c/butchers

The biggest change I saw after switching to a half-frozen cutting board

I been cutting meat for about 12 years now, mostly pork and beef for my small shop outside of Nashville. About 6 months ago I read somewhere that keeping your cutting board cold helps keep the meat from warming up too fast during breakdowns. So I started sticking my poly board in the freezer for 30 minutes before I start working. The difference is pretty wild. The fat stays firmer and I get way cleaner cuts on things like pork shoulder where it usually gets that smeary look. It also seems to slow down any bacteria growth since the meat surface stays cooler longer. Has anyone else tried this trick or do you think it is a waste of freezer space?

Took me 7 years to finally listen about scraping rib bones

A old timer at the Meat Conference in Kansas City told me I was leaving too much silver skin on my St. Louis racks. I thought he was just being picky until I tried it his way on a 50-rack order for a wedding. The difference in tenderness was night and day. Anyone else get stubborn about a small step and then kick yourself later?

Something an old timer told me about hanging beef changed how I do primals

Last week I was at a small locker plant out near Lincoln, Nebraska picking up a side of beef. An old butcher there, must have been 70, noticed I was rushing through breaking down a hindquarter. He told me to slow down and let the meat hang another 48 hours before I started cutting. Said I was losing yield by not letting the muscle relax after transport. I tried it with this last side and I swear I got an extra 4 pounds off the round alone. The cuts just felt cleaner and less fight in the blade. Has anyone else noticed a big difference from resting beef a couple extra days before breaking it down?

The wet aging trick I dismissed for 10 years finally proved me wrong

I always thought wet aging beef in cryovac was just a marketing gimmick. But after 3 months of testing ribeyes from the same supplier at my shop in Portland, I had to admit I was wrong. The difference in tenderness was clear after 21 days, and by 35 days the flavor was noticeably deeper. What finally convinced me was blind tasting with 4 other butchers, and 3 out of 4 picked the wet aged over fresh. Has anyone else here tried aging subprimals beyond the standard 14 days?

Wasted $80 on a cheap boning knife and regretted every cut

I grabbed a no-name boning knife from a discount kitchen supply store last month, thinking it would save me a few bucks. By the third pork shoulder, the blade chipped nasty and I spent twice as long fighting through joints instead of clean cuts. Anyone else been burned by a budget knife that just couldn't handle the daily grind?

Spent $400 on a digital meat thermometer that connects to my phone, but half the time it drops the Bluetooth signal while the roast is in the oven.

The app tells me the temp is holding steady at 130, but when I open the door and check with a cheap analog probe it reads 145, so now I'm back to using the old wired probe I got for 12 bucks at a restaurant supply store in Birmingham. Has anyone else had this issue with wireless probes dropping signal at the worst moments?

Finally got my blade sharpening routine down after months of fighting with it

I used to spend like 20 minutes per knife trying to get a good edge and it never lasted. Turns out I was using too coarse a stone and pressing way too hard. A old timer at the shop told me to back off the pressure and let the stone do the work, and my boning knife went through a whole pork loin yesterday without a single tear. Anyone else have a sharpening lightbulb moment that changed their whole day?

That Wednesday shift in 1999 when the whole town came in for a pig roast

Back in the late 90s, I worked at a shop outside Richmond where one Wednesday turned into pure chaos - every customer in a 10 mile radius wanted a whole hog for the weekend. I ended up breaking down 14 pigs that day by myself because my helper called in sick, and my hands ached for a week after. Has anyone else had one of those days where the walk-in just fills up with orders you can't say no to?

TIL a dull scimitar can make a shoulder clod take an extra 45 minutes

I was breaking down a whole chuck last Tuesday and hit a section near the shoulder clod that just would not separate cleanly. Thought it was my technique or the angle, so I kept fighting it for way too long. Finally stopped to touch up my knife on a 1000 grit stone and the whole thing finished in under 10 minutes. Anyone else ever waste that much time before realizing their edge was the problem?

I finally figured out why my old band saw keeps binding up

Last week I was breaking down a half steer and the blade kept wandering on me during the hindquarter cuts. A buddy of mine from the shop in Austin told me to check the tension pulley alignment and it was off by a hair. Has anyone else dealt with older equipment needing way more babying than the new stuff?

Noticed something weird with my boning knife after a week in a rental shop

I sharpened up my Victorinox like always last Monday and by Friday it felt dull again. Worked at a friend's shop in Portland for a week and their steel rods were way coarser than I'm used to. Anyone else find their edge goes quick when you're not using your own gear?

Had a Saturday that was so bad it almost made me quit the trade

Three weeks ago, I had a whole lamb come in that was just off. Smelled wrong right when I opened the cryovac, like old sweat and ammonia. Had to toss the whole thing, lost about $220 right there. Then a customer complained her pork chops were cut too thin, even though she asked for breakfast chops. By 2pm my bandsaw blade snapped and I had to wait an hour for the sharpening truck. Three things going wrong in one day. Anyone else ever have a shift where everything just fell apart?

