DC:
That looks like a great meal. I will have to check into this.

How long did you cook it ???
Looks like you used some sort of Sauce with it.

What is surprising, it cost Peanuts to make !!!

LOU

A very attractive meal, as always.
Unique ingredients,
Artfully arranged.

To be perfectly honest,
I have never seen or heard
of beef tendon being sold in a store.
Nor do I remember ever having it when growing up,
On a farm,
Where all of our beef was 'home grown',
And home butchered.

So I have no idea what so ever,
As to what part of the animal it comes from,
Or what it looks like in its raw state.

Thanks again,
For sharing your very creative cooking!

Rusty

Here's how I normally see it prepared...

...never had it myself though.

Good timing on this post because just last week I ran across frozen tendon at H-Mart and was wondering what humans do with it. I googled your quote and in reading the rest of the article it sure sounds like it would be the beef equivalent to chicken feet in a stock. Might just have to try that.

p.s. I also googled water lily because that looked like lotus root to me. The discussion I found seemed to focus on differences of the flowers themselves. Any significant difference between the two roots in cooking?

Here is a link that might be useful: Ryan Adams' article

That looks interesting, dcarch. You're a master at illustrating that inexpensive raw materials can be the centerpiece of a tasty meal if they're properly prepared.

I've never eaten beef tendons but I've used them to enrich the starting beef broth when I'm making consomme. Some of the butchers at our farmers' markets sell them but I'm not sure what the current price is. I'm going to one this afternoon and will check.

Hmmmm I used to buy them for the dog. But then again, I used to buy her beef pizzles and I'm not eating those either.

Alexa

I ordered pho with tendon. I sat there the whole meal and tried to get up the courage to eat it, but I just couldn't do it.

Inside glass of display case was foggy due to high humidity.

Report completed.

That looks quite tasty. Is the mouth-feel meaty, or different from "normal" meat? $2.50 a pound, if this becomes as trendy as skirt steak, the price will probably triple.

I've never seen beef tendon, but I haven't shopped for beef in ages. It's certainly not on the butcher's cut list. Right now I'm picturing the look on his face if I asked for tendons...they thought it was odd that I wanted the neck bones, lol.

Posted by hawk307 "DC: That looks like a great meal. I will have to check into this. How long did you cook it ???
Looks like you used some sort of Sauce with it. What is surprising, it cost Peanuts to make !!! LOU"

"Cost peanuts" LOL!

I cooked it for two hours in a pressure cooker and the sauce is Rosemary sauce.

Posted by therustyone "A very attractive meal, as always. Unique ingredients, Artfully arranged. To be perfectly honest, I have never seen or heard of beef tendon being sold in a store. Nor do I remember ever having it when growing up, On a farm, -------- Thanks again, For sharing your very creative cooking! Rusty"

Thanks Rusty. One of the interesting thing about living in multi-culture NYC is the opportunity to try all kinds of crazy foods. Come to NY, I will treat you to a nice dish of beef tendon. :-)

Posted by foodonastump "Here's how I normally see it prepared... ...never had it myself though. Good timing on this post because just last week I ran across frozen tendon at H-Mart and was wondering what humans do with it. I googled your quote and in reading the rest of the article it sure sounds like it would be the beef equivalent to chicken feet in a stock. Might just have to try that. p.s. I also googled water lily because that looked like lotus root to me. The discussion I found seemed to focus on differences of the flowers themselves. Any significant difference between the two roots in cooking? "

I am beginning to see beef tendon in the stores more often now, and I don't live in an ethnic neighborhood. People must be eating it. At $2.50 a lb, it too expensive for dogs. You can buy good meat for $1.50 a lb. I think water lily and lotus may be the same plant. I decided to pair tendon with lotus roots and peanuts because I feel the beefy tendon needs earthy ingredients to go with it.

Posted by ruthanna "That looks interesting, dcarch. You're a master at illustrating that inexpensive raw materials can be the centerpiece of a tasty meal if they're properly prepared. "

Thanks Ruthanna. I always try to keep an open mind to look for healthy, tasty and good value foods. With terrible global weather conditions and fast rising prosperity in the rest of the world, I see food prices skyrocket in the near future. Learning to be flexible will permit a reasonable degree of quality of life.

Posted by caliloo "Hmmmm I used to buy them for the dog. But then again, I used to buy her beef pizzles and I'm not eating those either. Alexa"

Lucky dog you have; it gets to enjoy a delicacy that is priced by almost two billion people in many parts of the world.
Lucky me, I get to enjoy a delicious and healthy food that only cost $2.50 a lb.

Posted by jessicavanderhoff "I ordered pho with tendon. I sat there the whole meal and tried to get up the courage to eat it, but I just couldn't do it."

Well, I think most people have eaten beef tendon before. When you have a steak dinner, there are always small pieces of tendon someplace.

Posted by petra "That looks quite tasty. Is the mouth-feel meaty, or different from "normal" meat? $2.50 a pound, if this becomes as trendy as skirt steak, the price will probably triple.

It is obviously very tasty. As I said, close to two billion people of the world enjoy it as a delicacy. The texture is not meaty, it is chewy but soft. You are right about the price if the trend catches on. Chicken wings used to be trashed.

Posted by katiec "I've never seen beef tendon, but I haven't shopped for beef in ages. It's certainly not on the butcher's cut list. Right now I'm picturing the look on his face if I asked for tendons...they thought it was odd that I wanted the neck bones, lol."

The reason you don't see them here may be they all get shipped to other countries for good money. In addition to being delicious, it is widely believed that it cures arthritis if consumed regularly.

dcarch

Alexa - are you sure?

