Cubed/Diced meat?

[Kyle H.]

I'm in the middle of researching a chili recipe for a cookoff I'm hosting in a few weeks and I've come across several great recipes that all call for cubed/diced meat.

Now, in the past I've had a very tough time even dicing bacon, so I must ask how is it that most posters here come across cubed meat so easily? Do you do it yourself? If so, before or after cooking? Do you buy it already cubed or have your butcher do it for you?

If I have trouble dicing bacon, I can't imagine how hard it would be to dice multiple pounds of pork shoulder or tri-tip. Do I just need a new chefs knife? Help!

 

[K Kruger]

Yes, you do it yourself. It is not hard to do at all. The trick is to partially freeze the meat first--then use a sharp knife. It is the softness of raw meat that makes it tough to dice. Par-freezing firms it nicely, making dicing go pretty quickly.