Took me 5 years to realize I was trimming briskets backwards

So I've been a butcher at a small shop in Cleveland for about 6 years now. Last week my new hire, a kid fresh out of culinary school, watched me trim a brisket and goes "Hey, why are you starting from the flat end?" I told him that's how my old boss taught me. He pulls up a YouTube video from a guy in Texas who trims from the point end and suddenly it all clicked. Been doing it backwards this whole time - my yield is already way better after just switching that one thing. Has anyone else had a dumb little habit that took forever to break?

3 comments

3 Comments

uma68514d ago

Oh man, that's brutal but also kind of hilarious in a way. I've been in kitchens for years and I still catch myself doing stuff that's just wrong because that's how the first guy showed me. It's like once you build that muscle memory it's so hard to break it even when someone shows you a better way. Makes me wonder what other little things I'm doing backwards without even knowing it. What finally made you decide to actually try the new way?

rowanellis16d ago

Oh man, I feel your pain, that's such a frustrating thing to realize after so long.

jessicac2816d ago

I read a report last year that said over 40% of small businesses close within five years because of hidden fees like that. @rowanellis it sounds like you got hit with something similar, maybe a processing fee or a compliance cost that wasn't upfront. I heard about this one company that lost $15k just in chargebacks and penalty fees before they even realized what was happening. It's wild how these things add up and eat into your profit without warning. You really have to read the fine print twice, or even three times, on any contract these days.