The day a customer asked me to cut a 'tenderloin' from a pork shoulder

Last week, a guy came into the shop and pointed at a whole pork shoulder. He said, 'I need a nice, lean tenderloin from that for a dinner party.' I had to stop and just look at him for a second. I told him straight, 'Sir, that's the wrong cut. The tenderloin is from the loin, not the shoulder. What you're looking at is for slow cooking.' He got all huffy and said his buddy told him any butcher could do it. I ended up showing him a real pork tenderloin from the case and explaining the muscle groups. It's basic stuff, but it seems like fewer people know where their meat comes from. How do you all handle it when someone is just plain wrong about a cut?

3 comments

3 Comments

henderson.brooke2mo ago

Honestly, I saw a cooking show where the host spent five minutes explaining the different pork cuts because of this exact mix-up. You just have to be patient and show them the right thing, like you did. Getting mad at them for not knowing doesn't help anyone.

wesley8012mo ago

Yeah, it's wild how worked up people get over stuff like that. I mean, @henderson.brooke is totally right, we all start somewhere. I'd rather watch a five minute pork cut lesson than listen to someone yell in a grocery store aisle. Some folks just need to take a breath, maybe they're hangry.

caseys522mo ago

Totally get what you're saying, wesley801. I used to be the person who would get so annoyed seeing someone confused in the meat section, like how do you not know this? But then my buddy, who grew up vegetarian, asked me to teach him how to pick a steak for his girlfriend's birthday dinner. Seeing him totally lost made it click for me. We all have gaps, and getting mad just makes people feel dumb. Helping out takes two seconds and actually feels good.