The great 'silverskin is just fat' debate at the county fair

I was judging the beef cutting competition at the Clark County Fair last weekend, and I swear half the contestants were leaving the silverskin on their tenderloins, calling it 'marbling'. It's not fat, people, it's connective tissue that turns into shoe leather when you cook it. I had to explain to a guy from a big box store that his 'perfectly trimmed' $75 roast was about 20% tougher than it needed to be. How do you even get certified without knowing that basic cut?

3 comments

3 Comments

taylor9292mo ago

Ever wonder if some judges don't know the difference either? I've seen scoring sheets that just say "trim" without any real detail, so maybe the problem starts higher up. That whole system needs a clearer rulebook.

caleb_bell2mo ago

Remember when my buddy entered a local steak competition? He lost points for "over-trimming" because the judge thought his cleaned tenderloin looked too small. The judge literally told him he should have left more of the "good fat" on, pointing right at the silverskin. My friend was too shocked to argue.

jesse841mo ago

But maybe the judge had a point? If everyone else left some fat on, then trimming it all off could look wrong next to theirs. Sometimes the rules are about how it looks on the table, not just the cut itself.