c/butchers

Changed my mind about boning knives after hitting 500 cuts

I used to think a stiff blade was always better, but after processing 500 chickens last month at the shop, a flexible one saved my wrists and sped me up. Anyone else switch up their knife style after a big batch job?

Just realized I was trimming briskets COMPLETELY wrong for 5 years

I used to just hack off the fat cap and call it good. Then last month at a workshop in Kansas City, this old timer showed me how to follow the natural seam between the point and flat. He said "you're leaving too much hard fat on the side, son." I tried his method on a 14 pound prime packer and the tenderness was night and day. Anyone else have a moment where someone pointed out a basic thing you'd been messing up for years?

The day I watched a senior butcher debone a pork shoulder in 90 seconds flat

I had been fighting with the blade angle for like 6 months and then this old timer showed me I was basically hacking at it instead of following the natural seam, anyone else had a moment where you saw a trick that made you feel like an amateur?

Tried wet aging a prime rib for 10 days and got slime city

I usually dry age everything but thought I'd experiment with wet aging a 12lb prime rib in the cryovac for 10 days. Opened it up this morning and the smell hit me first - kind of sour and funky. The surface was slick and had this weird yellowish slime that I had to scrub off. Never doing that again, has anyone else had a wet aging experiment go wrong or am I just doing it dumb?

Who else thinks dry-aging bags are overrated after seeing a $12 ribeye turn into mystery meat in 3 weeks?

My buddy Mike from the shop swore by those bags for home aging, so I tried one on a prime ribeye I cut myself, and after 21 days it smelled like a gym sock and had a fuzzy spot bigger than a quarter, so now I'm wondering are traditional setups just worth the hassle or did I mess up the seal?

Overheard a guy at the meat counter say aged beef is a scam

I was buying chuck roast last Saturday and this older guy told the butcher that dry aging is just a way to charge more for meat that's going bad. He said he's been eating fresh cut beef for 40 years and never had an issue. It got me thinking about how much of the aging process actually matters for flavor versus just being a marketing thing. For a home cook on a budget, is dry aging really worth the extra $8 a pound or is he onto something? Anyone else run into this kind of pushback from customers?

I spent 3 years sharpening my boning knife the wrong way until a 65-year-old butcher set me straight

I always thought you had to hold the blade at a steep angle to get that razor edge. Been doing it that way since my first day at the shop in Boise. Then one slow Tuesday, old Mike watched me for a minute and just said 'you're grinding off your blade, not sharpening it.' He showed me how a shallow 15 degree angle with consistent pressure does way more. Took me about 20 tries to unlearn the bad habit but my knives stay sharp twice as long now. Anyone else get a rude awakening about their technique from a veteran?

Three years ago I fumbled a whole lamb breakdown in front of a customer and it still haunts me

I was finishing up a whole lamb breakdown at my shop in Portland, Maine, and this older guy (retired chef, I later found out) was watching from the counter. I got cocky, tried to free the leg in one clean cut, and totally mangled the hip joint. Bone fragments everywhere, meat all torn up. He just said "takes time, kid" and walked out. I still think about that every time I break down lamb. Has anyone else had a public mess-up that stuck with them?

Swapped my boning knife for a curved one last month

I've been using a straight blade for trimming briskets for 5 years and never thought twice about it. Picked up a 6-inch curved Victorinox on a whim and the first brisket I did with it took 20 minutes less than usual. Has anyone else noticed a big speed difference switching knife shapes for specific cuts?

Old timer at the swap meet told me to dry age for 10 days minimum

Ran into this retired butcher named Hank at a farmers market in Austin. He said most home guys pull their beef too early and miss the real flavor. I tried his 10 day rule on a rib roast last month and the difference was night and day. The crust got this deep nutty taste I never got before. Has anyone else had better luck with longer dry aging times at home?

Had a guy ask me to "trim the fat" on his pork shoulder until it was basically just meat

My mentor swore by aging beef on the bone and I doubted him for months

Old Sal at the shop kept telling me to leave the ribeyes on the bone for 21 days minimum before cutting. I thought he was just being stubborn about old ways. So I tried his method with a prime rib roast last month and cut into it after 14 days just to see. The difference in flavor and tenderness was night and day compared to the 21 day batch I did later. He said the bone acts like a heat sink and keeps the meat from drying out too fast. I guess he wasn't just blowing smoke after all. Has anyone else had a mentor give them advice that seemed outdated but turned out to be spot on? What cut of meat taught you the most?

Broke a saw blade mid-cut on a frozen hog leg yesterday

I was breaking down a half pig at the shop in Portland and hit something rock hard just above the hock. My bandsaw blade snapped with this loud ping sound and the leg went flying off the table into a bucket of brine. Turns out someone left a steel shot pellet in the shoulder from a hunt, and I never felt it during trimming. Had to stop everything, swap the blade, and fish the leg out of that salty mess. Took me a solid 20 minutes to get back on track. Any of you guys ever find weird stuff like buckshot or broken needles in your primals?

