Removing silverskin?

[Pydpiper]

Wife had a hard time eating her steak tonight, said she had a battle with the silver skin before cooking, any way I can make that any easier, or is it one of those tedious tasks?

[Normous]

I use a fillet knife to remove as much as possible during the butcheing process. The backstraps are easiest to fillet I find.

[ger34]

agreed..Lisa and I processed our first deer this year...a Normark filletting knife worked real slick....just work the knife down to the skin at one end (or poke it through across the grain between the meat and the membrane) slight downwards pressure on the knife...and push the knife away from you...more important to get the membrane off where it attaches...it will be slightly thicker and whiter .....

Good luck!!

[Grizzly Adam]

... or is it one of those tedious tasks?

It's one of those tedious tasks, Pyd!

The filet knife advice is right on. I prefer to work it off just like I slice a filet from fish skin; it seems to me you lose less meat if you leave the silverskin down and cut against a hard surface ... but this method takes more practice.

Practice is the key, but in dressing deer meat, as in all things, practice tends toward perfection.

[GA.crossbowhunt]

well i must be the real odd ball here. no fllet for me. what i like to use is a very sharp pearing knife. i have better control over it than the filet knife. also get your self a meat tenderriser either the malet typye or the one that has all the little blades in it.

[Grizzly Adam]

Well, I must be the real odd ball here.

It's OK, man ... you fit in real good around here!

[Pydpiper]

Fair enough.. Now is this done at the time of processing or prior to preparation?

[Daniele]

Use a boning knife ( somewhat like a fillet knife but the shape looks like one of those knives that a butcher has used for a hundred years and touched it up with a honing steel for ever), work it away from you with the blade slightly angled upwards, you will have to get a knack for it and it's usual to repeat the procedure to get rid of it all over the same area.
This is done either at processing time or just before cooking, your call.

[awshucks]

Either, but imo, it's easier to do the 'fillet' method on big pieces. I do that w/ razor sharp fillet knife [thanks, Don] holding the silver skin up and working the blade between it and the meat. Smaller pieces silver side down, like the fish deal.

Any way you cut it, [no pun intended] it's a pain in the azz.

[Grizzly Adam]

Any way you cut it, [no pun intended] it's a pain in the azz.

Boy, you got that right, 'Shucks.

[VixChix]

Ugh. It's a real PITA.

Like your wife, I don't enjoy doing a pile of cleaning before cooking it - it makes me want to skip dinner. That motivated me when we were butchering. As most have said here - use a good filet knife. I found that I could only clean so much in the pre-freezer butchering part or it would have taken days to get it all packed. When I take a piece out and thaw it, I'll do the last few finicky little bits then. It's a bit easier when it's still a bit frozen too.

[Sopchoppy]

Razor sharp filet knife is the way to go. The more of it you remove the better the end product will be. It's worth the time to get it all off.

[hikerman]

I use the fillet knife. But haven't tried it with the silver down. Good idea.
I do it when butchering, get all the work out of the way.

[mikej]

fillet knife for me too the same as doing a fish

[Normous]

Fair enough.. Now is this done at the time of processing or prior to preparation?

Processing. It is easier before the meat is frozen then thawed.