c/butchers

The day I stopped using a bandsaw for breaking down primals changed my workflow completely

So back in 2021 I was working at a shop in Portland and I kept fighting with my bandsaw blade wandering on these big beef rounds. One day the old timer who trained me 15 years ago came by and watched me fight with it for like 10 minutes. He just said "put the saw down and grab a scimitar" and I laughed at first. Then he showed me how he breaks down a whole forequarter with just a 10 inch knife and his technique was way faster and cleaner than my saw cuts. Now I only use the bandsaw for cutting through bone and I use a knife for everything else. It took me about 3 weeks to get comfortable with the knife work but now I can process a whole steer way faster than I ever could with the saw. Has anyone else made this switch or am I just behind the times?

That debate about hanging vs. aging beef got me thinking...

I overheard these two old timers at the Sioux Falls stockyard going at it about whether hanging a carcass for 21 days beats wet aging in a bag. One guy swore the flavor depth comes from airflow and the other said it's just a waste of space and moisture. I've only been in the trade about 5 years so I don't have a strong opinion yet. What do you all think, is dry aging worth the extra effort and shrinkage?

Finally broke 200 whole hogs processed in one season after 6 years behind the counter

Hit 201 pigs this past Saturday and I still don't know how we managed it with the same small crew and cooler space. Anyone else track a number like that in their shop and get surprised by it?

Unpopular opinion: dry aging bags are a waste of money

I ran a test last month comparing a $40 dry aging bag against just wrapping my prime rib in cheesecloth in the walk-in. The bagged one got a weird ammonia smell and lost way more weight to moisture. Am I missing something or is this just another gadget?

Had a chat with an old school butcher in Omaha that changed how I think about trimming fat

He said if you take off all the fat cap you're losing the flavor and the customer is paying for meat that cooks dry, and it hit me because I spent 10 years trimming everything down to the bone and nobody ever told me different until last Tuesday.

Remember when a side of beef came with more than just muscle?

Had a delivery last Tuesday that got me thinking. A whole steer came in from a local farm, and the fat cap on the rib section was a solid two inches. Reminded me of the beef my dad used to break down in the 90s. That extra marbling makes a huge difference in flavor, especially on a slow roast. Anyone else notice the fat content dropping over the years or is it just the suppliers I'm dealing with?

Shoutout to the customer who told me my lamb chops were cut too thick

I always thought thicker chops meant better presentation, you know? A guy came in last spring and said my 2 inch lamb chops were ruining his marinade penetration. I told him that's how the fancy restaurants do it, but he pushed back and asked me to try 1 inch next time. I laughed it off at first, but after a week of selling both sizes side by side, the thinner ones outsold the thick ones 3 to 1. Now I cut all my lamb chops at 1 inch and they cook way faster for home cooks. Has anyone else had a customer totally flip their method?

Question about dry aging vs wet aging in a small shop

I tried dry aging a couple of prime rib roasts for 35 days last month and the flavor was way deeper than the wet aged stuff I usually sell. Has anyone else made the switch in a smaller operation and found it worth the extra trim loss?

Finally nailed my lamb breakdown after 3 years in the trade

I used to hack through lamb shoulders like a madman, wasting so much meat. Then last month I watched Frank at Hometown Market in Portland break one down in under 4 minutes, clean as can be. Now I'm following the natural seams and my yield shot up by almost 15 percent. Anyone else have a moment where watching somebody changed how they handle a specific cut?

Hit 10,000 pounds of ground beef processed this morning and my hands are done

I just wrapped up grinding 10,000 pounds this week alone for the holiday rush. That number hit me harder than I expected because I never track totals like that. My forearms are screaming and my grinder plate needs a serious cleaning after every 500 pounds or so. The smell of fat and metal is stuck in my nose and I'm not sure I'll ever get it out. Did anyone else hit a weird milestone that made you stop and think about the volume of meat you push through?

Band saw blade snapped mid-shift yesterday

Was breaking down a 200 lb pork shoulder and the blade just let go, sent pieces flying across the cooler. Had to stop everything for 20 minutes to fish shrapnel out of the loin I just trimmed. Anyone else have a blade fail like that out of nowhere?

Just learned that USDA Prime only makes up about 2-3% of all beef graded in the US

Read it on the USDA website last night and honestly it blew my mind considering how much people ask for it at my shop. How do you guys handle customers who insist on Prime for everything when Choice would work just fine for stew meat or grinding?

Finally dropped $80 on a good boning knife and it changed my whole shift

Been using the same beat up Dexter for 3 years and figured it was fine. My buddy at the shop in Portland kept telling me to try a Victorinox Fibrox so I finally ordered one. First lamb breakdown with it cut my time by like 20 minutes easy. Anyone else stick with a cheap knife way too long before upgrading?

