c/butchers

Broke down and bought a band saw after hand-cutting 20 briskets

Two months ago I trimmed 20 packers for a holiday rush and my wrist was shot for a week. Finally grabbed a used Hobart off Craigslist in Cleveland and now I can break down a whole rib section in 15 minutes, has anyone else put off upgrading and regretted the lost time?

Hot boning versus cold boning, I'm on the other side of this debate

Read a thread last week where everyone swore hot boning saves more yield from a beef carcass, but I've been doing this 14 years in Portland and my numbers say otherwise. I tried hot boning on 12 steers back in April, weighed every cut, and lost about 18 pounds per carcass compared to chilling 48 hours first. The meat tore easier and my trim ended up heavier, which cost me more at the grinder. Maybe the big plants have the setup for it, but in my shop the cold route wins every time. Has anyone else tested this side by side or am I just doing something wrong with the timing?

Went to a custom butcher shop in Austin and left feeling weird about my own knife work

Stopped by Salt & Time on Sunday for a brisket and ended up watching the lead cutter break down a whole hog. That guy worked through the shoulder in about 90 seconds, no wasted motion, no forcing anything. Meanwhile I've been doing this for 12 years and I still fight with my rib sections on pork, always leaving too much meat on the bone or hacking through cartilage. It made me realize I leaned way too hard on my band saw and not enough on learning proper joint separation. Now I'm wondering if I should go back and ask to shadow him for a morning, or if that's crossing some weird line. Has anyone else watched a pro work and felt like they needed to completely redo their approach to basic breakdowns, or is it just me?

Took me 6 years to realize I was chilling lamb the wrong way

I always let lamb rest on the cutting board after a sear, figured it was fine. Then a chef buddy from Portland stopped by and asked why my lamb was dry and gray on the edge. Turns out I was slicing against the grain but the board was warmed unevenly, so my knife was dragging through the outer crust. Switched to a preheated wood board and rested it 3 extra minutes, total game changer. Anyone else have a stupid basic habit that took a customer or friend to point out?

Checked a whole pig order in Nashville and the rib count was off

Stopped by a supplier's cold room off Trinity Lane and noticed every rack had 13 ribs instead of the standard 14, which means someone's cutting too close to the shoulder. Has anyone else seen this trick to stretch yield, or am I the only one who counts before paying per pound?

A butcher in Cleveland said my knife angle was off, he was right

I was trimming a brisket at a demo last month and a retired butcher named Frank stopped and watched for a minute. He said I was riding the blade too flat and losing the clean edge on the fat cap. Tried his steeper angle on a rib roast the next day and the cuts felt like they made themselves. Anyone else pick up a tip from a stranger that stuck harder than any class you paid for?

Appreciation post: dry aging bags changed my whole display case setup

Started using those breathable dry aging bags in March for my beef cuts, and the difference is night and day. Before, I'd lose maybe 10-15 percent to trim waste on a typical ribeye. Now I'm down to almost zero, and the darker crust actually looks intentional when customers ask about it. I switched my front case at my shop in Portland to sell the aged cuts directly, and people are eating it up, pun intended. Only issue is explaining the darker color to new customers, but the taste sells it. Has anyone else tried these bags for smaller portions, or is it just for full primals? I'm curious if the short ribs do well in them.

The USDA grading chart at my shop changed how I look at fat cover

Wet curing a brisket changed my whole weekend routine

I've always done dry rubs, but last Saturday I tried a wet cure with a 5% salt brine and some pickling spice on a 14 pounder. Left it in the walk-in for 48 hours, and the flavor came out way deeper than any dry rub I've done in 12 years of cutting. The moisture retention was the big surprise, it held nearly 2 pounds more weight after the smoke. I'm wondering if anyone else has swapped methods like this and stuck with it, or was it just a one-off lucky batch?

Found a cheap trick for keeping boning knives from dulling fast

Been dealing with knives losing edge mid-shift for months, tried all the fancy steels. Last week I just started rubbing the blade down with a bit of pork fat before break, let it sit while I ate. Cut through a whole side of beef after and it held way longer, anyone else do this or am I onto something?

The whole aging process is backwards for lamb, here's why I'm flipping it

I read a study from a meat science lab at Kansas State that says 5 days of dry aging on lamb beats 14 days for tenderness, and after trying it on 30 racks this month I think they're right. Anyone else find that longer aging just dulls the flavor on smaller cuts like chops?

Tried dry aging in a $30 mini fridge, best mistake I made all summer

Last June I got sick of paying $40 a pound for dry aged ribeye from the shop downtown. So I grabbed one of those cheap dorm fridges off Facebook Marketplace, wired a computer fan to the lid, and threw in a 12 pound prime rib I cut myself. Salt block on the bottom, probe thermometer inside, and I checked it twice a day for 21 days. The crust was gnarly and I lost about 2 pounds to trim, but the flavor nailed that nutty, funky note we all chase. Anyone else tried the DIY route, or am I the only one who smells like old cheese every time I open my garage?

Rant: Choosing between a $40 whetstone kit and a pro grinder for my shop

I finally had to pick between hand sharpening my knives with a basic whetstone set or dropping $800 on a commercial grinder for the counter. I went with the whetstone first because money was tight after rent hit $1,400 in Portland. Took me 45 minutes to get through just 3 steaks before the edge dulled again, and my wrist was screaming. Has anyone else tried doing production work with stones and just given up? I'm about to cave and buy the grinder this weekend.

