c/butchers

A quick chat with a rancher at the Boise farmers market changed how I handle lamb

I was picking up a couple of spring lambs from a small farm's stand about six months ago, just making small talk. The rancher asked me how I was breaking them down, and I told him my usual method. He said, 'Try hanging the whole carcass for a full 14 days in your cooler before you even touch it with a saw.' I was skeptical because of space, but I tried it on just one. The difference in tenderness and flavor was night and day, especially in the leg and shoulder. Now I always budget that extra time if I can. Has anyone else found a simple change like that made a big difference in your end product?

The beef chuck roll I get now is nothing like the ones I cut in '98

Back then, the marbling was consistent and the muscle structure was tighter, probably from different feeding practices. Anyone else notice the grain getting looser on certain primals over the past couple decades?

My old boss in Tampa told me to always cut pork shoulder with the grain for 'better texture' and I believed him for years.

I finally tried cutting against the grain on a 12-pound shoulder last month and the difference in tenderness was huge (like, no knife needed huge). Now I feel like I wasted a ton of good meat following his advice. Anyone else get stuck on a bad cutting tip for way too long?

Saw a shop in Greenville using the same steel for breaking down beef and poultry

Walked in to pick up an order and watched a guy go from a pork shoulder to a chicken breast without even wiping his blade. The steel had visible fat and grime from the pork. Cross contamination risk is huge, and it's a basic thing. Anyone else run into shops cutting corners on their steels?

Saw a butcher in Austin using a different way to hang a side of beef

I was at a small shop in Austin last month, and the butcher there had the whole side hung from the aitch bone with a single hook, not the usual two-point setup. He said it lets the shoulder drop more naturally for easier seam work. I tried it back at my shop and it saved me maybe 15 minutes on breaking down a side. Has anyone else seen this method or have a different hanging trick?

Pro tip: Saw a shop in Denver using a band saw for all their primal cuts

They said it was faster, but I watched them go through three blades in a morning. The finish on the meat looked torn, not clean. Has anyone else tried this and found a way to make it work right?

Spent two hours trying to get a clean cut on a full pork belly for bacon

The fat kept tearing no matter how sharp I kept the knife. Turns out the belly was partially frozen in the middle from our walk-in being too cold. Had to let it temper for nearly an hour before I could finish the job cleanly. Anyone else run into this with their cooler settings?

Rant: A customer said my pork shoulder cuts were 'too pretty' and not rustic enough for real barbecue

The difference a proper boning knife made in my pork shoulder prep time

For years I used a cheap, flimsy knife from a general supply store. Last month, I finally invested in a proper 6-inch curved boning knife from a real supplier. Breaking down a case of pork shoulders used to take me almost 45 minutes of fighting with the bone and sinew. Yesterday, I did the same case in under 20 minutes with clean, smooth cuts. Has anyone else had a specific tool upgrade that cut their prep time in half?

Unpopular opinion: I'm seeing way more requests for single muscle cuts

Last week at my shop in Boise, three separate customers asked for a chuck eye steak pulled out whole. That never happened three years ago, when everyone just wanted the big roasts. Are you guys getting this too, or is it just my area?

Serious question, is it ever okay to use a boning knife for light breaking work?

I was talking to a new hire at the shop last week, a kid fresh from the trade school in Kansas City. He said his teacher told him a sharp 6-inch boning knife is fine for splitting a chicken or cutting through small rib joints if your breaking knife is being sharpened. I've always been taught to use the right tool for the job, no exceptions. But he made a good point about speed and not having to stop your flow. Has anyone else heard this or tried it?

I think the push for all-natural casings is a bit overblown

We switched from standard collagen to natural hog casings for our house brats about two years ago, and honestly, the customer feedback didn't change at all in our shop in Springfield. The cost went up nearly 30%, and the prep time doubled because of the extra soaking and handling. I get the appeal, but for a consistent product that holds up on the grill, I'm starting to think the premium collagen we used before was just fine. Has anyone else done a side-by-side and found the difference to be minimal for certain sausages?

Cut my 10,000th steak this morning and the number hit me harder than I expected.

It was a 16-ounce ribeye for a regular customer, and I realized I've been keeping a rough mental tally since I opened my shop in Lexington five years ago. That's a lot of muscle memory and trust from folks coming back for more. Has hitting a big personal count in your work ever made you stop and think about the craft?

Question about a conversation with a chef at the farmers market

He said my pork shoulder cuts were too uniform for his braise, that I should leave more 'character' in the seam fat. Has anyone else had a chef ask for less precision on a specific cut?

Just read a USDA report that said over 30% of ground beef samples had antibiotic-resistant bacteria

I found it in a food safety journal while looking up something else. It really makes you question the whole supply chain and what we're getting from some processors. Do you guys ever worry about this with your own sources?

Can we talk about the time a whole side of beef came in with the wrong tag?

Last Tuesday, we got a delivery labeled as prime rib, but the marbling was all wrong and the fat cap was way too thick. Had to stop the whole line for 45 minutes to sort it out with the supplier, which threw our whole prep schedule off. Anyone else had a mislabeled shipment mess up their day that bad?

My old boss in Denver told me to never sharpen my breaking knife past 20 degrees

I thought he was just being stubborn, you know, stuck in his ways. So about six months ago I started taking my main breaking knife to a sharpener who put a 15 degree edge on it, thinking it would cut cleaner. Big mistake. The edge was so thin it rolled over on the first beef rib primal I worked on, and I mean it folded like paper. Had to stop everything and re-profile it back to 20, which took me a solid hour I didn't have. The cut was a mess, and I lost maybe half a pound of good meat to ragged edges. He was right, that extra bit of steel makes all the difference for pushing through bone and cartilage. Has anyone else found a specific angle that works best for your heavy-duty knives?

Saw a guy in Kansas City break down a whole hog without touching a band saw

Showerthought: I tried dry-aging a brisket for 28 days in my old shop's cooler.

The flavor was incredible, but the yield loss was way more than I expected, almost 40%. Anyone have tips for managing that shrink better?

Question about a tough pork shoulder seam

I had a pork shoulder from a Berkshire cross that took me nearly 45 minutes to break down yesterday because of one stubborn seam. The connective tissue between the coppa and the picnic was just fused, and my boning knife kept slipping. I ended up using a small, stiff blade from my Victorinox set to slowly work it apart. Has anyone else run into a cut that just wouldn't separate cleanly?

Hit 500lbs of sausage made in a single weekend, which I never thought my little grinder could handle.

A customer asked me to cut a pork shoulder for a specific Filipino dish last week

He explained his grandma's recipe needed the skin left on for crackling, but the meat cut into thin strips for adobo. I've been cutting shoulders the same way for years, mostly for pulled pork, and it made me think about how much we shape the meat for local food. How often do you guys get requests that make you change your usual cuts?

Unpopular opinion: The new guys are so focused on speed they're ruining the texture of a basic pork shoulder.

I've seen three apprentices in the last month rush the seam separation with a knife instead of their hands, and you can feel the difference in the finished roast, so what's the oldest piece of advice you had to learn the hard way?

I thought those fancy Japanese whetstones were just hype

My boss got a Shapton 1000 grit stone for the shop and I rolled my eyes, but after sharpening my boning knife on it, the edge lasted through a whole 8-hour shift breaking down hogs. Has anyone else switched to a specific stone and been totally surprised?

I finally stopped using expensive butcher twine for trussing

Basic kitchen string holds just as well and costs less.