Filet mignon is French for “dainty cut," and it's an apt description for this tender tip of the tenderloin. But this filet mignon is especially tender because it comes from Wagyu cattle, renowned for providing the most flavorful and marbled beef in the world.
This gorgeous 6-ounce steak is so tender you should be able to cut it with your fork alone. Try it dressed with a red wine reduction, crusted with pepper, or simply glistening with natural pan juices. Add a lobster tail to the party and make filet mignon surf-and-turf for a treat.
There's no need to marinate or heavily season beef of this caliber. Keep it simple; the pleasure of this cut is in the exquisite texture and natural flavor.
Just the facts
- Humanely-raised
- From authentic Wagyu stock
- No antibiotics or hormones, ever
- No animal by-products
- Graded by third-party auditor using Japanese BMS scoring system
- Ships in an uncooked state; frozen items may thaw in transit
- Individually wrapped steaks
- Product of USA
- For best taste on fresh products, use or freeze within 3-5 days of receipt; for frozen products, use within 1-2 days after thawing
The Wagyu cattle are an extraordinary breed, native to Japan, where they developed in isolation with a unique genetic propensity to high marbling. Feeding programs encourage the cattle to put on fat in all the right places, and the Japanese have evolved special regimens for their cattle.
At D’Artagnan, we work with ranchers who raise Wagyu cattle in Texas, where the cattleman is still king. East meets west with Texas ranching know-how and the influence of Japanese feeding techniques. The emphasis of the program is humane treatment and a low-stress environment for the cattle throughout their lives.
The cattle begin on pasture land and are then introduced to a gradual feeding system, with seven different feed variations, which include grain and corn, free-choice minerals and fresh water. And, like their Japanese cousins, a strictly-followed diet rotation is the secret to the development of the characteristic marbling, delicate texture and superb flavor. No antibiotics, hormones or animal by-products are ever used. Raised until the age of 30-36 months, the cattle are fully monitored at every stage of their growth.
The resulting delicate and rich Wagyu beef is graded Prime 90% of the time; then it is graded using the Japanese Beef Marbling Standards (BMS) system, which scores the amount of marbling in the meat, ranking it from 1 to 12. Scores from 8 and up indicate levels of abundant marbling, and the top of the BMS scale (12) would mean that the fat marbling was extremely abundant. The Japanese further rank beef on overall quality from 1 to 5 (being excellent), which takes into account the marbling, yield, color and texture as well as fat quality.
