c/butchers

I still remember when hanging beef meant dry aging in a real cooler, not just throwing a bag over it

Back in the 90s at my first shop in Pittsburgh, we had this walk-in that would hit 34 degrees perfect and we'd hang sides for 21 days with nothing but air and patience, now every new guy I train looks at me funny when I say we don't need those Cryovac bags for everything.

Rotten deer hit me with a smell that almost made me quit last Tuesday

Had a buck come in that was dead way longer than the guy said, hit the gut cavity wrong and the gas sprayed me straight in the face - anyone else ever walk home smelling like that for three days?

Picked bone-in over boneless for a whole hog and it was worth the extra work

I had to choose between breaking down a whole hog bone-in or having the farmer do the boneless half for me ahead of time. I went with bone-in because I wanted to practice my seam butchering on something bigger than just loins and shoulders. Took me about 4 hours from start to finish, and my knife skills were shaky at first on the ribs. But once I got into the rhythm, I ended up with some really clean cuts on the Boston butt and picnic shoulder. The backfat came off in nice slabs too, which I rendered down for lard. Has anyone else found that bone-in gives you more control over the final cuts, or do you prefer the convenience of pre-boned?

Had a customer last week who wanted a half pig but no fat at all

This lady comes into the shop and asks for a whole half pig, but she says 'I don't want any fat on any of the cuts.' I tried explaining that some fat adds flavor and helps cooking, but she just shook her head. How do you guys handle customers who want things that don't really work with the meat?

Old timer at the shop told me to dry age on the bone, not off

A guy who's been cutting meat for 40 years at the shop I work at said to keep the bone in for dry aging. I always cut it off before because I thought it was wasted space. He showed me a ribeye he aged for 28 days with the bone on and the flavor was way deeper than mine. Has anyone else tried both ways and noticed a big difference?

I used to think dry-aging bags were a gimmick... now I'm not so sure

I've been a butcher for about 8 years now, and I always figured those dry-aging bags were just a way to sell fancy plastic to home cooks. But last month, a customer brought in a ribeye he'd aged in one for 21 days and asked me to trim it. I gotta say, the flavor was way more concentrated than I expected, and the loss wasn't as bad as I thought. So now I'm wondering... are these bags actually legit for a small shop like mine, or is it still better to stick with the traditional open-air setup? Anyone here tried both and seen a real difference?

Changed my approach to trimming beef ribs after a tough week

Used to just hack off the membrane with a boning knife and hope for the best, but after ruining a whole rack last Tuesday I started scoring it first with a sharp tip. Now I slide my finger under the corner after scoring and it peels right off in one clean sheet, no wasted meat. How do you guys handle the silver skin on back ribs without losing too much fat?

Had a talk with an old butcher from Chicago last week...

He told me he trims his brisket with a curved boning knife instead of a straight one. Said it gives him more control around the point. Made me rethink how I've been doing it for 5 years now. Anyone else pick up a weird trick from a random conversation?

Vent: That guy who told me to sharpen my boning knife with a 15 degree angle was dead wrong

Met this old timer at a swap meet in Omaha, swore up and down a 15 degree edge was the only way to go for breaking down primals. Tried it on a whole ribeye yesterday and that edge folded like a cheap tent after three cuts. Lost a solid 45 minutes fixing the burr and resetting the bevel back to 20 degrees. Anyone else get burned by some know-it-all's secret trick that just trashed your blade?

Old butcher told me to always sharpen before a big order

Jim from the shop down the street said I'd wreck my arm if I didn't hone before a 50-beef quarter day. Ignored him for three months until my wrist gave out mid-cut and I had to finish left-handed. Has anyone else had a senior guy give advice that seemed old-school but saved your body?

The head butcher at Smithfield Meats in Chicago told me I was crazy for aging beef longer than 28 days

I used to think 28 days was the max for dry aging, but after that old timer at Smithfield showed me his 45-day cuts, I had to try it myself. The flavor was way deeper and the texture was better, not mushy like I worried. Now I push every primal to at least 35 days and customers keep asking what I changed. Has anyone else had a mentor flip their whole process like that?

So I finally broke down and bought a band saw for $800 off Facebook Marketplace

I've been breaking down primals with a handsaw for 7 years now because I thought band saws were too much hassle to clean. Then I borrowed a buddy's in Wichita last week and broke down a whole steer in 20 minutes flat. Has anyone else fought this upgrade and regretted waiting so long?

Took me 3 hours to break down one primal pork shoulder yesterday

Honestly, I thought I'd get through a whole case of bone-in pork butts in two hours tops. But this one shoulder had some weird connective tissue near the blade bone that I just couldn't find the seam on. I kept scoring and poking around, wasted like 45 minutes on that single joint. Then my knife started dragging and I realized I hadn't touched my steel in like 15 cuts, so I had to stop and fix that too. Any of you guys run into a cut that just fought back way harder than it should have?

