For example, we bought a large box of salmon fillets and they are all slightly different size, but weigh the same. Or if you go to a restaurant and order a 8 oz steak? I can’t image they cut it larger and then trim down to size. So how could they weigh it before it’s cut?
/r/ExplainLikeImFive
In: Technology
It is a combination of two things:
1. Pre cut primals;
2. Knowledge.
Primals are the large sections of the animal where meat cutters cut steaks. A T-Bone, for example, comes from the shirt rib primal.
After that, it is a question of knowing how thick something needs to be. A 16 oz. Porterhouse, again, as example, is about one to one and a half inches thick, depending on the size of the filet.
My guess is practice and time. Im not a butcher. But while working in a resturant i got to the point to where i was getting my potion sizes for meats exact without measuring em.
By being good at it, and having an acceptable range of sizes. No one, for instance, is going to complain (or even know) if their steak was 8.3 oz instead of 8.0 oz.
Most steaks come from larger cuts, which are relatively uniform along their length. Cutting consistent sizes is mostly a matter of cutting consistently-thick slices. You cut a steak, weigh it, and if it’s too big or small, you cut the next one a little thicker or thinner accordingly. Then rinse and repeat.
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