# A filet mignon well done?!?! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 24, 2016, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-filet-mignon-well-done/746942 "2016-02-24T03:11:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2016, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-filet-mignon-well-done/746942/141 "2016-02-27T14:01:47Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > I’ve only ever tasted filet mignon once in my lifetime and it was a uniquely amazing taste experience. > > My bucket list most definitely includes trying it again - at least once. > > For anyone who has never tasted filet mignon, I would just like to say that it is worth almost anything to try it. Any amount of money. It is simply indescribably delicious. > > Overwhelming, indefinable and unutterable - in other words, it cannot be described by any words at all. > > P.S. Most people seem to agree there are only two reasonable ways to cook good steak: Rare or Medium-Rare. I wish I could explain why. But I just don’t know. > > Give yourself a wonderful gift and do taste that wonderful flavor. Was this a **me** thing or a **you** thing? ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2016, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-filet-mignon-well-done/746942/142 "2016-02-27T17:15:52Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > You seem to think the reason I’ve only ever tried it once has something to do with its cost. But that’s not the reason. > > Unfortunately, I don’t want to explain much more and I hope you will accept the reason has nothing personal to do with you. Honest. It’s just something personal about me. > > There is a common expression people seem to be using more and more lately. I think it sounds really silly. Have you heard this recently? > “It’s a \*\*me \*\*thing. Not a **you** thing.” > I hear people say something like that more and more often lately and I just think it sounds really silly. > > Anyway, that’s the reason I don’t want to explain much more. First that Tumbleweeds strip, and now this. I just don’t understand anything here anymore. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2016, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-filet-mignon-well-done/746942/143 "2016-02-27T17:26:27Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > “It’s a \*\*me \*\*thing. Not a **you** thing.” You told me you loved me.☹ ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2016, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-filet-mignon-well-done/746942/144 "2016-02-27T17:52:16Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > You told me you loved me.☹ You should have seen through him 😛 ---
**Author:** ![stosh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@stosh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stosh)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-filet-mignon-well-done/746942/145 "2016-02-28T02:53:11Z")
Since, she is paying for it, I would imagine she can have it any way she wants. The OP didn’t give an age for this woman, but she has been eating without our help for however long and probably knows what she likes. ---
**Author:** ![Jake\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Jake\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake_Jones)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-filet-mignon-well-done/746942/146 "2016-02-28T03:32:11Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Filet’s main claim to fame is the tenderness that’s possible if cooked right. I suspect that cooking a filet to well-done pretty mucn negates the reason for getting it in the first place, and is likely a sign of someone who doesn’t really know how to order steaks, but knows that **filet mignon is an expensive high-end steak that you don’t often see at the grocery store**. Really? I can buy filet mignon at fucking Walmart. Every single day. It’s not unicorn meat. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-filet-mignon-well-done/746942/147 "2016-02-28T03:45:35Z")
> [@Jake\_Jones](#): > > Really? I can buy filet mignon at fucking Walmart. Every single day. It’s not unicorn meat. Besides, everyone knows you need to cook unicorn all the way through lest you come down with glitter poisoning. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-filet-mignon-well-done/746942/148 "2016-02-28T05:33:39Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > You should have seen through him 😛 I have posted several times that I just don’t do humor very well. He should have known. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-filet-mignon-well-done/746942/149 "2016-02-28T05:35:07Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Besides, everyone knows you need to cook unicorn all the way through lest you come down with glitter poisoning. Everything I ever buy at Walmart is made in China. I think I’ll steer clear of their filet mignon. I refuse to cow tow to Walmart. Mooooo! ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-filet-mignon-well-done/746942/150 "2016-02-28T05:55:51Z")
We got a nice little meat market near me and they have filet for 9.99 a pound a lot. I get a pound and have two meals. It’s as cheap or cheaper than many other options. You do eat the whole half pound, no bones or gristle. ---
**Author:** ![Jake\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Jake\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake_Jones)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-filet-mignon-well-done/746942/151 "2016-02-28T06:14:13Z")
I said that I can buy filet mignon at Walmart, not that I do. Anyway, I don’t buy filet. I buy ribeye steaks from a local farmer who hand feeds them blades of grass that he individually shears until the cows get old enough that he feeds them corn that he grows in his field and he plucks each kernel from the cob by hand and dries each one in natural sunlight. Before the slaughter he sits down with each cow and tells them how much he enjoyed their time together and how sad he is that their time on this planet is over. Then he personally slices each of their jugular veins with tears in his eyes. If you cook his cows over medium rare, he will murder you. True story. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-filet-mignon-well-done/746942/152 "2016-02-28T09:08:43Z")
