The customer who watched me bone out a pork shoulder and questioned everything
Had a guy in the shop last month, talked over my shoulder for 20 minutes while I worked a Boston butt. He kept saying I was leaving too much fat on, but I told him that cap keeps it moist on the smoker. He asked me to trim it all off anyway, paid for his cut, and I bet he still ate dry pork that Sunday. Anyone else get second-guessed by folks who never held a knife professionally?
It gets worse when they watch you do it and still think they know better. That fat cap is doing real work on a long smoke, and cutting it all off is like taking the lid off your grill halfway through. The guy paid for your work then gave you advice the whole time, which means he was never going to trust the result no matter what came off that smoker. What gets me is these same folks will go to a steakhouse and never once tell the chef how to season the ribeye. Next time just nod, trim it how they want, and let their dry Sunday dinner make your point for you.