Being a nation of proud BBQers, it's fair to say lots of Kiwis reckon they know their stuff when handling meat (sorry, had to be done).
Truth be told, it's hard to really get a sense of your skills until you compare it to the pros, and that's just what we did last week.
The New Zealand Butchery Team - better known as ‘The Hellers Sharp Blacks’ - dropped by The Rock to teach us their expert tips and tricks for cutting meat.
Soon, they’ll be getting their passports stamped to fly to Paris to compete at the World Butchers’ Challenge (WBC), which yes, is a thing.
Watching the Sharp Blacks at work, using their very own customised victory knives, certified their status as masters of their craft.
Turns out, whole chooks can be cooked in more ways than just shoving the whole thing in the oven and calling it a ‘Sunday roast’. We were shown how to butterfly a chook and how to best cut wings, thighs, cutlets, breasts and boneless thighs.
Sharp Blacks Tip: Whenever you’re cutting chicken, it should never be forceable. If it’s hard to cut, you’re likely cutting in the wrong place.
A whole leg of lamb looked intimidating, but they effortlessly showed us how to cut it best for steaks, and how to butterfly it. They demonstrated why they are the best of the best when they cut the lamb at competition-pace. Safe to say, do NOT try that one at home.
A standout was the cutting of the ox heart, which was a bit out of the box.
Lastly, we were taught how to cut, score and tie a pork loin, which isn't as easy as it looks. One of the team showed us extra skill by tying it all with one continuous string.
“I turned away for ten seconds and it was done,” said Dunc.
Sharp Blacks Tip: If you don’t have a kitchen knife sharp enough for scoring, get a stanley knife - nice and thin!
Sharp Blacks comp knives are supplied by Victory Knives, and we were fortunate to also have Gareth Hughes, their managing director, in the house! He showed Jay and Dunc how to use and sharpen knives.
All the best to Riki Kerekere, Reuben Sharples, Dan Klink, Luka Young, Corey White, Cherise Redden, Samantha Weller and Brydon Heller at the big old WBC - make us proud!
