c/butchers

Shoutout to the dry aging bag approach over the whole primal setup

I spent two years using a dedicated dry aging fridge with whole primals hanging in there. Big investment, lots of space, constant humidity battles. Last month a butcher buddy in Knoxville convinced me to try the UMAi dry aging bags on some ribeye subprimals instead. Night and day difference for my small shop. The bags let me use my existing reach-in cooler without any modifications. Plus I got way less waste because the pellicle formed more evenly on the bagged cuts versus the open hanging ones where the outer part got tough. Has anyone else made the switch and noticed the bags actually give you better yield on the final trim?

2 comments

dylanmurray•1d ago

TIL my band saw blade tension was way off for months

Been running my shop for 6 years and always thought a little wobble was normal on the AWM saw I bought used. Last week I finally had a blade snap during a pork shoulder break down and nearly took out my hand. How do you guys check tension without relying on the built in gauge that seems to lie to you?

2 comments

derekjenkins•2d ago

I still think about the customer who asked me to trim all the fat off a ribeye and then complained it was tough.

At the shop in Portland about 5 years ago, a lady insisted I take every bit of marbling off a prime ribeye because she was scared of fat, and then she came back the next day mad that the steak was dry and chewy - has anyone else dealt with customers who don't understand fat equals flavor?

2 comments

julia557•4d ago

Had a week from heaven in the cooler last November

I remember this one week back in November where everything just clicked at the shop. We got in six whole beef carcasses early Monday morning, and for some reason every single one of them was practically perfect. The fat cover was even, the connective tissue was clean, and I hardly had to trim anything off the ribeyes. Normally I waste a good 5 to 8 percent on fat and silver skin, but that week I was under 2 percent. My wrist barely hurt from all the boning knife work, and the band saw didn't even choke on the T-bones. By Friday I had all my primals broken down and wrapped by 2 PM, which never happens. Has anyone else ever gotten a run of beef that just seemed to fall apart perfectly under the knife?

3 comments

nathanj56•4d ago

Warning: Hot water cleaning ruined my cutting boards quicker than anything

I was skeptical when an old timer at the shop in Denver said stop using hot water on my plastic cutting boards. He said the heat opens up the pores and traps bacteria deeper, which I thought was bunk. After 6 months of testing cold water rinses only, my boards stopped warping and lasting twice as long. Anyone else been told to ditch hot water for board care?

2 comments

henderson.vera•8d ago

Talked to an old timer about hanging beef the old way

Ran into Bill at the supplier yesterday, he's been cutting since the 70s. He was saying how they used to hang sides for 21 days minimum, no exceptions. I told him most of our stuff goes out in 10-12 days now because the restaurants want it yesterday. He just shook his head and said 'you're selling meat, not flavor.' That stuck with me all afternoon. Makes me wonder if I'm spending too much time on speed and not enough on what the customer actually tastes. Has anyone else tried pushing for longer hang times with their accounts?

3 comments

willow114•10d ago

Rant: Took me 5 years to realize I was trimming brisket the wrong way

I was watching an old timer at the meat shop in Austin last month trim a packer and he pointed out I was cutting with the grain instead of against it for the fat cap, and now I'm mad about all those uneven slices I've served up.

2 comments

miam75•11d ago

Old timer told me I was boning out hogs wrong...

Been a butcher for about 8 years now, learned from this guy named Sal who ran a shop in Philly. He insisted on leaving the rib bones in for loin roasts, said it kept the meat from drying out. Last month I started pulling them out same as my new boss wants, and honestly the roasts cut way easier and customers haven't complained once. Anybody else have an old habit you had to unlearn that actually turned out better?

2 comments

riley_taylor•11d ago

Vent: Am I the only one tired of people trimming fat caps too close?

I've had three folks bring in roasts this month where the fat cap was barely 1/8 inch left, and they wondered why the meat came out dry. Any old-school butchers still leave a solid 1/2 inch for moisture?

2 comments

ray_miller41•15d ago

Unpopular opinion: dry aging at home might not be worth the space it takes up in your cooler

I had a chat with a guy who runs a butcher shop in Omaha last week at a supplier meetup. He told me he pulled all his dry aged beef from the display case because customers couldn't tell the difference from wet aged in blind taste tests he did for 3 months. That got me thinking about my own setup where I've got two whole racks tied up with dry aging bags that could hold more primal cuts I actually sell. Has anyone else ever run a test like that on their own customers and gotten the same result?

2 comments

jesse994•15d ago

I compared dry aging bags vs a dedicated dry aging fridge for beef

I got a dry aging bag from a supplier about 2 months ago because I didn't have the cash for a full fridge setup. Did a 30 day prime rib in that bag and another cut in my buddy's commercial dry ager. The bag did okay but the texture and flavor wasn't as deep or even as the fridge one. The bagged one had some weird spots too where the meat touched the plastic. Anyone else tried bag aging and had similar issues?

