If the fillet part of the cow is prized for its tenderness; how come veal meat is ignored by chefs?

Question

what I mean is, tenderest parts of the cow, like the thin long fillet mignon areas are regard for their tenderness....so why are not veal steaks, being from young cows, viewed in higher gastronomical regard; at present they are secondary to fillet mignons

Answer 1

Good question,

Yes the fillet Mignon is prized for it's tenderness but( as far as I'm concerned) that's where it ends. Basically it also has the least amount of flavor then any of the other cuts of beef.

Veal on the other hand is a little different. Firstly it has little nutritional value. Remember that a calf lives on milk for his entire life( which is not a pleasant one). He's always in his stall ,just big enough for him to fit in.They never see sunlight.

Why? because they want to keep them anemic to keep the color of the meat "white". So you'll always see "milk fed veal" signs in your meat market.

Some restaurants are famous for their veal dishes but your right in saying that fillet Mignon has a much larger following.

I would say "Hype". Fillet Mignon. Beluga Caviar, Cristal Champagne, all status symbols.

Compare a skirt steak @ $8.99 lb to a fillet Mignon @$25lb

and you'll see what I mean.The skirt steak( although not as tender), is a much better piece of meat ( flavorwise and in juiciness).

Great Question

I hope it helped!

Answer 2

On the contrary . . . veal has always been highly prized by many, especially European chefs.

The reason it's not such a big deal here now is that it's not politically correct.  PETA and the like have demonized veal almost to extinction.

Answer 3

There are a couple of things that are more important than the tenderness of beef. First in my opinion is flavor that is derived from the diet of the animal. True veal is milk fed and has not had time to develop the flavor that comes from grazing on grass and then being fed a grain diet just prior to slaughter. Also some flavor comes from exercise as the animal is growing and maturing. Beef cattle are slaughtered at a young age, but by this time the meat has also aquired a texture that is not present in veal.