Switched from water bath to dry aging in my home fridge 3 years ago

I used to wet age every primal I bought, just vacuum seal and wait three weeks. Then I converted a mini fridge with a fan and humidity controller, and the difference in flavor concentration on a sirloin was night and day. Has anyone else made the switch and noticed their crust coming out better?

Picked a manual meat grinder over an electric one for my home setup and kinda regret it

So last month I decided to start grinding my own burger blends at home instead of buying pre-ground. I was torn between this $40 manual grinder from a local shop and a $150 electric one on Amazon. I thought "hey, I'm a butcher, I've got arm strength, how hard can it be?" Well after grinding about 8 pounds of chuck and brisket trim for a big cookout, my hand was cramping up something fierce. The manual one does a nice consistent grind actually, but my shoulder was sore for two days after. I still use it for small batches like 2 pounds or less, but for bigger jobs I'm thinking about selling it and grabbing that electric one. Anyone else gone manual and then switched to electric or vice versa?

TIL a good boning knife really does make that much difference

I used to think it was all hype, you know? I spent 3 years using the same $15 knife from the restaurant supply store, just sharpening it myself. Figured a pricier blade wouldn't change much for breaking down chickens and trimming fat. Then my buddy at the shop in Portland let me borrow his Victorinox Fibrox for a week. After the first cut through a whole pork shoulder I honestly felt a bit stupid. The control was better, I wasn't fighting the meat the whole time. I ended up buying one myself last Tuesday and it's night and day. Has anyone else been converted from a cheap knife to something a little nicer?

My band saw had a meltdown during a Saturday rush

I was breaking down a whole pork loin at the shop when the blade snapped and sent a chunk of fat flying into a customer's hair. Had to stop everything, apologize, and comp them a free rack of ribs while I spent 20 minutes swapping the blade. Anyone else have a tool fail at the worst possible moment?

Wasted $200 on a fancy bone saw and it couldn't cut through a pork shoulder

I bought this expensive bone saw from a catalog last month thinking it would make my life easier. Looked nice with the stainless steel blade and all. First job I used it on was breaking down a whole pig for some customers. Took me 20 minutes just to get through one shoulder blade and the blade kept binding up. Switched back to my old saw that I got for like $40 years ago and finished the rest in 5 minutes. Thing is sitting in my truck bed now just taking up space. Anyone else fall for that marketing hype on a tool that turned out to be junk?

TIL a sharpening steel can ruin your edge if you use it wrong

Used to run my knives across that steel 20 times before every shift, thinking it was sharpening them. Found out last month from a guy at Detroit Packing that I was actually rolling the edge over. He showed me how to use it right in two passes and now my steaks cut cleaner.

Almost ruined a whole side of beef with a dull knife last Tuesday

I was working on a full breakdown at the shop in Portland and my main boning knife just wasn't cutting right. I kept forcing it through the seams and ended up shredding a whole strip of the ribeye cap. Cost me about $30 in lost meat just on that one piece. Had to stop, sharpen everything, and start over on the next side. Now I check my edge every 30 minutes no matter what. Anyone else have a moment where a dull blade cost you real money?

Finally got my boning knife sharpening routine down after 6 years of fighting it

I used to just run my boning knife over a steel a few times and call it good. Then I'd wonder why I was fighting through silver skin and tearing up bellies on every hog. About 4 months ago I picked up a set of whetstones from a local shop in Raleigh and started doing a proper edge every Sunday night. Now I can break down a whole pig in under 45 minutes without fighting the blade. Anyone else switch from steel-only to stones and notice a huge difference in your cuts?

Just found out USDA yield grades are mostly based on fat thickness, not marbling

I always thought a steak with heavy marbling automatically graded higher, but I read a study from Oklahoma State that said yield grades mainly come from ribeye area and backfat. That means a lean cow with a big eye can beat a well-marbled one on paper for cutting yield. Has anyone else had customers get mad when they see the grade stamp and the steak looks different than what they expected?

Visited a whole animal butcher shop in Portland and nobody was breaking down primals

I was in Portland last weekend and stopped by this butcher shop that gets a lot of hype online. Walked in expecting to see someone breaking down a side of beef or at least trimming some lamb racks. Instead, everything was pre-cut and vacuum sealed, just like the grocery store down the street. The guy behind the counter even admitted they get most of their meat pre-portioned from a distributor. Is that normal for shops that call themselves 'whole animal' or did I just hit a bad example? What do you all consider the line between a real butcher shop and just a fancy meat market?

Just realized how much my knife skills changed after 3 months at a wholesale shop in Austin

Old timer told me to stop trimming steaks like my boss showed me

I mean I worked at this shop in Austin for 3 years where the head butcher wanted every ribeye trimmed down to almost nothing. He said customers want no fat at all. After I moved to a new place near Dallas, this 60 year old guy watched me for 5 minutes and said I was wasting good meat. He showed me how to leave a proper fat cap and the flavor difference is night and day. Has anyone else had to unlearn bad habits from a previous shop?