Aussie Ladies

[dorothyinAus]

After I fought for nearly an hour to get the fat cap off a pork loin roast, I began to wonder. Do you know if it's possible to get roasts cleaned at the point of purchase? I doubt I could get it done at Woolies or Coles, but do you think it would be possible at a butcher shop?

DH tells me people here love the fat/crackling from a pork roast or a beef roast. I'm not one of those people. All I see is an inch or two of rendered fat when I open up the slow cooker. I'm doing barbeque pulled pork for dinner tomorrow and had I thought about it before I bought the roast I would have asked then. But for future reference, does anyone know if it's possible to get a roast trimmed/cleaned to US preferences at a butchers?

[lolo]

Did you try to take the fat off before cooking?

[CakeLover]

I don't know. I would imagine so. Butchers seem more customer friendly than the meat department at the supermarkets. Most of the butchers we've gone to have always given us pointers or tips when we buy meat and ask questions.

[allibally]

Where's Knitty!?

Lmao. Sorry I have no idea. I hate fat on my meat.

[americaninoz]

I don't know about roasts, but I buy pork loins from Coles and they don't have any fat on them

[bail229]

I'm sure if you asked they would do it. Although your dh is right. Everyone here seems to love pork crackling so they may give you a funny look! But it doesn't hurt to ask!

[BluegirlinOz]

I don't see why a butcher wouldn't trim the fat if you asked and I completely understand that the fat would get gross in a slow cooker. But yeah, everybody here LOVES cracklin.

[wise_rita]

I get mine at Woolies and they always require a good deal of slicing and dicing before it's crockpot ready.

It doesn't bother me too much but given the choice I'd prefer one without it already, especially so I wouldn't have to pay for the unusable part in the weight pricing.

[aMrsin09]

I'm sure if you bought it at a butcher and asked them to trim it, the roast would be weighed and priced first and THEN trimmed.

[dorothyinAus]

I don't mind having it weighed and then trimmed so much as having to do the work myself. I'm just no good at in-home butchering. My knife skills suck big time. Trying to get the fat cap off the pork roast I stabbed myself twice and cut a gash in my countertop -- and ended up getting in a fight with DH, who was trying to be helpful.

All in all, paying for the fat and then having them trim it off would be so much easier. Hmm, now I'm wondering if the butchers will break down chicken for me...I miss being able to buy a whole chicken cut up.

[aMrsin09]

H has scary knife skills, but if I need it before he gets home, my butcher will cut up the chicken.

I am pretty sure I'm going to have to buy my own pig in order to get American cut ribs and bacon.,

[dorothyinAus]

May 13, 2012 18:41:27 GMT -5 aMrsin09 said:

H has scary knife skills, but if I need it before he gets home, my butcher will cut up the chicken.

I am pretty sure I'm going to have to buy my own pig in order to get American cut ribs and bacon.,

Somewhere my mother sent me a recipe for home-smoked American-style bacon using pork belly. I didn't keep it as bacon is one of those things I can live without. (I know, I know...it's unAmerican to not like bacon on everything.) Can't help with ribs, we only ever had boneless ones. Mom never used meat on the bone if she could avoid it. Truthfully, I can ham bones for seasoning beans for beans and rice were the only bone-in meat we ever had.

[BluegirlinOz]

Bacon is actually one of the things I like better here. So much less fat and so much flavor!

[knitty]

You can ask a butcher to do anything at all. They'll bone things for you, wrap things so they roast better, slice things like for shabu shabu or for chops or for stew, cut a chicken into pieces. They also give great cooking advice as well.

I miss butchers.