Interesting discussion. I'm having a hard time with the economics. American humans pay $2.50/lb. It's fed to American dogs at $10/lb after some processing. Is the processing so expensive as to warrant selling it raw for a quarter of the price? And what about the "nearly two billion people," how much do they have to pay for this "delicacy" to keep it out of our dogs' mouths?

I buy beef tendon at the Asian market, any good one has it. After using it to saturate a sauce or stew with gelatin, you are left with soft, jelly-like tendon remains. I always eat them. I think they are yummy.

I don't know about replacing pork belly, though. The cool thing about pork belly is you get all the textures in one bite. The crackling crisp skin, the melting fat, the tender meat. And the cooking process generates a heckuva sauce. Tendon is more one dimensional.

Although I know that you are going to invent a slow cooked then crusted and deep fried tendon dish, most likely involving bacon and an exhaust manifold. Then tendon could, indeed, challenge the might porkius bellisimo.

Other foods that could use your help, if I may suggest, are tripe, pig's feet, pig faces, and sea cucumber. Oh, fish heads too. These are all things that other cultures love but which need a makeover to make it in America.

Someday, we'll see pig's face pizza.

You'll be hard pressed to find a part of the bovine that I haven't eaten, LOL, although I think maybe not the "pizzle". Then again, maybe, I don't know what all went into Grandma's beef stock and she seldom wasted a morsel.

I really don't care for tendon, though, it has that gelatinous texture and leaves a film in my mouth that I don't like. So does Cap'n Crunch, go figure. I wonder if there is beef tendon in that? Although I have to admit that I seldom have the nerve to disagree with Anthony Bourdain, LOL.

My Aunt Yoshika used to make stock from the fish heads and I thought that was weird when I was a kid, now I know that it's absolutely normal. I wish I had paid more attention to her cooking, she could have taught me many things, I think.

I am glad you enjoy the tendons, though. I believe if an animal gives its life for our sustenance, we should use every part of it and waste nothing. To do otherwise would be disrespectful. Other cultures are much better at it than we are, whether for financial reasons or otherwise, but the end result is that others use parts like the cheeks, the tendons, etc., that we don't. Heck, I remember when we couldn't give away "ox-tail", it was the farmer's cut. Now it's amazing what they want for the stuff.

Annie

I found a Mexican market, out in Beaverton, where they don't speak English, the meat signs are all in Spanish, etc. They have great-looking pork and beef even cheaper (!) than the Asian market. Including oxtail. My new exploration project. I'm gonna learn food Spanish!

Posted by foodonastump "Interesting discussion. I'm having a hard time with the economics. American humans pay $2.50/lb. It's fed to American dogs at $10/lb after some processing. Is the processing so expensive as to warrant selling it raw for a quarter of the price? And what about the "nearly two billion people," how much do they have to pay for this "delicacy" to keep it out of our dogs' mouths?"

FOAS, interesting topic, but I have no idea how we do business. Do we sell beef parts to China to earn income and get us out from this dire economic nightmare? Or is it more important to keep our canine population well fed? The Brazilians and Argentineans do things differently and they are enjoying huge economic success selling to China.

John, you have given me lots of great ideas for gastronomic explorations. But before I make pig�s face pizza, I will try Alexa�s idea first; I will have to come up a recipe for "sizzling Pizzles"

Annie, Many beef parts are not exotic anymore, beef cheeks, tongue, heart, ear, tripe, at least in NY area. We have so many ethnic groups here and adventurous restaurants. I agree, our wasteful habit of throwing away many delicious, nutritious animal parts needs to change.

dcarch

I'm sure if it were more profitable to sell beef scraps to China than to make dog food with it, that's exactly what we'd be doing.

Posted by foodonastump "I'm sure if it were more profitable to sell beef scraps to China than to make dog food with it, that's exactly what we'd be doing."

Unfortunately I have to agree with you. There lies one of the causes of our chronic economic tribulations.

" I'm sure if it were more profitable to sell (xxxxxxxxx insert item here) to China than to xxxxxx xxxx xxxxx with it, that's exactly what we'd be doing."

dcarch

Dc: How much are Shark Steaks now ???

I remember my Uncle at the Jersey Shore fishing boats.

He would ask some of them; he knew, to save the Sharks for him.

They thought Sharks were poisonous and threw them back.
*****************

Maybe the price of Tendon will go up, when people realise
they are good people food rather than Dog Food.

If you eat too much of it can you get Tendonitis ???

LOU

Lou,

Shark steak is about $15.00 a lb.

I bought a pack of frozen shark steak a little while ago, it looked very good, then I discovered that it was shark chunks glued together to look like steak! :-(

For sure beef tendon will be popular and the price will go up soon, based on what I have read.

dcarch

DC:
Short Story.

When returning to the Firehouse, after a call about 2 am,
I asked the guys if they would like some Spaghetti.
They all responded loudly , YES !!!

My wife had cooked a large pot and was cooling.

There was the Mayor, Magistrate, Police Officers, etc ,
about 10 total.

I told them to give me about 15 minutes. I lived almost back to back with the firehouse.

Didn-t tell them it was Calamari Sauce.( Squid )
I took all the meat out before they came.

As they were eating, kept asking
" what kind of Sauce is this, it is great "
I would not tell them but one of the guys,
caught a tentacle , I missed and
started laughing.
He said " I know " but would not tell them.

The next week I told all of them.
Some of them said " Squid !!! I use that for Bait "

That was a long time ago, before Squid was a delicacy,
in our regular markets.

I converted them. They even got to eat Mussels Marinara and Spaghetti.

LOU