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Broke down 40 chickens at the shop before I noticed the joint trick | Butchers - Opinions Matter

Broke down 40 chickens at the shop before I noticed the joint trick

I been cutting chickens the same way for years. Just hacking through bone with my cleaver. Then this older guy named Pete from the next county over stopped by for some trim and watched me work. He asked why I was fighting the joint when the leg was practically begging to be popped out. Showed me in 10 seconds how to feel for the socket and separate it clean. No bone dust. No dulling my blade. Made me feel like an idiot but my wrist thanked me the next morning. Anybody else stuck in their ways for years before someone simple showed them a better move?

3 comments

3 Comments

tyler65mo ago

Oh man, I spent a whole summer building fence for my uncle the hard way, digging post holes with a shovel and a clamshell digger, sweating like a pig and hating every second of it. Then the neighbor kid, like 19 years old, rolls up with a two-man power auger and drills a hole in 30 seconds flat. Made me feel like I'd been trying to chop wood with a butter knife. My back was so mad at me for not asking around sooner. Now I'm that guy who'll try to do something complicated for two hours before someone's like "hey, have you tried just doing it the easy way?

ruby4505mo ago

My dad was the same way with everything, and honestly I kind of respect it. There's something to be said for knowing how to do stuff the hard way, even if you never actually have to do it that way again. Like, that auger is great until it breaks down or you're in a spot where you can't get a machine to, and then you're stuck. I've seen so many people who only know how to use the fancy tool and then they're totally helpless when something goes sideways. Not saying you gotta suffer for no reason, but there's a difference between being stubborn and being resourceful. Maybe it's just me but I think that summer of digging gave you a skill most people don't have anymore.

amy_murphy855mo ago

Gotta say this whole thing runs way deeper than just chicken joints or fence posts. It's like we get so locked into our routines we forget there's probably a hundred people out there who've already figured out a smoother way. I see it all the time with friends who'll struggle with a phone setting for ten minutes when a quick search would have solved it in two seconds. Pride or stubbornness or just not wanting to look dumb, I guess. Makes you wonder how much time we all waste just because we never ask or watch how someone else does it.