Saw a guy try to cut through a hip bone with a boning knife today

I've been a butcher for about 12 years now, started at a shop in Boise. This kid kept trying to saw through the socket joint with a thin blade instead of stepping up to a heavier cleaver or saw. It made a mess of the meat and it took him 20 minutes. When did people stop learning the right tool for the job around here?

3 comments

3 Comments

angela_allen534mo agoMost Upvoted

Exactly right. I had a kid in the back room last week trying to break down a chuck roast with a paring knife like it was some kind of magic trick. The blade slipped and he almost took off his thumb, meanwhile a proper breaking knife would have had it done in two minutes. People just don't respect basic kitchen tools anymore, they think one knife does everything and it drives me nuts.

the_oscar4mo ago

@angela_allen53 that paring knife story reminds me of a guy I knew who tried to open a coconut with a butter knife...

robert_smith362mo agoMost Upvoted

@the_oscar I gotta call you out a little on the coconut thing. A butter knife actually kinda works for cracking a coconut if you know the trick, you bang the seam against a counter edge first. But yeah, on the bone thing you're exactly right. That kid with the boning knife was asking for trouble. Hip bone is tough, dense, it needs a saw or a cleaver every time. You can't finesse your way through a joint, that's just asking for a bad cut or a ruined piece of meat. The kid I saw was lucky he didn't end up in the ER honestly.