Crusty meats are a bit rough on the edge.
Would you use a yanagiba for all slicing jobs, or does it really only make sense for fish?
I understand sujihikis are usually preferred as all-rounders, but I'd like to try single-bevels.
from my experience, a good yanagi is just that: a sashimi knife. suji is a good all rounder for sure.. you can cut sushi rolls, prep vegetables, even prep some smaller fish like saba if needed.. but when you go from cutting sashimi with a suji vs a yanagi, the difference is night and day- yanagi wins every time. that being said, using a yanagi for maki rolls and other prep, and you'll go right back to the suji/gyuto
I've been experimenting with my yanagiba as a general purpose slicer. I just sliced through a smoked brisket, and found it useful. It's a right-handed yanagiba. So, the real trouble I had was slicing with my right hand, while holding the meat with my left, where the slice fell to the left, and the meat to be sliced was to the right. I had to cross my hands over. Raw fish is heavy and grippy enough to accomodate the normal way these knives are used: slice falls to the left onto or guided by your left hand, where the rest of the fish is immobile to your right, should you be slicing with your right hand. Does this make sense? Essentially, using the yanagi to slice the brisket as I would a piece of salmon would have the blade pulling the brisket along with the blade. I had to nail it down by reaching over with my left hand. A sujihiki would eliminate this problem, as I would slice with my right, and hold the bulk of the meat to the left, while the slices fell to the right. Also, the yanagi performs best when the width of the item cut is less than a third of the lenght of the blade, so you have plenty of blade to draw while pushing down slightly to complete the slice. The brisket was wide, so caused me to have to lift my 270mm yanagi up, forward, and back again. This is a bunch of words that may sound confusing, but you'll know instantly when you try it.
I never worried much about cutting into the meat, as long as the crust, if any, wasn't too hard. I'd console myself with breaking out the stones for a pleasureable sharpening session on my JNats. I definitley avoid bones, though.
I've had the most success with cooked boneless chicken, cooked pork tenderloin, brisket, hanger steak.
Cheers,
Jack
Totally agree along time ago used suji's to cut sashimi,when I got my first Yanagi it was much superior for sashimi & sushi topping,hardly ever used sugi's again. For Maki rolls,inside out rolls,thin carbon lazor gyuto rule IMO.
Now I am retired can't give up my yanagi completely used a smaller 240 as utility knife,had to put a micro bevel as the edge would suffer.It turned a dark patina because I was cutting all sorts of stuff wt. it.I recently sold my beloved Suisin 270 white steel to a coworker who is cutting all the fish these days.At least it is getting used again.
Jack,
Why not just hold the brisket with your left hand cut with the yanagiba so slices come off to the right? I.E., how you do it with your suji.
Edit: I know I'm missing something here I'm just not sure what.
yeah... yanagi for anything other than sashimi is sort of like taking a ferrari for a test drive in a school zone.. no point and probably just end up hurting something/someone.. i've been considering a suisin.. you talking about a gyuto? i'm considering something like that.. or just a sugimoto and then splurge on a del ealy.. those things are the sex
That is a good question, especially since I'm using the yanagi for something it's not meant to be used for anyway. But it is my understanding, based on observation, that the hollow side is supposed to face the slice to the left on a right-handed yanagi, while the bevel side faces the thing being sliced. I've never seen anyone using a right-handed yanagi with the hollow side facing the thing sliced, while the bevel faces the right where the slices fall away. I was constrained by this. I don't have this problem with smaller things like pork tenderloin and chicken -- those I can slice pretty much like sashimi. I'll try it the other way, and see what happens. Of course, it makes so much sense and is so obvious, I'll likely feel pretty stupid when it works perfectly.
Cheers,
Jack
[video=youtube;CKnhOGc68YY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKnhOGc68YY[/video]
Well, there you have it. Those videos are great. They just prove my theory: Jack, you don't know jack.
Cheers
Jack
Fantastic find! Looks like they have their own youtube channel...I can see what I'm going to "waste" a few hours on this weekend
did i never post the videos here?
Well, there you have it. Those videos are great. They just prove my theory: Jack, you don't know jack.
Cheers,
Jack
whoops... my bad. Sorry about that. Hopefully people here find them helpful. I'll put together a post with all of the videos in it in just a bit...
A yanagi is not just for sashimi. It's the most effective knife to skin fish I've ever used. I've seen itused in Japan for this purpose, and also seen Japanese fish cutting books that show it being used to fillet certain fish.
yeah... yanagi for anything other than sashimi is sort of like taking a ferrari for a test drive in a school zone.. no point and probably just end up hurting something/someone.. i've been considering a suisin.. you talking about a gyuto? i'm considering something like that.. or just a sugimoto and then splurge on a del ealy.. those things are the sex
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