Learned a trick for keeping sausage casings from tearing after 10 years

Been a butcher for about 12 years now, and I always had trouble with natural hog casings splitting when I stuffed them too fast. Last week at the shop I tried soaking them in warm water with a splash of vinegar for 15 minutes instead of just cold water. Made a huge difference... casings were way more stretchy and I only had one blowout on a 50 pound batch. Anyone else got a weird hack like that for casings?

Hot take: aging beef at home vs trusting the distributor - which side are you on?

So I’ve been noticing something at the shop lately. A few of the younger guys are really into dry aging their own primals in these little fridges they set up at home. They swear it tastes way better and saves money. But the old timer I work with says it’s pointless because the distributor already ages it enough and you’re just risking losing a $300 ribeye to mold. I get both sides but I’ve seen three home-aged cuts go bad just this year from temp swings. On the other hand the stuff from the distributor can be a total crapshoot too. What’s your take? Do you age your own or let the supplier handle it?

Old timers used to sharpen every 15 minutes but now people ignore it

I was working a side of beef last Saturday at the shop and this young guy next to me was fighting his knife something fierce. He kept forcing it through the muscle and making a mess of the fat caps. I asked him when he last hit the steel. He said like an hour ago. Man that stuff drives me crazy. When I started back in 2003 at a shop in Portland my mentor would stop every 15 to 20 minutes and run the blade across the steel. Even if it felt sharp. It keeps the edge straight and saves your wrist in the long run. Now everyone just wants to grind on a stone once a day and wonder why their cuts look ragged. Anyone else notice new butchers skipping the steel way too much?

Unpopular opinion: half the YouTube butchers can't seam out a whole brisket properly

I keep seeing these guys with nice cameras just slicing through fat caps like it doesn't matter. You can't just cut off the fat and call it trimmed. You gotta work the point and flat separately otherwise you end up with a dry flat and a greasy point. Last month my buddy bought a packer from Costco and followed some influencer's video. He ended up with a 2 inch fat cap on one side and bare meat on the other. I showed him how to find the deckle seam and it took 10 minutes. Anyone else notice this trend getting worse?

I finally learned the right way to sharpen my breaking knife

Spent a solid 2 hours trying to get a good edge on my 10 inch Victorinox breaking knife last week. Turns out I was using too much pressure and ruining the angle on my stone. A buddy at the shop in Chicago told me to lighten up and let the stone do the work, now it cuts through fat like butter. Anyone else struggle with sharpening for way longer than they should have?

Why does nobody talk about using a meat saw for breaking down briskets?

I've been hand-cutting packer briskets for like 5 years and always fought with the fat cap and weird angles. Last month my buddy at a shop in Austin showed me his Hobart saw for splitting the point from the flat and I was dead wrong about it being overkill. Took me maybe 2 minutes to do what usually took 15 with a knife. Has anyone else switched to a saw for big cuts or am I late to the party?

Hit 500 pounds of pork shoulder last weekend and my band saw blade finally gave out

Was trimming and portioning for a big catering order, and that 500-pound mark on the blade was the exact moment it started smoking, what number have you guys noticed your equipment taps out at?

Debate: dry aging bags vs. traditional dry aging lockers - worth the hype?

Honestly I was super skeptical of those dry aging bags when they first came out. Thought there's no way a plastic bag can mimic what a proper walk-in cooler does over 45 days. But a buddy of mine in Phoenix runs a small shop and he's been using them for about 8 months now. He showed me a ribeye that came out of a bag after 60 days and the flavor was legit deep and funky, good crust development too. On the flip side I still hear old school guys saying the moisture loss is different and you don't get the same concentrated beefiness. My hang up is the cost per bag adds up quick compared to just building out a cooler. So what's the verdict from people who have tried both, is the bag method actually comparable or is it just a shortcut that's good enough for home cooks?

Hit 500 pounds of finished sausage this month in my home shop in Topeka

I've been doing this as a side business for about two years now, and I just totaled up my October numbers. 512 pounds of sausage made and sold, which is more than double what I did last October. Never thought I'd get to that point from my little garage setup. Anyone else keep track of their monthly output and get surprised by the growth?

I finally told a customer why I don't age beef longer than 21 days

Had a guy in here last Tuesday, said he worked in a high end restaurant back east. Told me I was ruining the meat by not hanging it for 45 days. I asked him if he ever actually butchered a steer himself. He said no. So I showed him the mold on a 28 day ribeye we had in the back. He went quiet. Has anyone else had to deal with customers who think they know more than the person holding the knife?

Wasted $60 on a cheap boning knife I had to replace in a month

I bought a no-name boning knife off Amazon for about $60 thinking I was saving money over the German brands. The steel was so soft the edge rolled after just a few pork shoulders, and the handle started wobbling by week three. I ended up buying a Victorinox for $45 after that and it's been solid for six months now. Anyone else learn the hard way that cheap tools cost more in the long run?

That new guy left a $200 ribeye roast on the counter to thaw for 8 hours and I wanted to scream

Walked in this morning to find a whole USDA Prime ribeye sitting at 68 degrees internal after he said he 'forgot about it' and now I gotta decide if we risk serving it or eat the loss, how do you guys handle new hires who ignore basic food safety?