A medallion is a very small, round portion of food. The term is used particularly in reference to meat such as veal, pork or beef, which will be cut anywhere from 1 to 2 inches (2 ½ to 5 cm) thick.
For meat, it is best to interpret the term the shape of a cut of meat, rather than indicating where on the animal the cut has come from. For instance, with beef we found at least four definitions:
- Some say that true beef medallions are cut from the small end of the beef tenderloin, but in practice, can be from anywhere in the tenderloin
- Some say medallions are the second best cut from the shoulder
- We found someone referring to top sirloin medallions
- The Embers Restaurant in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, defines theirs as “Beef Medallion 200g yielded from the eye of the rump” [1]
We were unable to find any legal definitions for any country.
Cooking Tips
The mistake most people seem to make in cooking beef medallions is overcooking them.
Sources
[1] Retrieved September 2010 from http://www.embers.com.au/content85a9.html?page=menus&menuid=260