Beef tendons

[chefmd]

Beef tendon and tripe in Szechuan sauce from Peter Chang restaurant in Arlington VA

 

[Paul Bacino]

Finally Got around to finishing @Franci

[GlorifiedRice]

 

[Wolf]

Oh, I love tendons...  When my father lived in our town and had access to greater selection of meats, he'd always put few pieces of tendon in goulash- when cooked, they'd turn translucent and wonderfully succulent. They'd fill one's mouth with sweet, rich beef taste and umami, while practically melting in one's mouth- most wonderful morsels... If bones from properly cooked oxtail are indeed 'beef lollipops', these are definitely 'beef toifees'. 

 

My maternal grandmother had a way of preparing them which I've not seen anywhere else- she'd put few extra bones with bits of tendons still attached to the pot when making beef broth. As they wouldn't cook fully, she'd scrape them off the bones, saute medium diced onions, throw them on the onions and season only with salt, pepper and a bit of paprika (on rare occassions she'd throw in some tomato product- but either way it was splendid) and stewed until tender and translucent. Served with either potato puree or lyonnaise potatoes (preferably with extra pepper which paired beautifully with sweetness of tendons and sauteed onions) it was simply delicious. I mean, the dish was butt ugly, but delicious- it took me a while before I could force myself to try it (never knew what was in the dish before I tried it and delighted asked what was in it). So the beef broth started delivering more delicacies besides bone marrow from marrow bone (which I adore a bit oversalted on a piece of white bread).

 

Inspired by this thread, I think I'm going tendon hunting tomorrow around butcher shops (I know a few that might be willing to cater to my lunatic fancies)- wish me luck...

Edited November 16, 2018 by Wolf (log)

[heidih]

I am a fan. My big Chinese market (99 Ranch) used to sell a mixed pack as Franci described in her opening post of tendon + shin.  I simply put it in the crock pot/slow cooker and after a while packed in a ton of sturdy greens including gai lan. So satisfying. I like that gelatinous lip-smacky thing. Of course I'm odd and at one point regularly made cow's foot soup with cassava and dumplings for the Panamanian...