Old timer at the shop told me to chill on the trimming

I used to cut off every bit of silver skin and fat from pork shoulders, but this guy with 40 years experience said I was wasting meat and flavor. He showed me leaving a thin fat cap on helps keep the roast moist during smoke, so I stopped being so anal about it and my customers actually prefer it now. Anyone else get a tip that went completely against what they thought was right?

3 comments

3 Comments

elliotm571mo ago

Learned that lesson the hard way with brisket, used to trim it down to almost nothing and wondered why it came out dry. Old wisdom usually beats new perfection every time.

the_jamie17d ago

Old wisdom usually beats new perfection" is a good line, and it hits close to home. A buddy of mine tried to do the whole super thin trim on a pork shoulder for his first competition and ended up with what he called "sawdust on a plate." He spent the next six months following his granddad's method of leaving a fat cap the size of your thumb and never had a dry cook since. Sometimes you just gotta trust the people who've been doing it since before the internet told you otherwise. What's the one cut of meat you still haven't gotten right no matter what you try?

drewr151mo ago

4 roasts in and I still trim pretty heavy on the fat cap honestly. Depends on the cook and how much time you have to babysit it. Maybe the old timer's right for his setup but yours might need a different approach.