Tenderloin, Sasami karaage, 84°

Cook Tenderloin as “Sasami karaage” until the centre reads 84 degrees. The mark to keep is 84°. Before you pay, check once that the cut named on the package matches the cut on the slip. If the seam of sinew is badly split, change the slip from a short sear to a long cook. It is thin enough that residual heat alone can finish it — pull it from the pan the moment it turns opaque. At the butcher, open Tenderloin so the slip shows 84° first, 84 next, and “Sasami karaage” beside them.

This week, before you enter the butcher, write the cut, the method, and the core temperature at the top of the shopping slip, and at home keep the heat until the thermometer shows that figure. If the grain is coarse, give more time at the same temperature, and do not time a thin slice and a chunk the same way. The order is Tenderloin, 84°, 84, then “Sasami karaage”. When the thermometer is done, look again only at 84° for Tenderloin and leave 84 on the slip.

Do not call the meat done from color alone, and do not read the temperature as a grade score. Check that the core temperature on the slip and the thermometer match, and do not kill the heat before that mark even if the color changes first. If the seam of sinew is badly split, change the slip from a short sear to a long cook. Match Sasami karaage with 84 at the butcher before you close 84° for Tenderloin. Cook Tenderloin as “Sasami karaage” until the centre reads 84 degrees. The mark to keep is 84°.