At over $30 a pound (and possibly more depending on where you buy it) filet mignon is probably the most expensive cut of steak available outside of ultra-fancy imports like Kobe or Wagyu beef. It’s exceptionally tender with a distinctive beefy flavor and relatively little fat. Because there’s so little of this cut on a single cow it’s expensive. However you can get some of those same qualities in a much more affordable cut: the shoulder petite tender.
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$6 Secret Budget Steak Cut Tastes Like Tenderloin
This cut goes by a few names so you may also see it sold as chuck shoulder tender shoulder tender medallions or simply shoulder tender. Like any other cut prices will vary between butchers and grocery stores but it can be as cheap as $14 a pound — essentially half the price (or less) of filet mignon. It comes from the shoulder (or chuck) portion of the cow. The muscle is called the teres major and the steak may also be sold under this name. Be warned though: it's not the most common cut to find as it's difficult for butchers to remove from the cow. It doesn't fetch much as a single cow will only yield a few of these steaks. Often butchers will cut off a larger piece of the shoulder and not separate out the petite tender shoulder.
The petite tender shoulder is often compared to filet mignon or tenderloin and a big reason for this is that it is very tender — perhaps the second most tender cut of meat after those two more common cuts. The teres major is a muscle that cows rarely use. In general the more a muscle is used the tougher it becomes. As a result cuts of meat from the shoulder region are much tougher but the petite tender is an exception.
On top of that tenderness this cut also offers a distinctly meaty flavor. It’s a lean cut with relatively little fat — traits it shares with filet mignon. It’s worth noting that these types of tender lean cuts do have their detractors. When it comes to beef there’s a common belief that fattier meats tend to have more flavor so some chefs aren’t fans of leaner cuts like filet mignon. (True haters might even argue that this is why filet mignon is sometimes wrapped in bacon — to add flavor.) Nevertheless the shoulder tender is often seen as a quality flavorful cut that sells for a reasonable price.
