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Been cutting beef for 30 years and I just learned most steaks are hung wrong
I was reading through an old USDA meat grading manual from 1978 I found at a garage sale last weekend. Turns out there's a whole section about how the hanging method affects tenderness by something like 15 percent just based on which leg bone carries the weight. Every shop I have ever worked at just hooks them however is fastest. The manual says hanging by the aitch bone instead of the gambrel can change the stretch on the loin and rib muscles completely. Has anyone else messed around with different hanging positions on your rail or am I overthinking an old book?
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daniel_walker3mo ago
That "aitch bone" term threw me too at first, Bettywood - it's actually the same as the pelvic bone, just old school slang from the manual. Troy832 is right that the difference on ribeyes is real, I saw the same thing when I tested it on just two sides last year. The USDA manual even says the stretch on the loin changes by a measurable amount, not just some theory. Its crazy that we hang thousands of pounds every day without thinking about which bone carries the weight.
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troy8323mo ago
Man I totally get what you're saying. I read that same old manual years ago from a retired butcher and it blew my mind too. I started messing around with hanging by the aitch bone on a few test carcasses and the difference on the ribeyes was noticeable, less tough chewy spots. Makes you wonder how many little tricks we just skip because nobody questions the fast way.
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