Fabrication classes
OK, so since I couldn't find a butcher doing fabrication classes out here, I decided to ask my butcher if he would do them. He loved the idea, but he wants me to think of what the classes would teach.
Obvs there should be a class on how to fabricate a whole chicken, but what else should there be? What beef and pork? What would be your dream classes to get from a butcher?
Thanks all!
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14 Comments:
Sounds like a good idea, but what exactly do you mean by fabrication?
Ribster at 7:29PM on 01/02/09
@Ribster ~ the last chicken I "fabricated" was from legos.
izatryt at 9:31PM on 01/02/09
I grew up a few doors down from a grocery store that did quite a bit of meatcutting, and I saw enough of it that there's not a lot of mystery left. But honestly, there's not a whole lot of work with beef and pork that I can imagine doing at home. For one thing, I haven't got a meat saw. Yes, I've got a hacksaw that I can use, but I have no urge to cut through a lot of bone with that, and I have no urge to buy an electric saw for cutting t-bones at home..
While it might be interesting to take some classes, I don't see a whole lot of practical value in it. Even when I buy a whole lamb, it's cut and packaged to order. Most I ever do is maybe debone a leg.
As far as ckickens, besides cutting it into pieces or deboning it, what else would you want to learn?
dbcurrie at 12:33AM on 01/03/09
Fabrication is the culinary term for breaking down a carcass or a primal cut into cuts for service. When you quarter a chicken, that's fabrication. When you cut a tenderloin into a chateau briande and some filets, that's also fabrication.
thepictsie at 5:02AM on 01/03/09
I would like a hand on lesson on making a turdunken.
pjracz10 at 6:45AM on 01/03/09
may we have sawdust on the floor?
Shelleyanne at 8:32AM on 01/03/09
I used to cut my own meat from larger cuts years ago. My advise is this; if you type, sew, bake and cut your own meat you are likely to get carpal tunnel syndrome. Unless you feel this is something you have to do, don't.
Cutting meat is murder on your hands. If I want something special I call the butcher and order it. My days of meat cutting are over.
I am sure cutting meat in moderation is safe. I used to to do it weekly. I would buy a big cut and break it down at home. Not anymore for me.
Get some good knives and some good snips. Be kind to your hands, you only have one set.
JerzeeTomato at 9:22AM on 01/03/09
I'm with Jerzee on this. Not only carpal tunnel, but also "Arthur Itis" as the old joke goes, visit my hands every night. I'm 66 and did it with nursery work, cooking and at the computer. So, young ones, take care of your hands.
That is no reason however not to enjoy a good meat cutting or fabrication class. I think it's fascinating to learn how other people do their work even though I may not go out and actually do the same myself.
Blue Iris at 10:03AM on 01/03/09
Okay thanks for the definition. My dad was a butcher in the Navy during WW2 and my grand dad worked for a meat packing plant. So I have butchering in my DNA. All comes down to using the right knives and finding the joints.
Ribster at 12:54PM on 01/03/09
i leave it up to my boyfriend, who actually IS a meat cutter.
you should find one to date one too...lol.
i'm telling you-the pork tenderloin we enjoyed on new years day was delectable enough to keep me in love for another year! ;)
gastronomeg at 6:42PM on 01/03/09
Sectioning up a whole loin of steak or taking apart a section with loin, T-bones, etc., making a crown pork roast, preparing a duck confit, cutting up flanken-style ribs, and using trim for sausages and pates.
chascates at 10:38PM on 01/03/09
I'm terrible at identifying what part of a chicken is what...let alone cutting them off myself. I would LOVE to learn how to fabricate a chicken or any piece of meat for that matter. Great idea to ask your local butcher!
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 1:15PM on 01/05/09
what about Jacques Pepin's La Methode/ La Technique? they are both on my shelves and i think that there are photos and explanation for fabrication... I love the use of that term, think i'll tease my husband (master carpenter and wooden boat builder) when he gets home...
hobcat57 at 3:23PM on 01/05/09
Not that I'd even cut up a primal piece, I'd like to take the class just for the experience of seeing it done. I'd probably pay closest attention to how to identify all of the exotic (aka confusing) names attached to cuts of meats and learn where they come from, their qualities, their best uses and how best to prepare them (cooking method).
czken at 5:10AM on 01/07/09