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?
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?
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?
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?
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?
a guy from Nebraska at the shop last month watched me for 30 seconds and said 'you're fighting the meat, not working with it', and that tipped me off.
I'm in Portland, been cutting meat 8 years now. Never had that many young folks come in asking for liver at once. They were making pate for some cooking class. Got me thinking maybe younger people are getting into organ meats again. Any other butchers seeing this where you are?
Had a 8AM order for 12 pork shoulders and 20 racks of ribs drop in Friday night, showed up at 5AM Saturday and crushed it without a helper, now I actually look forward to those solo mornings when it gets crazy.
Old Man Kowalski at the shop on Elm Street swore by it and I thought he was just being fussy (he was pretty cranky). Tried it last week grinding some pork shoulder and the fat stayed completely separate and didn't smear, made the best sausage I've had in ages. Anyone else got a weird tip from an old timer that actually works?
I was reading through some old USDA data from 2019 and it said the average steer loses almost 40% of its live weight just from dressing and chilling. That means if you buy a 800 lb steer, you're only getting maybe 480 lbs of actual carcass to work with. But here's where I'm torn - some old timers in my shop say the real loss is even higher once you trim fat and bone out for retail cuts. Others argue that modern breeding has made the yield better than those stats show. I don't know who's right, but it kinda makes me wonder how much we're actually paying for when we buy a whole animal. Has anyone else dug into the actual yield numbers and seen something different?
Picked up a cheap FoodSaver from Target for wrapping my subprimals and bulk meat packs. Worked great sealing up briskets and pork shoulders for the freezer. Then the heating strip just gave out last week, right when I had a whole front quarter to break down and store. Anyone else had luck with a specific brand that actually holds up to daily use?
Back in trade school, my instructor Mike told me salting meat early just draws out moisture and makes it dry. I followed his advice for 3 years until I tried dry brining a ribeye overnight on a whim. That steak came out better than anything I made in class. Now I salt most cuts at least 4 hours ahead, especially for the grill. Anyone else get bad advice from an early teacher?
I used to just cut primal and sell it right away, never really thought about aging. Then we got a dedicated dry age cooler at the shop about 8 months back. Tried a ribeye from a half aged loin at 30 days and one at a full 60 days last week. The 60 day one had so much more beefy flavor and the fat rendered way better in the pan. Anyone else notice a big jump after that 45 day mark on whole muscle cuts?
I tried one of those chamber-style sealers for the first time last week and it sucked ALL the moisture out of my steaks before I even noticed - turned 8 prime cuts into leather in under 3 minutes. Anyone else had a machine pull too hard of a vacuum on aged meat?
Was breaking down a half pig last Tuesday and my bandsaw kept binding and leaving ragged cuts. I spent almost 3 hours messing with the tension, the guides, even swapped the blade for a new one off the rack. Turned out the blade was on backwards, teeth pointing the wrong way. Felt like a total idiot when my coworker walked over and pointed it out in two seconds. Anybody else ever chase a simple problem for way too long before finding the obvious fix?
Had a guy drop off a buck at the shop last Tuesday that had been sitting in his truck bed since Saturday, and when I opened it up the smell almost cleared out the whole shop, has anyone else dealt with people who don't understand basic field care?
That stuck with me because I use my bandsaw for almost everything lamb related. Now I'm wondering if I been wasting product this whole time without realizing it.
Now I see guys pulling out a bandsaw for everything and I swear my hands remember the rhythm of the old hand saw way better than any machine could, does anyone else feel like we lost something when the electric stuff took over in the early 2000s?
Was watching a guy from New Zealand at a workshop last month and he flipped the loin over before starting. Tried it on my next batch of 12 racks and saved like 3 minutes each. Anyone else had a basic cut click way later than it should have?
I used to cut off every bit of silver skin and fat from pork shoulders, but this guy with 40 years experience said I was wasting meat and flavor. He showed me leaving a thin fat cap on helps keep the roast moist during smoke, so I stopped being so anal about it and my customers actually prefer it now. Anyone else get a tip that went completely against what they thought was right?
He was going at it from the short side instead of the long side and it turned a perfect roast into a mess of short, chewy steaks, has anyone else had to stop a rookie mid-slice to save the meat?
I used to do all my primal breaks by hand with a bone saw and it was fine for years. Then we got a bandsaw in the shop and I finally tried it on a whole ribeye. Way less waste, way cleaner edges. Has anyone else made that switch and had a hard time going back?
I was breaking down a case of pork shoulders for the weekend special and hit something hard near the blade bone area. Turned out it was the scapula cartilage that had calcified, never seen it that big before. I spent 20 minutes on my phone checking old butcher forums and learned it's pretty common in older sows. Has anyone else run into that weird hard chunk and thought it was a mistake?
I dry-aged a whole ribeye primal for 35 days back in March at my shop in Austin. Came out perfect, great crust and flavor. But last week I tried pushing 45 days on a strip loin and lost 40% of it to trim and funk. Customers complained it tasted like blue cheese gone wrong. I think the sweet spot is closer to 28 days max for most cuts. What's your call on the limit before it goes from gourmet to garbage?