I finally broke down and tried dry aging beef in my home fridge last month

I always thought you needed a special $2000 setup to dry age beef at home, so I kept just buying the pre-aged stuff from the store. After my buddy did it in a regular fridge with a small fan and a salt block for 21 days, I gave it a shot and the flavor was way deeper than anything I've bought. Has anyone else tried this on the cheap or am I just asking for mold problems down the road?

TIL I was ruining my knife edge by using a steel wrong for 2 years

Been a butcher for about 5 years and just learned from an old timer at a shop in Austin that I was dragging the blade at the wrong angle the whole time. How long did it take you guys to figure out proper steel technique?

That time I laughed at an old timer for brining pork shoulders overnight and now I won't do a single batch without it

I was dead set that 4 hours in salt water was plenty for 8 pound shoulders but after I tried his method on a 12 pounder for a July 4th cookout in Raleigh the meat came out so juicy and seasoned through that three folks asked what rub I used and I had to admit it was just salt water, has anyone else had a stubborn shop trick they finally gave in on and ended up loving?

My shop's sausage yield went from 68% to 74% after we started pre-chilling the grinder head and bowl in the walk-in for an hour before we start.

My kid asked why we don't keep the pigs whole anymore

I was breaking down a shoulder last night and my daughter, she's ten, was watching. She just looked up and said, 'Dad, why do we cut them all up first? Why don't we just sell the whole animal like they show in my farm book?' I froze for a second. It hit me that in my shop, we've been so focused on case-ready cuts for years that we lost the whole picture. I'm thinking maybe we should try offering a whole hog option for the holidays this year. Has anyone else brought back whole animal sales and had it work out?

My old bone saw gave up the ghost right in the middle of a custom order

It happened last Tuesday, right as I was starting to break down a whole lamb for a restaurant. I was about halfway through the spine when the motor just started making this awful grinding noise and seized up. This saw was a hand-me-down from my old boss, a real workhorse that had to be at least 15 years old. I had to stop everything, call the customer to explain the delay, and then spent the next two hours on the phone trying to find a local shop that had a replacement drive belt in stock. Ended up costing me about $80 for the part and a half-day's labor, which hurt. It made me realize I've been pushing my luck with a lot of my older gear, just because it's always worked. Has anyone else had a major tool fail during a rush job, and what's your backup plan?

Tried a vinegar soak on a tough pork shoulder and it came out weird

I had a pork shoulder from a local farm that was super tough, so I soaked it in apple cider vinegar for about 8 hours before smoking. The outside got this strange, almost rubbery texture and the smoke didn't stick right. Learned that the acid can mess with the meat's surface if you leave it too long. Anyone know a better trick for breaking down a really tough cut?

Rant: My old boss from the Portland shop called me about his new way to hang a side of beef

I was talking to my old boss, Hank, last week. He retired a few years back but still messes around in his home shop. He told me he stopped using a single gambrel hook on the rail for hanging big sides. Instead, he uses two hooks, spaced about a foot apart, and hangs the side by the aitch bone and the last rib. He said it spreads the weight better and makes the whole thing way more stable when you're moving it on the rail. I tried it yesterday on a 700 pound steer, and he was right. It didn't swing or twist at all when I pushed it down the line. Has anyone else tried a setup like this, or do you stick with the single hook method?

Rant: My pork shoulder yields were terrible until I switched up the bone saw

I was losing almost a pound of meat per shoulder because my old saw blade was tearing up the meat around the bone. Last month I switched to a 14 TPI blade instead of the standard 10, and it made a clean cut with way less waste. My yield jumped up by about 15% on the next 20 shoulders I broke down. Anyone else find a specific blade that changed their game?

I used to think a hand saw was fine for breaking down beef quarters, but a band saw changed my whole week.

My coworker Mike finally convinced me to use the shop's band saw last Monday, and I broke down a 600-pound side in half the time with way less shoulder ache. The clean cuts on the chine bones were a total game changer. Anyone else make a switch like that and wonder why they waited so long?

Vent: My main band saw blade snapped right before the Saturday rush

It happened yesterday morning, about 10 minutes after we opened. I was breaking down a 40lb pork shoulder on the old Biro 3338 and the 1-inch blade just went with a loud pop. Had to shut down the whole station for almost an hour while I swapped it out, and the ticket line was out the door. Anyone have a go-to brand for blades that can handle a busy week? I'm tired of this happening.

Had to decide between a band saw and a scimitar for breaking down whole lambs...

Went with the scimitar for the extra control on the curved cuts, but it took me a full week to get the hang of the weight. Anyone have a strong preference for one over the other?