Riddle me this - tenderloin

[spence]

So for dinner tonight I bought three beef fillet's together in a package, very good quality choice...

They were seared over high heat to form a good crust in a top quality pan which was centered over the heat. Then put in a 460 degree oven to finish for another six minutes and left to rest for another 10 or so...

One fillet was large, one medium and one was small.

The smallest fillet was perfectly rare/med rare while the other two were closer to medium. I felt them all when removing from the oven, and they felt all pefect, and my fingers are usually pretty nuts on.

So why the difference?

-spence

 

[dragon8]

Heat in the oven may not be evenly dispersed.

 

[grundletaint]

different thicknesses cook at different rates, especially if they're all in the same area. did you leave them on a hot pan for the rest time? that will continue cooking, too.

 

[j]

10 minutes to rest is quite a long time - aside from the above responses, the smaller one will cool faster. Otherwise, not sure. BTW

my fingers are usually pretty nuts on.

obligatory

 

[Thomas]

the smallest probably had the least residual heat from the smallest surface area and stopped cooking soonest. The other two probably took in and held more heat which cooked them through as they rested. Just a guess.