Had a whole beef tenderloin go sideways on me yesterday

I was trimming a 12 pound tenderloin for a customer's holiday order and my new boning knife caught the silver skin wrong. Sliced clean through the side and turned what should have been a clean roast into a mess of weird strips. I ended up cutting it into 8 ounce steaks instead and called the customer to explain. She actually preferred the steaks for her party, so it worked out okay. Has anyone else had a bad cut force you to totally change your game plan mid-order?

3 comments

3 Comments

lee84727d ago

That's rough man, sorry about your tenderloin. Same thing happened to me with a lamb leg I was trimming for Easter. My knife snagged on the membrane and I carved a weird flap into the thick part of the meat. @wren638 is right about those accidents turning out better though. I just cut the whole thing into chops and did a quick rosemary garlic sear. Family said it was the best lamb I've ever made. It's funny how a slip up can make you think outside the box like that.

riley_wood8427d ago

Oh gosh, I have to disagree a little bit here. I think sometimes a slip up really is just a slip up, and you end up with a mess you can't fully fix. I've had a few of those where the "creative solution" still didn't save the meal. @wren638 maybe just got lucky that one time.

wren63827d ago

Honestly, that exact thing happened to me last month with a pork loin I was breaking down for a cookout. My chef knife slipped on the fat cap and I ended up with a bunch of jagged chunks instead of nice roasts. I just rolled with it, cubed everything up for kebabs, and called it a win. The guests went nuts for them with a sweet chili glaze, so nobody cared about the original plan. Ngl, sometimes the "mess up" turns out better than what you were aiming for. It's funny how the kitchen forces you to get creative when things go sideways.