Gouging my sirloins for years before a customer spoke up

I had been trimming sirloin caps for about 5 years at my shop in Austin and always left a big gouge right where the cap meets the eye. A regular named Dave finally asked me why I was cutting away so much good meat. He showed me you just slide the knife flat along the fat seam instead of stabbing in. I checked my waste bin and realized I was throwing away almost 2 pounds a week. Anybody else have a customer point out a bad habit you didn't even know you had?

2 comments

2 Comments

wesleyburns1mo ago

Had a buddy who worked at a butcher shop up in Denver for years... he always cut his filets with the grain by accident because that's how his first boss taught him. A customer finally pointed it out one day and he felt like a complete idiot. He switched to cutting against the grain and said the steaks looked way better and cooked more even. Waste bin probably told a story too but he never measured it. Funny how you can do something wrong for so long without anyone saying anything.

the_michael1mo ago

Totally agree with @wesleyburns that its wild how long bad habits can stick around without anyone saying nothing. I had a similar thing happen when i was learning to sharpen knives, i was using way too much pressure and grinding the edge down for years until a chef friend just casually told me to let the stone do the work. Felt like a total moron but once you fix it you cant go back. Bet your buddys steaks turned out way better after that one customer actually spoke up.