Author Topic: beef tendons drying question  (Read 2948 times)

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Offline thomcout_96

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beef tendons drying question
« on: March 21, 2015, 04:26:50 pm »
I just got some beef tendons from my butcher. They are fresh and huge (they are whole from the beef's back). I know i'll have to degrease them and cut away the meat, however i wondered how will they dry as they are really big. I want to back bow with them but I would need some advice on on to properly dry them. Thank you 

Offline Pat B

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Re: beef tendons drying question
« Reply #1 on: March 21, 2015, 05:07:49 pm »
I've not used beef back sinew but I'd remove all meat and fat I could and dry them They should dry pretty quickly once they are clean. When you are ready to them soak in warm water until soft and degrease with Dawn dish soap.
Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline bubbles

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Re: beef tendons drying question
« Reply #2 on: March 21, 2015, 05:50:06 pm »
Putting a fan near them will speed up the process.

Offline mwosborn

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Re: beef tendons drying question
« Reply #3 on: March 21, 2015, 09:39:22 pm »
I have never used beef sinew either...but with my deer sinew I soak it in water in a ziplock bag in the frig for a couple of days.  I change the water several times.  After a couple of days I finish cleaning them up real good removing the last of the fat and stuborn small pieces of meat.  Then they are ready to dry- i lay them on the same rack I make my jerky on.  Takes several days for them to dry.
Enjoy the hunt!  Mitch

Offline DC

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Re: beef tendons drying question
« Reply #4 on: March 22, 2015, 12:12:55 pm »
I got some beef tendons from a butcher. I got leg tendons and what he called backstrap. It was about 3" wide and 1/2" thick. It had a different appearance than the leg tendons. Anyway after it dried for a couple of weeks at room temp I smacked it with a hammer and it smashed like hard candy. The leg tendons were fine. I don't know if what I got as backstrap is the same as what you got but be prepared for disappointment. Keep your eye on the leg tendons. I found that they were very fatty and had to scrape the fat off and wash with Dawn two or three times in the the two weeks that they dried.

Offline Pat B

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Re: beef tendons drying question
« Reply #5 on: March 22, 2015, 03:26:40 pm »
Back strap sinew is also called silverskin. Be sure that is what he gave you.
Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline Markus

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Re: beef tendons drying question
« Reply #6 on: March 22, 2015, 03:54:10 pm »
DC, what you got was most likely neck tendons, they are useless to our purpose and crack into small pieces when hammered after drying. Backstrap tendons is a thin sliver 2-3" wide, lenght depend on size of animal. They are more difficult to clean (needs careful scraping) than leg tendons. Markus

Offline DC

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Re: beef tendons drying question
« Reply #7 on: March 22, 2015, 04:13:19 pm »
DC, what you got was most likely neck tendons, they are useless to our purpose and crack into small pieces when hammered after drying.
That sounds like it but the butcher did call it backstrap so beware.
Don