That butcher block paste wax I ignored for 5 years finally made sense

I used to think wiping down my cutting boards with mineral oil was enough, no need for anything fancy. Then a customer from Tulsa asked me why my boards looked dull compared to his, and he handed me a tin of paste wax. I tried it on one end of a maple board last Tuesday, just to prove him wrong. The difference in color and how the wood felt was so obvious I did the whole board that night. Has anyone else found a product they swore was useless until someone showed them the right way to use it?

Old butcher at the supply house set me straight about bone dust

He saw me brushing my bandsaw blade clean and told me i was just rubbing the grit deeper into the teeth, said to use a wire brush instead. Tried it on my last side of beef and the cuts came out way cleaner, no more dragging through the bone.

I picked a wood block over a plastic cutting board for my shop and I'm sticking with it

Everyone in our shop kept telling me plastic is the only way to go for sanitation. I got tired of hearing it so I grabbed a 2 inch thick maple block from a guy down in Tennessee about 6 months ago. Plastic is easier to bleach sure but wood actually heals itself a little from knife cuts and it stays way more stable on the counter. My band saw blade doesn't slip on it like it did with plastic and I've had zero issues with bacteria since I keep it oiled every week with mineral oil. The owner of the shop still gives me grief about it but my knives stay sharp way longer and I'm not replacing boards every 6 months like the rest of them. Has anyone else dealt with a stubborn boss on this or found a good way to prove wood is fine for commercial use?

Went back and forth on bone in vs boneless for a pig shoulder order

Last month I had a customer ask for 50 pounds of pork shoulder for a big cookout. I usually push bone in because it's cheaper and I think the meat tastes better. But the guy wanted boneless for easier shredding after smoking. So I grabbed a whole bone in shoulder and broke it down myself to see how much yield I'd lose. Ended up losing about 18% to bone and fat trim which felt high. In the end I sold him boneless at a higher price per pound and he was happy. But I still think bone in is better for flavor if they have the time to pick around it. Anyone else deal with customers pushing for boneless against your better judgment?

That time I watched a 70 year old butcher break down a whole steer in 20 minutes

I was just out of trade school and doing a stage at a shop in Portland. The owner, Bob, must have been 70 if he was a day. He grabbed a 900 lb carcass and had it primal cuts and ready for the cooler before I finished sharpening my knife. I realized right then that all the fancy new saws and power equipment can't replace knowing exactly where the seams are. Has anyone else learned more from watching an old timer for one day than from a whole class?

Split between wet aging and dry aging a whole ribeye primal last week

I had a choice to wet age half of a 70 pound ribeye primal or dry age it all in my new cooler setup. I went with dry aging half and wet aging the other half to see which gives me better flavor for the holidays. Has anyone else tried both methods side by side and found a clear winner for texture and taste?

Old timer at the shop set me straight on beef aging

Been doing this 8 years, thought I had aging down pat. Guy who's been cutting since the 70s watched me trim a ribeye and said 'that's not aged, that's just dry.' He showed me how the moisture loss changes the texture completely different from just hanging it. Took a primal he had going 45 days and the difference in tenderness was night and day. Any of you guys actually track humidity in your coolers or just go by days?

Threw $400 at a band saw blade sharpener and it was a total waste

I run a small shop out of my garage in Tulsa and was getting tired of sending blades out for sharpening every couple weeks. Saw this portable sharpener online that claimed to handle any blade size. Paid $400 for it including shipping. First blade I tried it on came out uneven and actually left burn marks on the pork shoulders I was cutting. Tried adjusting the angle three different times but it never cut clean. Ended up tossing the whole thing in the scrap bin. Now I'm back to paying $15 per blade at the local sharpening service. Has anyone else fallen for one of these gadgets or do they actually work for somebody?

Botched a whole ribeye primal last Friday and saved it with a trick

I was breaking down a whole ribeye primal at the shop around 3 PM and my knife slipped on the cap, tore a big chunk off one of the steaks. Ended up with about a 6 ounce piece that was just mangled and useless for the case. I cubed it up on the spot and sold it as kabob meat for $5.99 a pound and it was gone within an hour. Has anyone else turned a bad cut into something that actually sold better?

Hit 50 whole hog breakdowns this month and it changed my thinking

I always thought breaking down a whole hog was too much hassle for the yield, but I hit 50 this month at the shop and started tracking the numbers. Turned out I was pulling 12% more saleable meat than I expected from each one, which adds up fast over a month. Has anyone else found their actual yield was way different from what they guessed?

Old timer told me I was ruining my steaks with a wet bone saw

Guy named Frank who's been cutting since the 70s watched me break down a ribeye last week and said I was making things worse by spraying water on the saw blade every pass. He showed me how the water just pushes meat fibers around instead of cutting clean, leaving a ragged edge that loses moisture. I tried his way dry on the next primal and the slices came out way smoother with almost no waste. Has anyone else been told to ditch the water for certain cuts?

Customer asked me to age a prime rib 60 days in my walk-in last month

Guy walks in, says he wants a 60 day aged prime rib for Christmas dinner. I told him my walk-in stays at 34 degrees and I don't have the humidity control for that long. He argued with me for 10 minutes about how he saw it on YouTube. Finally I just said fine, sign a waiver, I'm not responsible if it rots. He picked it up on day 62 and called me two days later telling me it was the best beef he ever ate. I still think he got lucky, and the smell in my cooler was bad for a week after. Has anyone here actually done a proper long age in a standard walk-in without a dry aging bag?