making it bulbous is the Iliacus.
  
•  Check out this video to learn the proper way to cut beef tenderloin for steaks and chateaubriand.
• Many chefs fold the ends in and then tie them in place so you have a long tube of fairly even thickness for roasting, but I am not fond of this procedure because the exterior of the meat can be contaminated in the slaughterhouse. That is not a problem if it is browned during cooking, but if it is folded in on itself, it will not get hot enough to be pasteurized. The risk is low, but it is a risk, and I love my family so I reduce risk whenever possible. So I prefer to lop off the thin tapered tip. When a restaurant does this, you will often see "tenderloin tips" on the menu. I set the tapered tip and the chain aside and either grind it for burgers or sausage, chop it for spiedies, or slice it for stir fry.
• The whole center section is called the chateaubriand. More often, the chateaubriand is cut into filet mignon steaks about 1 1/2 to 2" (38 to 51 mm) thick, making 6 to 8 ounce (170 to 227 g) steaks. If you leave the nose on you might be able to get 2 or 3 steaks, each 10 ounces (280g). Here's the breakdown of a typical beef tenderloin:

  * Raw weight 7 pounds (3.2 kg)

  * Chateaubriand or filets mignon 3 pounds (1.3 kg)

  * Stir fry from chain and tip 2 pounds (907 g)

  * Fat trimmed off 1 1/4 pound (567 g)

  * Steak from nose 3/4 pounds (340 g)
• Making chateaubriand. Here is an image of the chateaubriand. Dry brine it overnight by sprinkling it with salt and let it sit uncovered on a rack in the fridge. The salt will work its way in and help the meat hold moisture and amplify the flavors. Then give it a nice coat of Mrs. O'Leary's Cow Crust before cooking. The cooking method is virtually the same as the method I describe in my article on cooking a prime rib roast, reverse sear. Warm it gently over indirect convection heat at about 225°F (107°C) for about 30 to 40 minutes until it hits about 120°F (49°C) in the center, depending on the thickness. Then lift the lid and roll it over direct infrared radiant heat and sear the surface for about 5 minutes, roll it a bit, sear, roll, sear, roll, sear, and when all sides have formed a nice dark crust, and the interior is 125 to 130°F (52 to 54°C), perfect medium rare, pull it off, slice, and serve. Here is how to cook a chateaubriand once you have it trimmed.
  
• Pound the nose. Many chefs grill the nose and sell it as tenderloin tip or just plain tenderloin, but it is a funny shape and can cook unevenly. I like to lop off the nose end and pound it into a flat steak about 1 inch thick weighing about 12 to 20 ounces (340 to 566 g). A flat filet mignon is a bit unusual, but the large surface area for browning makes it a tender treat. I cut it into 1/4" (6.3 mm) thick strips across the grain, like a flank steak. I am the only one I know who does this, but if you try it you will be a convert.
• In this video Jabin Postal demonstrate how to prepare a beef tenderloin and cook it using the reverse sear method.
• Making filets mignon. If you prefer, you can cut the chateaubriand into individual steaks about 1 to 1 1/2" (25 to 38 mm) thick called filet mignon. Above is a classic filet mignon in a cream and cognac sauce crowned with smoked cauliflower puree. Because filet mignon is thick it really should be reverse seared, not seared first. I describe the method in my article on Steakhouse Steaks.
  
• The chain gets cut into bite size chunks for stew, stroganoff, boeuf bourguignon, stir fry, or larger chunks for spiedies/kebabs (below). It can also be ground for burgers (but you need to add some of the fat you trimmed off, it is too lean for a good burger).
  

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