c/butchers

Warning: I cut a brisket with the grain for 2 years without realizing it

Back in 2021 I worked a shift at a shop in Austin and the owner watched me slice a whole packer for a customer. He just stopped and said "you're fighting the meat, not helping it." I had no idea I was going the wrong direction, every slice was tough and stringy. It took me two years of watching YouTube videos at 2am to finally see the difference in person. Anyone else have a basic cut mistake that took way too long to notice?

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ryan_gibson84•2d ago

Wet aging in a bag vs open air cost me a whole primal

I had been dry aging briskets open air in my walk-in for years, but after losing a 70 pound prime rib to mold last month I switched to the vacuum bag method. The bags from the supply house in Omaha cost me about $40 total and the flavor actually came out MORE concentrated, plus zero trimming waste. Anyone else ditch the open air approach after a bad loss, or am I the only one who stubbornly stuck with the old way too long?

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lauras83•5d ago

Old bone saw vs my new electric one, the old one won me over

I dug out my granddad's old bone saw from the back of the shop last Tuesday, just for a big hog quarter. My electric saw kept binding on the joint, and the blade was dull after maybe 40 cuts. That old saw took 3 extra minutes but the cut was clean, no bone chips flying everywhere. I guess the hands-on feel makes up for the speed, or maybe I'm just set in my ways. Anyone else keep an older tool around that works better than the new stuff?

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simonh74•5d ago

That time a whole pig leg slid off the hook into the sink drain

Last Saturday, about 11am in the back room of our shop in Portland, I was hanging a fresh pork leg and the gambrel just gave up, no warning at all. The whole 28 pound piece dropped straight into the three-compartment sink, which was full of warm soapy water from my earlier cleanup. My first thought was panic, then I grabbed it by the shank and it slipped again, nearly took out my elbow on the faucet. We had two customers waiting up front, so I just tossed it on the cutting board, gave it a fast rinse, and trimmed the outer fat that touched the drain. My boss saw the whole thing and just laughed, said it's not the first time and won't be the last, then told me to double wrap it and mark it down 20% for the case. I sold it to a regular guy who makes his own sausage, he joked that it was pre-marinated. Has anyone else had a big cut take a swim in the sink, and what do you do with it after the shock wears off?

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kelly385•6d ago

I stopped brining pork chops and never went back

Switched to dry salting for 45 minutes in the walk-in last fall after a bad batch came out spongy. Anyone else drop wet brines for cuts under an inch thick, or am I the odd one out?

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thomas.parker•8d ago

Serious question, why do we still trim lamb the old way?

Last week I pulled up an old USDA beef grading chart from 1985 while looking up something else, and it showed lamb retail cuts then had way more fat cap left on than what we do now. I always figured the current style was standard forever, but apparently the shift to leaner cuts happened in the last 30 years. We're tossing 2 or 3 pounds of good fat per carcass that older butchers would have kept for flavor. Anyone else notice customers ask for less fat but then complain the meat's dry? How are you handling that balance without losing money?

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murphy.linda•12d ago

Broke down and bought a $900 band saw, wish I did it years ago

I ran a small shop for 6 years cutting everything by hand or with a cheap jigsaw. Last month I finally pulled the trigger on a used vertical band saw from a guy retiring two towns over. It paid for itself in one week with a big catering order that needed 40 pork racks split clean. The cuts are so much straighter, less waste on every bone I trim. Anyone else hold off on a big tool way too long or did you luck out with a rental first?

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irismartinez•13d ago

My backup knife roll failed at the worst possible moment

Had a 12-pound brisket half-trimmed last Tuesday when my secondary boning knife snapped at the handle, right in the middle of a rush order for a local restaurant. I've always kept a spare roll in my locker for exactly this, but the cheap backup had a cracked ferrule I never checked. Anyone else got burned by gear you assume is ready just because it's sitting there?

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charlie_ellis•15d ago

Took 40 minutes to tie a hog with my new knots, now I stick to the old loop

Big pig last Saturday at the county fair demo in Austin, I tried that fancy cross hitch everyone posts online. It slipped three times before I gave up and used my regular half hitch, done in 8 minutes flat. The crowd laughed when the leg popped loose and the hog bolted across the sawdust. My mentor watched from the back and said, "Stick to what pays, son." Now I keep a picture of that mess in my shop to remind me not to change mid-show. Anyone else had a demo-day knot fail that made you switch back to basic ties?

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thomas_martinez•18d ago

Vent: A customer asked me to 'trim the fat' then complained about the weight

Ngl, I had a guy in here Tuesday demand I take every bit of silver skin off his brisket flat, then he weighed it at the register and got mad about the price per pound. He said I was ripping him off, but if I leave it on, people say I'm lazy. Has anyone else dealt with customers who want the perfect cut but refuse to pay for the loss?

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the_avery•20d ago

Bandsaw blade snapped mid-shift on a pork belly, watch your tension gauge

Was breaking down a 40 pound belly around 2pm yesterday and the 1 inch blade let go on the downstroke, threw a chunk of guide block across the cutting room. Took me 45 minutes to swap in a spare and recalibrate because the tracking wheel had shifted from the jolt. Anyone else had tension gauges lie to them after a full day of bone-in work, or should I just replace the tension spring outright?

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briancarter•21d ago

Bone saw blade angle changed my whole shoulder routine

Last month I watched a retired cutter in Kansas City break down a pork shoulder with the blade tipped way back, almost flat. Tried it on my next two shoulders and the joint work got way easier, less wrenching on my wrist. Anyone else ever get handed a tip like that from an old timer and feel dumb for not figuring it out sooner?