2 comments

finley729•16d ago

Had a customer at the shop yesterday insist I trim his ribeyes 'paper thin' for jerky

He wanted me to run a prime ribeye through the deli slicer at setting 1, and I told him no because that's a waste of meat. Has anyone else had to explain to people that not every cut belongs in a dehydrator?

2 comments

derek994•17d ago

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?

3 comments

the_hayden•19d ago

Came across a whole pig that was butchered wrong at a shop in Detroit last week

The guy had cut all the shoulder meat into random chunks instead of following the muscle seams, and it was a mess to fix. Has anyone else had to rework someone else's bad cuts on a whole animal?

2 comments

jamie_white•20d ago

Realized I was using the wrong knife for breaking down chickens for 5 years

I went to a workshop last fall at a shop in Portland and the instructor watched me work for about 2 minutes. He pointed out that my wrist was bent funny because my boning knife was too stiff and long for poultry. Has anyone else switched to a more flexible blade and noticed a big difference in how clean your cuts come out?

3 comments

felixlee•22d ago

Saw a guy at the farmers market deboning a whole pig in 12 minutes flat.

Watched him work a boning knife like it was part of his hand. Changed how I hold my blade now. Anyone else pick up tricks from watching old timers?

3 comments

the_matthew•22d ago

The real reason my briskets were drying out hit me last Sunday

I was trimming a 14 pound prime packer at 6am and realized the fat cap I was leaving was way too thin. 3 years ago a guy named Pete at a shop in Austin told me to leave a quarter inch minimum and I ignored him. After months of dry flats I finally measured my trim and I was taking it down to like an eighth of an inch. Anyone else learn a simple trick way later than they should have?

2 comments

anderson.david•23d ago

Warning: don't use a bandsaw for breaking down primals like I did for two months.

I kept using my cheap bandsaw to cut up whole loins and rounds thinking it was faster, but the meat quality dropped fast from all the bone dust and heat. After switching back to a good breaking knife, I saw way less waste and better yield - has anyone else dealt with this?

2 comments

evan_wilson18•23d ago

Rant: Tried wet aging primals in the walk-in and it turned into a nightmare

Had a whole New York strip primal in the cryovac for 3 weeks... looked great on the outside but when I opened it, the smell hit me like a truck. The meat had this weird ammonia funk and the texture was off. Turns out my walk-in temp was bouncing between 34 and 38 degrees, not holding steady at 34 like I thought. Anyone else have trouble dialing in their cooler for wet aging, or do you just stick to dry aging on the rack?

2 comments

annas87•24d ago

Found a better way to keep my band saw blade clean during a busy Saturday shift

Last weekend we had a big rush on pork shoulders and the band saw blade kept gumming up after just 3 or 4 cuts. I was spending more time stopping to scrape it off than actually breaking down product. A guy from the next shop over told me to try spraying it with a mix of water and a little white vinegar between each shoulder. I gave it a shot and it cut down the gumming by like 80% and I only had to stop once all morning. Has anyone else used a vinegar spray on their blades or do you have another go-to method?

2 comments

finleyh89•24d ago

Watched a 70 year old butcher break down a whole hog at the NC State Fair demo tent

I was standing there for maybe 20 minutes watching this guy work, and he barely even looked at the knife. Just let the joints tell him where to cut... I've been fighting with bone saws and forcing things for like 4 years and that dude made me realize I've been using way too much force this whole time. Has anyone else had a moment where watching some old timer made you totally change your approach?

2 comments

joseph_torres•25d ago

Just read a study on dry aging loss percentages and it changed how I price

I always figured losing 15-20% to trimming was normal, but a meat science paper from Kansas State said proper dry aging at 34°F loses closer to 8% if you manage humidity right. I found it through the AMSA website last night while looking up something else. Has anyone else tried tracking their exact trim waste to adjust pricing?

3 comments

the_cameron•25d ago

Vent: Wasted $150 on a fancy vacuum sealer that barely works for meat

Bought a high-end FoodSaver from the box store last January, thinking it'd save me time wrapping primals. Turns out it can't handle any moisture without shorting the seal bar - my steaks leaked like crazy. Lost about 30 pounds of good chuck roasts to freezer burn before I tossed the machine in the garage. Anyone else stick to good old freezer paper and tape?

3 comments

kaiharris•27d ago

My old boss told me I was trimming too much fat off ribeyes

I used to trim ribeyes real clean, like almost no fat cap left. Old timer at my first shop in Portland pulled me aside and said I was ruining the flavor and leaving money on the table. He showed me to leave a solid quarter inch on there and the customers actually started coming back for more. Has anyone else gotten that kind of feedback that totally flipped how you cut things?

3 comments

briancarter•28d ago

Found a trick to keep my band saw from wandering on pork shoulders

I was fighting with my band saw all week slicing through bone-in pork butts for a big order in Tulsa. Switched to a 14-tpi blade with a wider gullet and slowed the feed speed by about 20 percent. The cuts came out way cleaner and I saved maybe 45 minutes across 12 shoulders. Anyone else mess with blade pitch for different cuts?

3 comments