My pork shoulder trim was a mess until I saw a kid's drawing

So I've been trimming pork shoulders for, like, five years, thinking I was doing it right. I'd just go at it, taking off what looked like extra fat and silver skin. Then last month, my niece brings her school project to the shop, a drawing of a pig with all the muscles labeled. She points at the shoulder and goes, 'Uncle Kim, why is this part so bumpy?' I looked at my trim and then at her drawing. The muscle groups were totally clear. I was cutting across them, not with them, making the meat look ragged and losing good bits. I felt so silly. A six-year-old's art class taught me more than my old boss did. Anyone else have a moment where something basic just clicked way later?

3 comments

3 Comments

elizabeth_hunt2mo ago

My first sous vide cook was a disaster because I didn't get the bag right. I spent an hour on a steak, pulled it out, and it was basically boiled. I was so mad I almost quit. Then I watched a YouTube short where a guy just smoothed the bag flat against the counter before sealing it. That simple push to get all the air out was the whole trick. It's wild how the most basic step, the one they assume you know, is what wrecks everything.

olivia_lewis2mo ago

The one they assume you know" is so real. I did the exact same thing with chicken, it was floating and everything. Felt like such a waste.

the_wade1mo ago

I used to trim my pork shoulder like a block of cheese until a cooking show host pointed out the muscle seams.