Butt Tenderloin

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For the first time ever I had to pay someone to process an animal and I got two packages labeled "Butt Tenderloin"? From what I could find (on a Google search) this is the Butt end of a tenderloin. Is this correct?

Edited for Freebird.
 
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I wonder if its the eye of round? That is a tubular muscle between the top and bottom round, its moderately tender.

That's my guess. Since I have a seven year old who likes to assist when I'm butchering, I may now refer to the eye of round roast as the "butt tenderloin" both to play to the preferred humor of the seven year old and to exasperate my wife who has a limited appreciation for childish humor. I don't even care if our assumption or interpretation is incorrect, pods8.
 

CareyJAF50

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I wonder if its the eye of round? That is a tubular muscle between the top and bottom round, its moderately tender.

If I am thinking of the correct cut, I have heard people refer to that as the "mock tenderloin". Maybe the same thing.
 
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From the pics I found in my initial search it looks like the end of a TL that has the silver skin on it.

I'll unwrap one later and post back.
 

pods8 (Rugged Stitching)

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If I am thinking of the correct cut, I have heard people refer to that as the "mock tenderloin". Maybe the same thing.

When I hear mock tenderloin I'm thinking the strip of front shoulder muscle on the narrow side of the blade bone but that isn't to say your crowd calls it that.

If you look at this post item 1 is the eye of round from the rear and item 11 is the mock tender from up front, in the way I speak about them at least.
http://www.rokslide.com/forums/meat-and-trophy-care/45767-meat-processing-book.html#post490951
 
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Opened it and it does appear to be the large end of the TL and that's what I came up with on Google. I was thrown off by having some packages marked "filet" but it appears the TL is broken down into three sections on Beef.

I learned something new and now I know why it seemed like I didn't get much TL back. Like I said this is the first time using a commercial butcher in over 30 years.

Thanks for the help!
 

Whodat78

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It is the bigger end of the tenderloin. The butt end is the thicker/rounded end. The other end is referred to as the tail end. I am guessing this was a large animal such as a moose or elk where the processor cut the tenders in two pieces. The picture below is the comparison of a dall sheep tenderloin and a moose tenderloin from this season. As you can see the larger top end of the moose tender is the "butt end" and the tapered part at the bottom is the tail end. With a smaller animal like a sheep or deer the there is no need to cut the tender in two pieces. With a moose, elk or even caribou you may cut the tender into two pieces especially if you are normally feeding two people per meal such as my wife and I. Your processor also may just refer to the entire tenderloin as "the butt tender". A pet peeve of mine is when people refer to the loin (back-strap) as tenderloin. These are two separate cuts of meat. The loin is the larger piece of meat that runs along the spine on the outside of the rib cage. The tenderloin is much smaller and on the inside of the rib cage closer to the round. Hope this helps! View attachment 40960
 
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The "butt tenderloin" is neither the tenderloin, nor the backstrap. It is a hidden tube of muscle (that LOOKS like a tenderloin, but isn't) that is buried in the rear quarter/rump.


Here is the "butt"

xCabwHe.jpg



And here is the "butt tenderloin" below. Middle cut on the bottom row

WzD3Pds.jpg
 

Whodat78

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Nelson, the the cut you are pointing out is the eye of round. It sits between the bottom round (top left on your board) and the sirloin tip (bottom right on your board). The eye of round should be treated as the rest of the round when preparing. Slow cook or braise as the round cuts are not nearly as tender as the tenderloin. You can also use them as jerky or even in soup or stew. The Vietnamese often use the eye of round in Pho. I like to can all of the cuts from the round be it sheep, moose, caribou or deer. The canning method provides you with a slow cooked roast ready to eat in 10 minutes! Great over noodles, rice or on a bun.
The eye of round looks VERY similar to the tenderloin and often confuses people. The butt tenderloin is the bigger end of the tenderloin.

How to Cook a Boneless Beef Butt Tenderloin | LIVESTRONG.COM

Eye of Round Roast | Certified Angus Beef(R) brand | Angus beef at its best
 

elkyinzer

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Great pictures and really nice looking deer, Nelson. That's exactly how I break down my hindquarters.

Yes the eye of round (bottom middle) is commonly referred to as butt tenderloin, at least around here. Which is confusing because in larger animals the larger end of the tenderloin is also called butt tenderloin. There's also a "mock tenderloin" in the shoulder. Named after appearance as neither are anywhere near as good as a tenderloin, but both are grillable if you do it right.

Nelson's cuts clockwise from top left:

-Bottom Round, Top Round, Sirloin Tip, Eye of Round, Rump

The poster above advocated canning or slow cooking all the round cuts. Which is fine but I wouldn't want anyone to be misled, you can really do anything with them if you do it right. All the round cuts, especially Top and Eye, can be grilled or roast but don't go past medium rare or they get dry real fast. The top and eye of round are really pretty tender and make good steaks and roasts. Bottom round is a little tougher, I usually use it for swiss steaks or something with a little moisture and cooking time added. I usually make corned venison or pastrami out of sirloin tip just because it has a little more fascia than I like in a roast.
 
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Thank you BOTH Whodat78 and elkyinzer for the info. This was my first season harvesting venison, so I'm still a little new to knowing what the proper names of all the different cuts. I heavily relied on the youtube videos of a Brit named Scott Rea on how to break down an animal and the English terms used are a litte different than what we call them in the US like top side, silver side, etc....

I lightly seared one of my round steaks over cast iron and made a pretty delicious dish along with vegetables from the garden

NExOxzO.jpg


QIRIDrc.jpg
 

pods8 (Rugged Stitching)

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I had wondered about the eye of round right off the bat above. For the record those grilled to medium rare, rested, and sliced thin into medallions which are cross grain are quite tasty and not really tough since the grain is cut.

I agree that cooking rears you can use them like beef in a lot of things, just keep in mind they don't have intramuscular fat when choosing the cooking method/speed. We don't buy beef as long as I can keep game in the freezer and aren't feeling like we are specifically lacking in meal variety and don't especially make a lot of stews of such. Some folks tend to view venison as steaks and sausage only, not really sure why.
 
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