I was at a shop over in Omaha last month, watched a younger guy trim a whole packer in under 10 minutes... left so much fat on it I had to look twice. 3 years ago, us old-timers would spend 20 minutes getting every silver skin off. Has anyone else seen new butchers leaving more cap on than usual?
I was at a buddy's BBQ last weekend and watched him try to split a pork shoulder in half with my Wusthof (the one I specifically said was for veggies only). He hacked right through a knuckle and I almost cried. It's not just about dulling the edge, it's about chipping it entirely (which he did, a nice little V-shaped chunk). I've been behind the counter for 12 years now and I swear, every hobby cook I know does this. Anyone else have that one tool they guard with their life at a party?
Grabbed my backup boning knife from the drawer and it was dull as a butter knife. Has anyone else walked into a shift completely unprepared and just had to grind through it?
Everyone at our shop swears by the bimetal blades but I tried a carbon steel blade on a whim. Cut through 30 pork loins without any binding or overheating. The bimetal blade was costing us an extra 15 minutes per shift on changeouts. Anyone else ditched the standard for something simpler?
I picked up a new bimetal blade from the supply house on Tuesday, installed it Wednesday morning, and it snapped clean through on the second cut of a beef rib rack. I always check tension and speed settings before I start, so I know it wasn't me being careless. Took me 20 minutes to fish the broken pieces out of the saw housing and swap in a backup. Has anyone else had bad luck with the newer bimetal blades from that brand?
After 6 years of trimming all the fat off before cooking, a customer told me to leave a quarter-inch on and now I actually get repeat buyers.
I been cutting beef tenderloin for my shop since 2019. Always cut off the chain and silverskin the way my first boss showed me. Last month a customer who used to work at a high end steakhouse in Chicago comes in and watches me trim one. He asks why I'm wasting so much meat on the tail end. I told him that's just how you clean it up. He showed me how to butterfly the thick end and fold it over so the whole roast is even thickness. I was throwing away like 2 servings worth of meat every single time. It's been driving me nuts that I never thought to check if there was a better way. Has anyone else had a customer or vendor show them a simple trick that made you feel like an idiot?
Came in at 5 AM and the cooler had been sitting at 52 degrees since midnight. Maintenance guy said the compressor kicked out overnight. Lost about 200 pounds of primals, ribeyes, strips, everything. Had to call the health inspector myself and file a report. Anybody else have a cooler fail on them and how did you handle the insurance claim?
I hit a decade of breaking down whole carcasses (mostly beef and pork) last month, which surprised me because most folks I started with have moved to boxed primals or left the trade entirely. Getting to know every muscle and fat pocket by hand has made me way better at predicting yield and custom cuts, but my old coworkers think I'm wasting time. Anyone else stick with whole-animal work and find it changed how you approach things?
I dropped $800 on that fancy electric sharpener last month after my butchery classes in Austin, and it keeps the edges perfect on my breaking knives, but honestly my old stone setup gave me way better control on the boning knives - which side are you on for a busy shop?
I was breaking down a 90-pound chuck roll at the shop last Tuesday and decided to weigh the trim separately ended up with almost 22 pounds of fat and silver skin. That means nearly a quarter of what I paid for went straight into the trim bucket has anyone else ever actually weighed their yield on primal cuts like this?
I was saving up to start dry aging at home and couldn't decide between the Umai bags for $30 or a used commercial fridge for $600. Went with the bags first to test it out, and after 45 days on a prime rib roast I got a solid crust and great flavor but the texture was a bit softer than I wanted. Anyone else tried both methods and have a preference for home use?
I've been cutting primals for years but finally broke down my first whole hog last weekend at a workshop near Columbia. I always figured it was just a little messier but I lost almost 2 quarts of blood on the floor before I even got to the shoulders. That changed my whole plan for doing it at home because I never thought about drainage and floor prep like that. Has anyone else been surprised by how much blood cleanup factors in when you start doing whole animals?
I've been working at that little butcher shop on Main Street for about 8 months now, and after 3 tries I finally got through a whole hog start to finish without my coworker needing to step in and fix anything lol, anyone else remember that first time it all clicked?
Had a talk with a retired guy named Pete at the farmers market in Portland last weekend. He said I was wasting money breaking down whole shoulders when I could just buy the chuck and save 30% on waste. Honestly it hit me hard because I've been doing it the same way for 8 years. Anyone else get caught in a routine and have an old timer call you out on it?
Switched to 21 days on a batch of ribeyes back in February and lost way less weight than I expected, plus the flavor was way deeper, has anyone else found that extra week changes the numbers that much?
Honestly the difference in how cleanly it separates ribs is night and day, and the handle grip actually stays solid when my hands are greasy. Has anyone else noticed cheaper blades dulling way faster on pork shoulders specifically?
I tried a 45 day dry age on a prime rib roast last fall in my dedicated mini fridge setup, and honestly the loss and trim waste wasn't worth the flavor difference for me. Has anyone else dumped that much time and meat into a project and just felt meh about the result?
I picked up this fancy German steel boning knife from a local shop because my old one kept losing its edge. Cost me about $150, which hurt but I figured it would last years. Third time using it on a whole hog, the tip chipped off while I was working around the shoulder blade. Called the company and they said it wasn't covered because of "improper use." Anybody else ever drop good money on a knife and get burned like that?
Last deer season a hunter brought back a buck he shot and said my silverskin left on the backstraps was 'lazy work' and he was right. I always rushed that part to save time but now I take the extra 5 minutes to peel it clean off every cut. Anybody else get slapped with some hard feedback that actually made you better?
I heard from a guy at the trade show that wet aging a whole primal in the bag for 28 days brings out the best beefy flavor. So I took a 16 pound ribeye I got from a local farmer and let it sit in my walk-in cooler at 34 degrees. I thought I had the temp perfect but after 3 weeks the bag had this weird sour smell when I opened it. Ended up trimming away almost 8 pounds of dark, slimy outer meat and the inside was still kinda off. My mentor said the humidity in my walk-in was too high and the bag wasn't sealed right. Has anyone else messed up a wet age by not checking the bag for leaks every few days?
Was reading through some USDA reports last week. Turns out grass-fed beef only lasts about 3-5 days longer in the fridge than grain-fed. I always thought it would spoil way faster. Found it in their 2023 meat storage guidelines. Anyone else see different results with their grass-fed cuts?
An older lady asked me to cut them thinner for her stew, so I tried 1 inch instead of 1.5. Now I do that for all my stew meat and sell way more. Anyone else get a tip from a customer that actually improved your cutting?
I had a batch of center-cut chops that were drying out on me no matter how I cooked them. After a 4 hour soak in a basic salt and sugar brine, they came out juicy even after a hard sear. Has anyone else had good luck brining specific cuts of pork?
Last Saturday this guy walks into my shop in Portland and points at a whole pig in the cooler. He says, 'Can you just take out all the bones and roll it up like a roast?' I thought he was joking at first. Then he got serious and said he wanted to cook it on his Traeger for a party. I had to explain that pigs don't work that way unless you want a pile of shredded meat. Has anyone else gotten a request that made you stop and blink for a second?