Ran into a guy named Sal who's been cutting meat for 40 years at a shop outside Cleveland. He watched me break down a loin and just said "you're fighting the grain, kid." I've been doing this 8 years and never really thought about it that way. He showed me how he angles his knife based on where the muscle runs instead of just going straight down. Took me 3 tries to get it right but the final cuts looked way cleaner and held up better on the plate. Anyone else have an older cutter drop some simple wisdom on you that made you go back to basics?
I picked up a whole wild hog from a hunt last month near Fredericksburg, and the fat cap was way thinner than I expected. Has anyone else had to adjust their grinding ratios for wild game to keep the sausage from drying out?
I was pulling a 90-pound shoulder for a Saturday order, got the hook under the bone, and somehow it slipped right off and hit the floor with a thud. Then of course it starts rolling like a runaway tire across the cooler, bumping into bins and a bucket of trim. I chased it for a good 10 feet before I caught it near the drain. Had to hose it off and trim away the dirty spots. Boss walked in right as I was wrestling it back onto the hook and just shook his head. Anyone else ever lose a piece of meat to the cooler floor like that?
I started cutting about 8 years ago and I used to trim everything super clean, like I was trying to make it look perfect for a magazine. One day a retired butcher named Frank came by the shop and watched me work on a whole ribeye. He just shook his head and said, 'Son, you're leaving half the money on the floor.' He showed me how I was cutting away too much of the deckle and leaving almost no fat cap. I felt like an idiot because I thought clean meant better, but he explained that customers actually want some of that fat for flavor when they cook it. Now I leave a quarter inch of fat on most primal cuts and my yield went up maybe 10 percent just from that one change. Has anyone else had an older butcher call them out on something that seemed small but really mattered?
Was breaking down a whole pork shoulder last Tuesday at the shop, got distracted by a phone call and took a bad angle on the fat cap. Ended up cutting right into the blade meat, had to trim off a whole chunk that should've been profit. My boss just looked at me and said 'that's a $12 mistake right there.' Anyone else have a moment where one wrong cut cost you real money?
After fighting with an old walk-in cooler for months, I spent last weekend installing a new humidistat and digital thermometer setup from a restaurant supply place in Portland. The first batch of ribeyes I cut yesterday had that deep, nutty smell and bright red color I've been chasing since I started dry aging two years ago. What do you all use to keep your aging rooms stable without breaking the bank on equipment?
I always thought you needed a fancy electric sharpener to get a good edge. But last week Jim at the shop just took a wet stone and showed me how it's done in about 2 minutes, no power needed. Has anyone else switched from electric to hand sharpening?
This guy named Sal who's been cutting meat for 40 years saw me taking off too much fat cap on a whole ribeye last Tuesday. He said I was leaving the eye exposed and it would dry out on the grill. Now I leave a quarter inch of fat on the cap and angle my knife to follow the curve of the meat. Anyone else get schooled by a veteran on basic cuts?
Guy comes into my shop in Portland wanting me to hold a whole prime rib for 60 days. I told him that's way past what most people do and he might lose a lot to trim. He said he watched a YouTube video and knew what he was doing. Picked it up yesterday, lost almost 40% to mold and trimming. He wasn't mad, just said it was worth it for the flavor. Has anyone else had people ask for these super long dry ages that don't make sense economically?
I was reading through some USDA inspection reports last week and found out that almost 25% of beef steaks sold at places like Kroger and Walmart get blade tenderized. The issue is they don't always label it clearly, so customers think they're getting a solid cut when really those needle holes can push surface bacteria deep inside. My debate is: should butchers push back on this practice or just accept it as standard now that most consumers don't even know what blade tenderizing is? Has anyone else dealt with customers asking why their steak cooks differently than expected?
