tournedos

A tournedos is a medallion shaped cut of meat, usually beef tenderloin, that is shaped witb the use of the hands or sometimes a piece of cloth wrapped around the piece of meat. To help the tournedos keep its shape while cooking it can be fastened with butcher's twine or sometimes a strip of fat or bacon.

A famous dish that calls for this preparation of meat is tournedos rossini. Since tenderloin is already expensive to begin with, and a tenderloin will only produce four tounedos, maybe six at most, dishes that use these cuts of meat tend to be expensive.