Had a customer teach me a new trick with lamb shoulder yesterday

This older guy came in around 4 PM, he wanted a bone-in lamb shoulder for a weekend roast. While I was wrapping it up he pointed at my knife and told me I should try cutting against the grain at a steeper angle for better tenderness. I thought I knew my stuff with lamb but I tried his tip on a test piece and man it really did make a difference. Has anyone else ever had a customer drop some weird but useful knowledge on them?

2 comments

2 Comments

eva_thompson101mo ago

Wow that's a really good one! @john_singh I gotta admit I was one of those people who never thought much about knife angle on lamb. I always just went straight down with the grain and figured that was fine. But after testing it on a cheap cut of shoulder last weekend I can totally feel the difference. The steeper cut makes the meat almost fall apart in your mouth way better than before. It's wild how something so small can change the whole texture like that.

john_singh1mo ago

Honestly that's a solid tip. My old man used to tell me the same thing about pork shoulder years ago. He said most people rush through cutting meat and don't respect the grain enough. I've noticed it helps a ton with tougher cuts like shoulder or chuck. The steeper angle basically shortens the muscle fibers even more which makes chewing way easier. I still think a lot of folks underestimate how much knife work matters for the final result.