Warning: I stopped trusting my gut on pork shoulder temps after a bad batch in July

I used to just go by feel and a quick poke with my thermometer, figured I had it down after 8 years. Then last month I had a whole case of shoulders come out dry and stringy, lost about $200 in product for a Saturday rush. Now I use a leave-in probe and log temps every hour during the stall, it's a pain but I haven't had a bad one since. Has anyone else had a batch go south just from relying on muscle memory?

Chat with an old-school butcher changed how I handle beef fat

Tbh I was at a shop talk in Philly last month and this retired guy named Sal was going on about how he never trims his ribeye caps. He said he leaves about a quarter inch of fat on every steak and lets the customer decide what to cut off. I always thought you had to trim it clean for presentation but after trying it on a few orders I swear the flavor stays way better. Plus I get less shrinkage on the grill which means happier customers. He also told me to render the trimmings separately for tallow instead of tossing them. Has anyone else tried leaving more fat on their cuts or am I just late to this?

Stumbled on a stat about whole animal utilization that surprised me

I was reading through some old industry newsletters from the 1970s the other night, kind of just killing time after a long day of breaking down primals. I came across a little fact that said back then the average butcher shop was using close to 98% of a beef carcass, meaning almost nothing went to waste. That really caught me off guard because I hear a lot of talk today about nose to tail but I figure most shops I know are happy if they hit 80% or so. My own little operation here in Richmond does okay with rendering fat and selling bones for stock, but I know I toss more trim than I should. The article mentioned how wartime rationing had trained a whole generation to be thrifty with every scrap, and that habit just carried over into the 70s. It got me wondering if anyone here has tried tracking their own yield numbers more carefully, maybe to see where the biggest losses are happening.

Tried dry aging a prime rib in my home fridge for 45 days. Here's what I learned.

I work at a small shop in Austin and we usually send our primals to a facility for dry aging. But I got curious and tried it at home with a cheap mini fridge and a USB fan for airflow. Wrapped it in cheesecloth and waited. Day 20 smelled fine. Day 30 it was like blue cheese and beef mixed. By day 45 the pellicle was thick and crusty. Trimmed off maybe 30% of the weight but the meat inside was the most tender ribeye I've ever cut. The flavor was nutty and almost funky. Night and day from wet aged stuff. Only issue was my girlfriend made me move the fridge to the garage. Has anyone else messed with home dry aging? What's your go to time frame?

Took me six damn months to figure out why my grind was gritty

Been running a small shop in Tucson for about two years now. Ground my own beef for burgers, always came out weird. Too coarse, almost like it was chewed up. Swapped blades, checked the plate gap, cleaned everything like crazy. Nothin worked. Then last week I watched a guy at a local meat conference demo a grinder. I was stuffing the auger too full. Literally packing it in. Backed off, fed it slower, first batch came out perfect. Six months of bad grind because I was rushing. Any of you guys struggle with something that simple for way too long?

Dropped $150 on a fancy band saw blade and it snapped on the third cut

Thought I was treating myself to a real upgrade at the supply house in Denver but that thing sheared clean through on a frozen pork shoulder, anyone else have bad luck with those titanium coated blades?

The "just trim the fat" crowd needs to stop

Had a customer last Wednesday ask me to trim a ribeye roast and then got mad when I took off all the external fat. That cap is flavor, people. Leave a quarter inch on there or you're basically eating a tough hockey puck.

Never used a tail pull before but after butchering a 900lb steer solo last week I'm a believer now

Spent 4 hours fighting the back leg on a hang until a buddy told me to tie a rope to the gambrel and pull the tail toward me, cut the whole hindquarter off in under 2 minutes, anyone else find that trick changes your workflow?

Aging beef 30 days vs 45 days - is there really a difference?

I age my own beef at my shop in Portland. Last month I did a side by side with two ribeyes, one aged 30 days and one for 45. The 45 day was definitely more tender but lost a lot of moisture in the trim. The 30 day had a cleaner beef flavor but wasn't as buttery. I asked three other butchers at the swap meet and got mixed answers. Has anyone here done a blind taste test with customers and gotten a clear preference?

Noticed a huge difference in my lamb chops after I started trimming the fell off every single time

I used to leave it on half the time cuz I was lazy but last week I did a whole rack with it fully removed and the tenderness was night and day has anyone else had that big a shift just from trimming better?

Debate: wet aging vs dry aging in a home fridge setup

Been testing both methods for the last 3 months in my basement fridge. Wet aged a ribeye for 21 days in a cryovac bag and it came out tender but tasted kinda flat. Dry aged a strip loin for 45 days with a Umai bag and the flavor was way deeper but I lost almost 20% to trim. Which way do you guys lean for a small scale operation at home and why?

Just walked into a butcher shop in Portland that dry-ages whole sides of beef right in the front window

The owner told me it takes 45 days minimum and he loses about 20% weight to trimming, but the flavor on a ribeye I bought was so intense I couldn't stop thinking about it has anyone else tried aging whole primals instead of just subprimals?

Old timer at the shop told me I was wasting my time with electric knives