Fillet of Beef by R.Borgacci

What's this

What is beef tenderloin

The beef tenderloin - in English "beef tenderloin" - is probably the finest cut of meat obtained from the adult male specimen of domestic ox ( Bos taurus ); it can also be obtained from young males - veal and veal tenderloin - and from females - from vaccine.

It has a rather tender consistency, a more intense taste than pork fillet but less strong than the bovine sirloin, a discrete nutritional profile and, compared to other animal muscles, a fair digestibility - which can vary depending on the cooking method, the seasoning and the recipe composition or global meal.

A source of high biological value proteins, specific vitamins and minerals, beef tenderloin belongs to the first fundamental food group. We must not forget that it is also a source of cholesterol and saturated fats, as well as purines and phenylalanine - molecules that can interfere with certain metabolic pathologies. The percentage of fat depends on the breed, age and the animal's state of nutrition.

Beef fillet is consumed almost all over the world. The firings that mostly interest this cut of meat are: roast - baked or grilled or spit-roasted, natural or in crust, etc. - in a frying pan and frying, etc. The beef fillet is the cutting of meat par excellence that can be cooked "in blood"; in Italy it is often left attached to the bone, together with the sirloin or rib eye, in the cut of the Florentine steak - alter ego of the Anglo-Saxon T-bone. It is also excellent raw, in tartare or carpaccio, although in circumstances of greater vulnerability - such as gestation - it is generally not recommended.

Nutritional Properties

Nutritional properties of beef fillet

Of the first fundamental food group, beef fillet is a product rich in high biological value proteins, specific vitamins and minerals.

It has a medium or high energy intake, depending on the breed, age and nutritional status of the animal. Calories are supplied mainly by proteins, followed by lipids; carbohydrates are absent. Peptides have a high biological value, that is they contain all the essential amino acids in the right quantities and proportions with respect to the human model. The fatty acids are mainly unsaturated, especially monounsaturated, followed almost equally by the saturated; the polyunsaturates constitute the least relevant portion. Cholesterol is present in significant but acceptable amounts.

Beef fillet does not contain dietary fiber, gluten, lactose and histamine. Instead it has significant amounts of purines and phenylalanine amino acid.

From a vitamin point of view, beef fillet is a food that does not stand out from the average of products belonging to the same category - meats. It contains above all water-soluble vitamins of group B, in particular niacin (vit PP), pyridoxine (vit B6) and cobalamin (vit B12); thiamine (B1) and riboflavin (B2) are less relevant. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and all the fat-soluble (vit A, vit D, vit E, vit K) appear to be absent or irrelevant.

Also with regard to mineral salts, the beef tenderloin does not differ too much from its group. The content of phosphorus, iron and zinc is appreciable; also brings potassium.

Diet

Beef fillet in the diet

Beef fillet is a food that, depending on its origin, can be inserted or not in most diets. If it is made from a lean animal and the cut is properly trimmed, it could also be used in the normolipidic slimming diet - provided that fats are avoided. On the contrary, it would be better to prefer lean meats like chicken breast, turkey breast, horse muscle, pork fillet, lean fish, etc.

Beef fillet, rich in high biological value proteins, is very useful in the diet of those who find themselves in conditions of increased need for all essential amino acids; for example: pregnancy and lactation, growth, extremely intense and / or prolonged sports, old age - due to an eating disorder and a tendency to geriatric malabsorption - pathological malabsorption, recovery from specific or generalized malnutrition, debasement etc.

For the reasonable content of cholesterol and the acceptable percentage of saturated fats, it can be used in the diet against hypercholesterolemia, as long as the portion and frequency of consumption are acceptable. Note : in food therapy against dyslipidemia it is however less appropriate than fish - pinnutes properly called - rich in omega 3 (EPA and DHA).

It is a neutral food for diets aimed at subjects suffering from hyperglycemia or type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertriglyceridemia and hypertension.

