Q: Is it true that in tenderloin steaks, marbling and aging
are not as much of a factor?
Yep, it’s true. Tenderloin is one of the leanest cuts of beef,
so even Prime-grade tenderloin won’t have an excessive
amount of fat. It’s known more for its tenderness than for its
flavor. In fact, when purchasing tenderloin, I normally don’t
bother paying for anything beyond Choice grade. Proper
aging of tenderloin is also nearly impossible, for the simple
fact that it does not have enough surrounding fat for it to be
dry-aged without going rancid or drying out. Tenderloin
that’s labeled “aged” is almost guaranteed to have been wet-
aged—that is, aged in a Cryovac bag, which will improve
tenderness, but not flavor.
When buying tenderloin steaks, there are two ways to go
about it. You can buy already butchered steaks, which are
almost invariably too thin to cook properly, or worse,
unevenly shaped and sized. Much better is ask your butcher
for a whole two-pound center-cut roast, also called a
nandana
(Nandana)
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