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daniel_lane30•21d ago

Tried dry aging a ribeye in my home fridge for 14 days, got a funky result

So I've been cutting meat for about 6 years now, mostly at a local shop in Spokane. I figured I knew enough to try dry aging a single ribeye at home. Wrapped it in cheesecloth, put it on a wire rack over a tray, set my fridge to the coldest setting. Checked it every couple days, surface looked fine until day 9, then this weird sour smell hit me. Tossed it on day 12 because the outside turned almost slimy in one spot. Turns out my fridge runs humid, and I didn't have a fan blowing on it. The shop has a dedicated aging cabinet with airflow control, so I guess I was asking for trouble. Has anyone else messed up a home dry age? How do you deal with humidity without buying a $2,000 setup?

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williams.kim•23d ago

Hit 10,000 pounds of sausage this week, expected more honestly

I tracked my output for a full year and just crossed 10,000 lbs of links at my shop in Omaha. I thought I was doing way less, so the number kind of annoyed me at first. Anyone else find that their actual count messes with their head more than the beef and pork lists do?

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dylanmurray•25d ago

The regular who taught me more about beef than my CUT-101 class

A retired butcher from Pittsburgh came in last Tuesday, saw me trimming a chuck roll all wrong, and spent 20 minutes showing me how to follow the seam fat instead of guessing. He said "you're fighting the muscle, kid, work with it" and pointed out three spots where I was leaving good meat on the table. Anyone else have an old-timer drop knowledge on them in an unexpected place, or was I just lucky?

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sage_ramirez42•29d ago

The primal cut obsession is ruining good chuck work

Everyone in my shop swears by breaking down primals, but after 12 years behind the counter I think it's overrated for everyday customers. Last Tuesday I trimmed a whole chuck roll for a lady who just wanted stew meat, and the standard saw work gave us double the waste. Anyone else notice that custom knife work on subprimals actually sells faster, or is my shop just weird?

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eric723•29d ago

Wet aging at home in a mini fridge, night and day difference

Used to just buy whole primals and slice them up the same week, thought that was as good as it got. Then about 4 months ago my buddy who runs a deli in Toledo let me borrow an old mini fridge he was going to toss. I set it to 34 degrees, put a cheap humidity meter inside, and tried wet aging a ribeye primal for 14 days in its cryovac. The texture was way more tender and the flavor had this deeper, beefier note that I never got from fresh cuts. Now I hold almost everything at least 10 days before breaking down, even my chuck rolls. That small fridge sits in the corner of my shop and it's probably the best $0 investment I've made in this trade. Has anyone else tried aging at home with a spare fridge, and what's your sweet spot for days?

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casey_harris•1mo ago

New guy kept trimming the fat cap too thin on my briskets

Last week I let my part timer handle the trim on a 15 pounder and he shaved it down to almost nothing, thought he was doing me a favor. That cap is what keeps the flat from drying out over a 12 hour cook, he cost me a whole case of disappointment. Anyone else have to train someone on the touch of leaving about a quarter inch?

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elizabethhayes•1mo ago

Struck gold at a random farmers market demo in Portland

Was killing time before a supply run and this old school butcher was breaking down a whole hog on a folding table. He used a curved boning knife to pop the hip joint in like 20 seconds, way cleaner than my usual method. Anyone else pick up tricks from just watching someone work in person?

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gavinlopez•1mo ago

Finally figured out a trick to keep my c-clamps from sliding off those round stainless tables

I wiped a thin layer of rosin on the clamp pads after watching an old timer do it for 3 seconds at a job last month, and now my cuts don't shift even when I'm breaking down a whole pig on a slick surface, has anyone else tried something like that with their setup?

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faith684•1mo ago

My pork chops went from dry to juicy after I started brining them overnight last month

I used to just season and grill them straight from the fridge, but this past July I tried a simple salt and sugar brine for 8 hours before cooking, and the texture difference was night and day. Has anyone else had luck with brining tougher cuts like shoulder steaks?

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perry.evan•1mo ago

Tried wet aging vs dry aging a ribeye primal side by side last week

Got two choice ribeye primals from the same steer. Hung one in the cooler for 28 days dry and wet aged the other in a vacuum bag for the same time. The dry age lost almost 30% in trim weight. Wet age barely lost any. But the flavor difference was night and day. Dry age had that beefy nutty taste. Wet age just tasted like regular beef. Is the extra waste worth it to you guys?

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troy832•1mo ago

Went back to the old school way of tying roasts last week

I started out 15 years ago using nothing but butcher's twine and a simple knot. Then I got a job at a big shop where everyone used those elastic nets for everything. Thought it was faster until I had a customer complain the net left marks on her prime rib. Last week I pulled out the twine again for a 12 lb sirloin and honestly it felt better. Anyone else ditch the modern tools and go back to basics?

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the_tessa•1mo ago

I still hand-tie roasts, call me old school

Been seeing a lot of guys using those elastic netting rolls for boneless roasts. I tried it for about a month back in 2022 after Jake at the shop in Philly swore by it. But I switched back to cotton twine because the netting hides a bad tie job. You can't see if the meat is uneven until you slice it and it falls apart. Has anyone else found that the netting messes with how even the roast cooks?

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evan_wilson18•1mo ago

Finally caught myself cross-contaminating after 8 years

I was breaking down a chuck roll last Tuesday and grabbing a worn out blade from the same bin I use for trimming brisket fat cap. It hit me like a ton of bricks when the owner walked by and asked why I wasn't using a sanitized bin for each subprimal. I had been using the same dirty board and knife for everything since I started at a shop in Denver back in 2016. Nobody ever corrected me because we were always in a rush during the morning prep rush. Now I keep three separate cutting stations with clearly marked handles. Anybody else have a moment where a simple habit got called out and suddenly made you feel like an amateur?

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