Beef tenderloin is one of the products to be avoided, or to be consumed with extreme moderation, in the case of severe hyperuricemia - a tendency to gout - and calculosis or renal lithiasis with uric acid crystals. It should be completely removed from the phenylketonuria diet. It shows no contraindications for lactose intolerance, histamine and celiac disease.

Beef tenderloin is an appreciable source of bio-available iron and participates in the metabolic needs coverage, higher in fertile, pregnant women, marathon runners and vegetarians - especially in vegans. Note : iron deficiency can lead to iron deficiency anemia. Beef fillet contributes to satisfying the phosphorus requirement, a very abundant mineral in the body - particularly in the bones in the form of hydroxyapatite, in the phospholipids of cell membranes and in nervous tissue, etc. The zinc content - essential for hormone production and antioxidant enzymes - is more than appreciable. Beef fillet is not to be considered an essential source of potassium, but it still participates in satisfying the organism's request - greater in case of increased sweating, for example in sports, increased diuresis and diarrhea; the lack of this alkalizing ion - necessary for the membrane potential and very useful in the fight against primary arterial hypertension - induces, especially related to lack of magnesium and dehydration, the onset of muscle cramps and general weakness.

Beef fillet is rich in B-group vitamins, all coenzymatic factors of great importance in cellular processes. It can therefore be considered an excellent support for the functioning of the various body tissues.

It is not allowed in the vegetarian and vegan diet. It is inadequate for Hindu and Buddhist food, while it has no contraindications in Muslim and Jewish.

After total cooking, it is also allowed in the diet during pregnancy.

The average portion of beef fillet is 100-150 g (about 150-225 kcal, up to 250-375 kcal).

Kitchen

Cook the beef tenderloin

Beef tenderloin is consumed almost all over the world. Due to its value and above-average cost, it is hardly an ingredient of mixed minced meat, hamburgers and sausages.

Beef fillet lends itself to many different preparations. The methods of heat transmission can take advantage of conduction, convection and radiation; the temperatures are almost always high and the times generally low - the only exception is the specific method of low temperature cooking.

By virtue of its organoleptic and gustatory characteristics, it is particularly suitable for raw preparations such as tartar and carpaccio.

Among the most widespread techniques and cooking systems we mention: roast - baked, grilled and spit-roasted - sautéed - in a pan - and fried - in vegetable oil or animal fat.

Some famous recipes of beef fillet are: fillet with pepper (green or pink), fillet in bread crust, fillet in salt crust, grilled fillet, fillet with balsamic vinegar, floured and fried beef filets, beef carpaccio, salted meat, beef tartar, etc.

The enogastronomical matching of the beef fillet depends on the recipe and the ingredients that accompany it; generally red and structured wines are preferred such as: Chianti Classico, Rosso di Montalcino, Rosso Piceno, Valpollicella and Terre di Franciacorta Rosso.

Description

Description of beef tenderloin

The beef fillet has a conical, elongated shape and an intense red color. The flavor is firm but more delicate than the rib or loin; it is even more tender.

The scientific name of the fillet is "psoas"; each animal has two, one per side / half side. It is a muscle of the hind quarter of the animal. It has a sublombar position - that is, it is placed below the vertebrae - and, joined to the iliac, it is part of the hypoaxial group. Note : the sublombar muscles are not considered as trunk muscles. Determines the arching of the spine and, more precisely, of the lumbosacral tract.

It is important to specify that the thread is not the sirloin or sirloin, which is part of the lumbo-thoracic multifidus, one of the epiaxial supralum bodies. Although very close, these two cuts of meat have quite different characteristics. The two loins - one per side / half-length - support the entire structure of the animal and participate intensely in maintaining posture, walking and running; on the other hand, the fillets - especially in farm animals - are never energetically solicited. Moreover, ileopsoas and lumbo-thoracic multifidus have a percentage of connective tissue, but above all a distribution of the same, very different from each other; this is the main feature that determines the softness of the fillet compared to the sirloin.