Test #1, Butchery Class and a Full time job

Butchery was a class that almost everyone was looking forward to. We learned the primal cuts of meat, we learned how to cut a chicken 4 ways and how to fillet a round and a flat fish. We tried all different kinds of meat, and organ meat. I have had several types of organ meat before, but there were a few things I hadn't tried. All of my questions were answered in this class. Our Chef instructor, or Chef Sledge was a whiz at what he did. Cut up a whole pig? No problem. Remove silver skin from a whole tenderloin? Sure. Need that in 10 minutes? How about 5...

During the length of this class, I was going through money issues and had to pick up a job, fast. I called my favorite temp agency and got a warehouse job in 2 days working what I was told, a part time job. First day, I got to my new job, and when I said, "so I can work at 5pm to anywhere between 10 and 1am?"
Unfortunately, my trusty temp agency rep misinformed me and I worked the next 2 1/2 weeks from 5pm to 1:30 am. There were maybe 3 days that they let us out early, one of those days was my last day. I simply could not handle it and I had absolutely no time to study, but since good grades and attendance couldn't pay my bills, I had to make a very hard decision to fight for what I needed. I lost a tremendous amount of time with Jonathan, that I desperately tried to make up for on the weekends. It was a nightmare. But, I did end up learning what I needed to learn in school and taking off a day of work to get what I had to turn in on the last day done, and staying up until 1:30 to do it. Never again. It was a test, but I pushed it to the limit. When you break down and cry in the middle of the deep clean day at school and have to excuse yourself, you have to review your critical options.

Anyways, here''s a little of what I snapped pictures of in Meat and Seafood Identification and Fabrication class.......

Trussed chicken. Roast ready.

Chef S cutting up a primal of beef
Steak tasting day!! Tartar, Filet, Wet age NY, Dry age NY, Marinated Flank.

Boneless in 4 steps

Matt on leg #1 (Farm Raised from IA)
Chef Sledge in the middle
Connor on leg #2 (the Vegetarian)
Sawing a whole pig in half..

Nothing is gross anymore after this class.