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A customer asked me to cut a pork shoulder for a specific Filipino dish last week | Butchers - Free To Speak

A customer asked me to cut a pork shoulder for a specific Filipino dish last week

He explained his grandma's recipe needed the skin left on for crackling, but the meat cut into thin strips for adobo. I've been cutting shoulders the same way for years, mostly for pulled pork, and it made me think about how much we shape the meat for local food. How often do you guys get requests that make you change your usual cuts?

4 comments

4 Comments

laura_chen416mo ago

Oh man, that's so cool. I was just reading about how some butchers in my area are getting more requests for carne asada cuts from the shoulder instead of the usual skirt steak. It's wild how a specific dish can totally change how you look at a piece of meat. Makes you realize there's no one right way to cut anything.

irisowens6mo ago

Totally changes how you see the whole animal.

terry8356mo ago

Yeah that line about "no one right way to cut anything" really hits home, @laura_chen41. It's like once you see a cut used for something new, it unlocks a whole different way of thinking about the animal. That shoulder for carne asada is a perfect example, turning a cheaper, tougher piece into something special just by changing the approach. It makes you wonder how many other cuts we're all sleeping on because we just follow the usual rules. The best food always seems to come from breaking those old habits.

nelson.vera4mo ago

My local butcher told me they're selling out of pork sirloin now because people are using it for ramen instead of just roasts. It's the same idea, a cheap cut getting a new life because someone tried something different. I bet every region has those hidden gem cuts that just need the right cooking method to shine. What's the most surprising cut swap you've seen work really well?