Caught a rookie using a dull blade on a pork shoulder last Friday

I was working a catering event out in Greenville last weekend and one of the new guys started breaking down a whole shoulder with a knife that felt like a butter knife. He was pushing so hard his arm was shaking and the meat was just shredding instead of clean cutting. I handed him my sharpened 8-inch breaker and the difference was night and day. He goes "oh that's what it's supposed to feel like" after the first slice. It really made me think about how much we take sharp steel for granted in this trade. How often do you guys actually check your edges during a shift?

2 comments

2 Comments

parker_bailey14d ago

Man I've got a similar story from last month except it was the opposite situation. My buddy who's been doing this for like 15 years caught me using one of those cheap serrated blades on a brisket and he just stared at me for a solid five seconds before laughing his head off. He pulled out his own knife and the meat literally fell apart under its own weight I swear. Now I'm paranoid about my edge so I'll run it across a steel like three times every time I wrap something up. But here's the thing my stones at home get way more action than they used to because I started testing the blade on a tomato before every shift. Nothing tells you your edge is dead faster than watching a tomato get crushed under your knife instead of sliced clean.

eric_murphy3614d ago

You ever mess with a shun or one of those Japanese knives? I read somewhere they hold an edge forever but you gotta be careful cause they chip easier. Your tomato trick makes me think you'd prob love one of those.