gristle

/ˈgrɪsəl/

/ˈgrɪsəl/

Other forms: gristles

Gristle is a chewy, inedible part of meat. If there's too much gristle in your steak, you might send it back — or think seriously about becoming a vegetarian.

Gristle is an unpleasant surprise in a bite of meat, a fibrous bit you may end up spitting in your napkin. It makes sense you can't chew it, since gristle is a type of connective tissue that's mainly found in ligaments and doesn't break down when it's cooked. Skilled cooks can easily cut out any gristle before cooking meat. In Old English, gristle simply meant "cartilage."

Definitions of gristle

1. noun

   tough elastic tissue; mostly converted to bone in adults
   synonyms: cartilage

   types:

   meniscus, semilunar cartilage

   (anatomy) a disk of cartilage that serves as a cushion between the ends of bones that meet at a joint

   fibrocartilage

   cartilage that is largely composed of fibers like those in ordinary connective tissue

   hyaline cartilage

   translucent cartilage that is common in joints and the respiratory passages; forms most of the fetal skeleton

   arytaenoid, arytenoid, arytenoid cartilage

   either of two small cartilages at the back of the larynx to which the vocal folds are attached

   Adam's apple, thyroid cartilage

   the largest cartilage of the larynx

   type of:

   animal tissue

   the tissue in the bodies of animals