> [@dnooman](#): > > I was at a Japanese steakhouse the other night and the lady next to me ordered a filet with her meal. I’d heard of a stereotype where some people would order all their steaks well done. I was hoping this would not be the case, but it was. A perfect looking, really thick filet ordered well done. > > Why? There has to be an underlying reason. I think it’s something other than aversion to “blood” (myoglobin usually), and may be either traditional or cultural. that doesn’t bug me. it’s your money, and you’re the one eating it. what does irritate me is people who have to be picky or demanding about _everything_. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-filet-mignon-well-done/746942/153 "2016-02-28T17:19:58Z")
> [@Jake\_Jones](#): > > I said that I can buy filet mignon at Walmart, not that I do. Anyway, I don’t buy filet. > > I buy ribeye steaks from a local farmer who hand feeds them blades of grass that he individually shears until the cows get old enough that he feeds them corn that he grows in his field and he plucks each kernel from the cob by hand and dries each one in natural sunlight. Before the slaughter he sits down with each cow and tells them how much he enjoyed their time together and how sad he is that their time on this planet is over. Then he personally slices each of their jugular veins with tears in his eyes. If you cook his cows over medium rare, he will murder you. > > True story. If that is really true, it is the saddest thing. But if it’s not true, it is the funniest thing. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-filet-mignon-well-done/746942/154 "2016-02-28T18:42:25Z")
> [@Jake\_Jones](#): > > I said that I can buy filet mignon at Walmart, not that I do. Anyway, I don’t buy filet. > > I buy ribeye steaks from a local farmer who hand feeds them blades of grass that he individually shears until the cows get old enough that he feeds them corn that he grows in his field and he plucks each kernel from the cob by hand and dries each one in natural sunlight. Before the slaughter he sits down with each cow and tells them how much he enjoyed their time together and how sad he is that their time on this planet is over. Then he personally slices each of their jugular veins with tears in his eyes. If you cook his cows over medium rare, he will murder you. > > True story. If you have not seen it you have to watch the first episode of Portlandia. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-filet-mignon-well-done/746942/155 "2016-02-29T14:33:22Z")
> [@Jake\_Jones](#): > > Really? I can buy filet mignon at fucking Walmart. Every single day. It’s not unicorn meat. Are you talking about those weird little pre-packaged hockey-puck filets that you find wrapped with bacon, or are you talking about something else? I haven’t seen anything but the hockey-puck ones at the grocery store in a long time. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-filet-mignon-well-done/746942/156 "2016-02-29T16:24:01Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Are you talking about those weird little pre-packaged hockey-puck filets that you find wrapped with bacon, or are you talking about something else? I haven’t seen anything but the hockey-puck ones at the grocery store in a long time. And if it is those, you have to be careful. They are often marketed as filet, but not specifically filet mignon or a tenderloin cut. I bought a package at Aldi like that once and was WTF when I bit into it. Whatever it is, it is not tenderloin. I’d guess eye of round or something. I seem to recall Meijer’s version of this stating the cut on the back of the packaging. It’s marketed as “beef filet,” but “filet” need not specifically refer to a tenderloin cut. And this is also where you can definitely tell how two similarly lean cuts of meat like filet mignon and eye of round cook up to well done. Filet still remains fairly tender and does not turn into the inedible hockey puck that that most useless cut of eye of round turns into. ---
**Author:** ![Jake\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Jake\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-filet-mignon-well-done/746942/157 "2016-03-02T03:13:06Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Are you talking about those weird little pre-packaged hockey-puck filets that you find wrapped with bacon, or are you talking about something else? I haven’t seen anything but the hockey-puck ones at the grocery store in a long time. No, I’m talking about regular shrink wrapped, Cryovac sealed or meat case steaks. Prime certified cuts are hard to come by in grocery stores and even butcher stores but USDA Choice tenderloin steaks are readily available. If you’re going to argue that a center cut tenderloin steak differs from the tail cut “true” filet mignon, I would counter with the fact that tail cut steaks don’t portion or present well and nearly 100% of the time you order a filet mignon steak in a US restaurant, you will be served center cut tenderloin. The fact is, tail cut and butt cut of a tenderloin vary in diameter too much to maintain a consistent thickness in portion controlled steaks, which is how they’re sold in restaurants. If you’re ordering a dish described as filet mignon medallions you may be getting honest-to-god, Le Cordon Bleu approved, Filet Mignon. Maybe. If you order a 6oz. or 8oz. filet mignon, it is almost 100% guaranteed to be a center cut tenderloin steak and that is not a misrepresentation. It’s the accepted definition of a filet mignon steak here. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-filet-mignon-well-done/746942.md?page=7)