Last month I saw a 5-piece boning knife set for $80 on one of those flash sale sites (you know the ones). Figured hey, even if they're junk I can just sharpen them and save money over my Wusthofs. Big mistake. The steel was so soft the edges rolled after trimming one whole pig. I spent more time trying to sharpen those things than actually working. Ended up tossing them in the scrap bin after three days. Has anyone else fallen for those knife deals or am I the only sucker here?
Was at a wholesaler in Omaha last month, this old timer who's been doing it 30 years grabbed a knife and went after a whole tenderloin like it was nothing. He was just hacking away, leaving silver skin and fat caps all over the place, made me cringe so bad I had to say something. He looked at me like I was crazy and said "the grinder don't care about silverskin" but I kept thinking about the poor restaurant that's gonna get that meat. After that I started buying whole loins and breaking them down myself at the shop. Took me about 5 tries before I got it clean and consistent, but now I charge a premium for my trimmed cuts and people actually notice the difference. Any of you guys run into butchers who just don't care about trim quality anymore?
Last month a local farmer showed up with a 250 pound hog I wasn't expecting until Monday. Had to clear my whole day and work fast because the cooler was full. Got it broken down in about 2 hours 45 minutes but my shoulder still hurts. Anyone else have a customer drop off way more than you planned for?
I switched from my old 10-inch antique knife to a brand new Victorinox breaking knife about 2 months ago. The old one was sharpened so many times the blade had a curve to it. First brisket I trimmed with the new steel was night and day - took me from 12 minutes down to about 7, and I left way more fat cap on. Anyone else notice a huge jump when you upgrade your main knife?
He never touched a saw or cleaver once, and his cuts were cleaner than mine with a bandsaw. Has anyone else ditched power tools for a full breakdown and found it faster in the long run?
I spent the last 2 years trimming all that fat cap off my pork shoulders before a 12 hour smoke at 225. Last weekend at a BBQ in Austin a pitmaster named Carl asked why I was doing that. He showed me his method leaving a quarter inch on and the bark came out way better with way less dryness. Anyone else have a moment where a simple change like this made a huge difference?
Anybody else find the expensive setup actually saves money in the long run when you’re not tossing whole primals every other month?
Ive been cutting meat for about 12 years now at the same shop in Portland and I swear 5 years ago we could barely keep lamb legs in the case. Now I maybe sell 3 or 4 a week compared to 20 back then. A lot of the older customers who used to buy from us started going straight to the farms at the Saturday market because they want to see the animal raised. Has anyone else seen this shift in their shop or is it just my area?
Last Saturday I broke my personal record and broke down 14 whole lambs before noon, and the owner bought everyone pizza to celebrate. Has anyone else had a day where everything just clicked like that?
Had a retired butcher come in last Tuesday, watched me work for a minute, then told me I was leaving too much silver skin on the loin. He showed me a trick with the knife angle that took maybe 30 seconds off each cut... anyone else pick up something from a customer that stuck with you?
Bought a fancy new boning knife for $80. Thought I was hot stuff. Used it to cut through a frozen pork shoulder. Edged rolled over like a cheap penny. Took me two hours to fix it on the stone. Save your money and just use your cheap knife for frozen stuff.
I work at a shop in Columbus and this lady came in wanting a chicken cut a very specific way with the backbone left in and the legs split separate. She pulled up a video on her phone to show me exactly how she wanted it done. I figured it was just a fussy customer but after I did it her way she tipped me $10 and said nobody ever got it right before. Has anyone else run into a customer with a really unusual cut request that turned out to be a good thing?
Honestly thought I could knock it out in 45 minutes like the old timers make it look. Ended up fighting with the blade bone and a bunch of connective tissue I didn't see coming. My knife kept slipping on the fat cap too, which slowed everything down. By the time I got it clean my wrist was killing me and my station looked like a murder scene. Anyone else struggle way harder than expected when they first started breaking down whole shoulders?
I had to pick one because the budget was tight, so I went with the Victorinox boning knife for $65. It made breaking down the 40 lambs last week way smoother, but now the saw is struggling with beef ribs. Anyone have a good source for affordable blades that hold an edge?