Amount of 'permissible' sinew in biltong ?

**StanCT** · 24-06-2021, 07:23

I know that how much sinew is found in the meat probably depends on a number of factors, but how much sinew is considered 'acceptable' to have in your average beef biltong?

I recently returned a batch of sliced biltong to a supposedly highly reputable supplier here in Cape Town, because it was just too sinewy to my liking, and I found that after chewing the biltong, I was left with so much sinew in my mouth.

They gladly replaced the biltong with what was claimed to be the best they had, and it was not a whole lot better.

Little bits of sinew is understandable and acceptable, but to fight your may through all the sinew, to get to the good parts seems far fetched.

I find that I am a thorough chewer of my food, maybe more so than many people I know, so perhaps to the person who gives 5 chews and swallows, they may not notice the sinew so easily.

Help me here, folks - are my expectations too high?

PS: I still have most of my teeth XD

**Ds J** · 24-06-2021, 08:47

A lot depends on the cuts used for the biltong. It also depends on the mount of effort which goes into the preparation - both the spices as well as trimming. Prime cuts usually make good biltong, and if the sinews are removed it is even better. However, since so many folks don't care what they eat, the tough shoulder meat from a C1 cow made hastily by a trainee easily becomes biltong.I do not often buy biltong for the same reason you mentioned: it is too often not up to standard.

**Gleock** · 24-06-2021, 11:16

Really depends on the price.
If it's premium biltong, I don't like to pretend I'm a two year old with a cold.

**NIBOR** · 24-06-2021, 12:54

Silverside that is mostly used for biltong has got a very thick piece pf sinew on the side, any butcher should trim that off. But some do a half job and then in the middle section where the eye of the siverside begins is another sinew. Which is not really trimmed, as its not so much and not economical to do so.

Then the topside also gets used and is the least sinew overall.

The sirloin parts are also used when c-grade yellow fat biltong is used. This cut has a good amount of sinew just underneath the fat. And guys wont trim that as you loose the fat.

Sometimes when the biltong slicer blade is blunt it makes it worse because it doesnt cut trough and leaves stringy bits..

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**Adoons** · 25-06-2021, 11:03

With biltong at least the cuts can be seen mostly before purchasing, but dry-wors.... That is more and more getting a problem with regards to sinews and "stuff" in it. Some butchers use "Beef trimmings" to make drywors from. Sometimes the trimmings are fine, but some batches are really just sinew and fat. The butcher cannot see what is inside the wholesale pack he buys and when quality control is poor all of the junk will go into the wors. I have stopped buying any drywors. Only eat what I have made myself.

**janfred** · 25-06-2021, 11:40

If you were around Cape Town area I would recommend Joey's Meat Products. They make the best wors and droëwors bar none!

**StanCT** · 25-06-2021, 13:38

Originally Posted by janfred

If you were around Cape Town area I would recommend Joey's Meat Products. They make the best wors and droëwors bar none!

And have you tried their biltong?

**janfred** · 25-06-2021, 20:41

Yeah, not a fan. They don't use much salt which I crave. Very little fat on the biltong. Also, the stuff hasn't got time to dry properly before it is all sold out. But then again, I am full of s#!t.

**Pants on Fire** · 10-07-2021, 01:56

Hi NIBOR, you sent me a PM about the Ruger American .22 but I cant reply since your PM message box is full. Let me know when you have made some space?

Originally Posted by NIBOR

Silverside that is mostly used for biltong has got a very thick piece pf sinew on the side, any butcher should trim that off. But some do a half job and then in the middle section where the eye of the siverside begins is another sinew. Which is not really trimmed, as its not so much and not economical to do so.

Then the topside also gets used and is the least sinew overall.

The sirloin parts are also used when c-grade yellow fat biltong is used. This cut has a good amount of sinew just underneath the fat. And guys wont trim that as you loose the fat.

Sometimes when the biltong slicer blade is blunt it makes it worse because it doesnt cut trough and leaves stringy bits..

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**Againstthegrains** · 12-07-2021, 23:17

I do all my own meat. Mainly venison, but I have worked beef as well. A skilled blockman should be able to get it all out and not waste too much. My friends are always amazed that my biltong is always sinew free. I agree with the above, that on beef, there is often a layer of sinew below the fat. If you like that fatty strip then you have to accept that layer of sinew with it. If you buy lean beef biltong and there are thick sinews, these are often shoulder cuts or cuts through the knuckle (half round) which are tricky to deal with if you don't know what you are doing, or too cheapskate with respect to time and meat loss to cut out. In that case try another butcher.