c/butchers

Had a whole side of beef slip off the gambrel in the middle of a breakdown.

It was at the old shop in Boise, and the primal hit the floor before I could catch it. Anyone have a good method for securing those hooks besides just hoping for the best?

My old band saw motor gave up the ghost last Thursday

It was a 20 year old unit from a shop in Spokane that closed down. I was breaking down a side of beef when it just quit, no smoke or anything. Had to finish the job with a hand saw, which took an extra 45 minutes. I'm looking at a replacement motor, but the specs are hard to match for the old frame. Anyone know a good supplier for vintage equipment parts, or is it finally time to upgrade the whole saw?

Serious question, I saw a butcher shop in Omaha with a huge sign for 'grass-fed, grain-finished' beef.

I was driving through Omaha last week and stopped at a small shop called Heartland Meats. Their main window had a big banner explaining their beef was grass-fed but grain-finished for 120 days. I've always just sold grass-fed or grain-fed, not a mix. It got me wondering about how other shops handle labeling and what customers really want to know. Do you think that kind of specific sign helps sales or just confuses people?

I finally tried a new aging rack setup for my dry-aged ribeyes

Built a custom rack with more airflow, thinking it would speed up the process for a big order from The Oak Room. After 45 days, the pellicle was way too thick and I lost nearly 40% to trim, which killed my margin. Learned that more airflow isn't always better for a standard 30-45 day age. Anyone have a solid rack spacing measurement they swear by for a standard fridge setup?

A customer at the Des Moines farmers market made me rethink my pork shoulder pricing

Last Saturday, a guy asked why my bone-in shoulder was $4.99 a pound when the boneless was $5.49. I explained the bone weight, but he said most folks just see a bigger piece for less cash and feel cheated... Now I'm thinking maybe I should price them the same and just explain the yield. What's your take on pricing bone-in versus boneless cuts?

Finally tried a full dry age on a rib section versus my usual wet age

I set up a small dry age fridge for a 28 day rib section from a local farm. The other side I wet aged in cryovac like I always do. The dry aged side lost about 15% weight, but the flavor was way deeper and the fat tasted almost nutty. Cutting it was a bit more work, but the customer feedback was amazing. Has anyone else made the switch and found a good way to price the trim loss?

Had a customer in Tulsa ask for a full beef tenderloin, silver skin off, but I nicked the main muscle pretty deep on the first pass.

I was so focused on speed I forgot my own rule about feeling for the membrane first... ended up having to trim it into steaks at a loss. Anyone have a trick for staying patient on those high-pressure, high-cost cuts?

Finally got the hang of splitting a full beef tenderloin for steaks

I had this big tenderloin from a local farm and had to pick between cutting it into thick filets for a few high end orders or doing a mix of sizes to fill more regular steak boxes. I went with the mix, which meant I had to really watch my angles to keep the smaller steaks from looking like scraps. Took me about 45 minutes to get it all done, but I ended up with 22 steaks total, from 8 oz to 14 oz. The best part was my boss coming over and saying the trim looked clean and the yield was solid. It felt good to nail the choice on my own. Has anyone else had a cut where going for variety over just the big pieces really paid off?

I was sharpening my boning knife wrong for years and a guy in Kansas City showed me why

I always used a 20-degree angle on my boning knife, thinking it was a good all-around edge. Last month, I was helping a friend at his shop in KC, and he watched me for a second and said, 'You're fighting that blade.' He had me switch to a 15-degree angle for the flexible knives, and the difference in how it moves through silver skin is night and day. Anyone else use a different angle for their boning knives versus their breaking knives?

Question about a dry aged ribeye that came out too salty

I tried a 45 day dry age on a prime ribeye from a local farm, but the crust was so salty it was almost inedible. I think I overdid the salt rub at the start by about 20 percent. How do you all balance the salt for a longer age without ruining the meat?

Pro tip: A customer in Omaha told me my pork shoulder cuts were too thick for their smoker... now I always ask about their gear first.

Question about the old way of hanging a side of beef

An old timer named Gus at the St. Paul meat market in '98 showed me his trick for hanging a hindquarter using just a single hook and a specific twist of the Achilles tendon, saying 'that's how we did it before every cooler had a rail system,' and I still use his method when the power's out.

Hot take: Overheard a chef at the farmer's market say 'dry-aged is just a fancy word for rotten'

It made me think about how we explain the process to people who don't get it. How do you guys describe dry-aging to a skeptical customer?

