An overlooked step in processing breasts from your harvested fowl is removing the tendons from their “tenderloins.” The “tenderloins” are the strips of meat that are located between the breast meat and breastplate and run somewhat parallel with the bird’s spine. They will appear as if they are attached to the underside of the breasts if you are thorough in scalloping the breast meat off the breastplate with the tip of your knife. They can be easily separated from the breast itself once both are removed from the carcass.
However, what many folks don’t realize is that there is another simple step that is necessary and contributes to your tenderloin staying tender and not shrinking during cooking. This step is to remove the TENDON that runs the length of the tenderloin. When heated even at low temperatures, this tendon will shrink considerably more than the adjoining meat and “scrunch up” the surrounding tenderloin. I’ve seen this occur no matter what meal I am cooking including when smoking goose breasts at low temperatures for my famous “Twice-smoked Goose Jerky.” So, I’m encouraging you to take a stab at this simple but brief step the next time you process one of your harvests. Doing so will ensure your tenderloins live up to their name and neither you nor your dinner guests will need to work around them while enjoying the meal you have created. And by the way, I literally mean take a stab since you will begin with the tip of your filet or boning knife to accomplish this task.
As for when I perform this step, it can be done when you return home from a hunt and are processing your harvests or just prior to cooking the meat during meal preparation. I prefer to perform the task when processing my harvests, so the tenderloins are ready to be cooked when I pull them from the freezer.
In addition to your knife, you will need a clean cutting board to complete this task, which takes only seconds per tenderloin. The tendon can be identified from the surrounding meat because it is a contrasting color. It is typically some shade of white in upland birds and somewhat of an opaque, gray color in waterfowl. All or a portion of it should be visible from one side of the tendon. Flip the tendon over if you don’t see it and look for a contrasting line that runs parallel with the length of the tendon.
Once identified, grip the tendon or pinch it against the cutting board, position the tip of your knife next to your fingers, blade facing away, and work your knife along the tendon, separating it from the meat until you have reached the end of the tenderloin. The two should now be separated. Discard the tendon and save the tenderloin.
For fowl that have the tendons embedded a little deeper into their tenderloins, you may need to work the tip along one or both sides of the tendon, the entire length of the loin to remove it.
I hope you find this tutorial and the accompanying video to be somewhat informative and this information makes a positive difference in your dining experience. Similar tips and my “7 keys to the game” that will guide you in processing all of your wild game harvests so the meat is tender and delicious in every meal, can be found in the first three chapters of my book, “Changing The Game.” Until then, you can hone your skills on removing the tendons from fowl tenderloins as described above.
