TENDERNESS: very tender
GRAIN: fine grain runs along the length
FAT: very lean
KEY FEATURES: delicate meat; loses moisture quickly when cooked; does well cooked to rare; handsome shape, great for slicing
© 2018 by Rob Firing
The petite tender, sometimes called a clod tender or mock tenderloin, is one of the most tender beef cuts you can get. Each petite tender is a single muscle, which the butcher seams out of the centre of the shoulder roll. This muscle doesn’t do a lot of work for the live animal; it’s mostly responsible for coordinating movements between other muscles. The petite tender tastes mild and is very lean, and it can quickly dry out if cooked beyond rare. I sometimes think of it as the boneless chicken breast of beef.
Even though these traits may not sound like advantages, this often-ignored cut has its merits: The meat is truly uniformly graded; its already tender fibres run conveniently along its length for easy across-the-grain slicing. It is about the size and shape of a croissant, perfect for carving handsome slices and serving convenient portions. It is also often much cheaper than other steaks, even though there are only two of them per beast.
The best way to enjoy petite tenders is to cook them only until rare, leaving them red (quite red, if you can) and just warm in the middle. It is also a good steak to serve cold and sliced for lunch (and you can cook it past rare for that). With a little care, these peculiar-looking steaks can be made into dishes that are truly surprising and special.