Spent 45 minutes looking for a missing boning knife yesterday

Tore apart my whole station, checked the sink, even looked in the walk-in. My apprentice finally pointed out I'd put it in the scabbard on my belt, something I never do. The whole shop got a good laugh at my expense. Anyone else ever have a tool hide in plain sight like that?

Bought a $300 'smart' knife sharpener that almost wrecked my boning blade

It was this fancy gadget with lights and beeps that promised perfect edges every time, but it ground the tip of my favorite Dexter into a weird hook shape. I had to spend another afternoon fixing it by hand on my stones. Has anyone else had a tool that sounded great but just made more work?

That huge catering order last Thursday almost broke me, but it taught me a lesson.

We had to break down 12 whole lambs for a wedding in under four hours, and I was convinced we'd need to rush and skip steps. My senior guy insisted we keep the same pace and sharpening routine. The final presentation was flawless, and we finished with time to spare. How do you all handle the pressure of a massive rush order without cutting corners?

A customer's simple comment made me rethink my pork chop display

An older lady came into the shop in Springfield last month and said, 'Son, I can't tell which chops are the thick-cut ones from here.' I always just laid them out flat on the tray. The next day, I started propping the thick-cut ones up at a slight angle against a small block, so the edge is visible from the front. It seems obvious now, but I'd been doing it the other way for five years. How do you all set up your case to make cuts clear from a distance?

Saw a butcher in Savannah hang his beef for 28 days in a special cooler

I was down in Georgia last week and stopped by this small shop called The Meat Hook. The owner showed me his dry aging room, which he keeps at exactly 36 degrees with 80% humidity. He said the key is using a specific fan to move the air just right so the meat doesn't dry out too fast. Has anyone else tried a setup like that for longer aging?

Had a close call with a dull boning knife last Tuesday

I was breaking down a side of beef at the shop in Springfield and my blade skipped off a hip bone. It nicked my glove and just missed my thumb. I had to stop, put on a new glove, and sharpen the knife right there. Has anyone else had a blade get dull that fast on a big job?

Hot take: I bought a $300 electric knife sharpener that ruined my boning knife

It overheated and took the temper right out of the steel, leaving a soft spot about two inches long. Anyone have a reliable manual system they swear by for keeping an edge on curved blades?

I heard a guy at the meat counter tell his friend that a sharp knife is more dangerous than a dull one, and I think he's got it backwards.

A dull blade forces you to use way more pressure, which leads to slips and less control, like when I was breaking down a 50lb pork shoulder last week and my old boning knife skipped off a joint.

I was ready to quit on a whole hog breakdown until I tried a different saw blade

Last month I had a 300 pound hog that just would not split cleanly through the spine with my usual blade, it kept binding and making a mess. Out of frustration, I swapped to a 14 TPI skip tooth blade I had for something else, and it went through like butter in under two minutes. I mean, I always thought a blade was a blade for that job, but the right tooth pattern made all the difference. Anyone else find a specific tool change that saved a tough cut?

I thought the 'dry brine your brisket for 48 hours' thing was just hype.

Tried it on a 16-pounder for a family event after seeing it on a Texas BBQ forum, and the bark was way better and the flat stayed juicy. It made me rethink my whole prep routine. What's a tip you were wrong about that turned out great?

I spent a whole day trying to break down a whole beef shoulder clod the 'right' way

Honestly, I thought I knew my way around a primal cut. This massive shoulder clod came in from a local farm, and I decided to follow this detailed breakdown guide from a big industry magazine. They had all these perfect, clean separations for flat iron, petite tender, and teres major. Ngl, it was a nightmare. The muscle seams on this specific animal were nothing like the pictures. I must have spent 3 hours just trying to find the right angle to free the flat iron without mangling it. My knife kept hitting gristle and weird connective tissue that wasn't in the diagram. What should have been a 90-minute job turned into a full 8-hour shift of careful picking and frustration. I ended up with the muscles, but the yield was way off and I felt like I wasted a ton of time. Has anyone else had a breakdown guide completely fail them on a real, non-textbook piece of meat?

My band saw blade snapped right as I was starting a big brisket order at the shop in Boise.

I had to hand-finish the trim on all 15 pieces with my boning knife, which took an extra two hours, but the customer never knew the difference. Has anyone else had a major tool fail right in the middle of a rush order, and what's your backup plan?