c/butchers

Went to a lamb processor outside Boise, whole different world

Stopped by a small family run lamb processor near Boise last month, just to see how they handle the older ewes vs the spring lambs. What got me was how they grade the fat cover by feel alone, no calipers or anything. The guy running it has 30 years in and can call the yield within a couple percent. Made me rethink how much I lean on my scale and charts at the counter. Anyone else ever watch an old timer work and realize you been overcomplicating the whole craft?

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laura_schmidt82•1d ago

Shelled out $140 for a band saw blade sharpener, wish I got it sooner

I kept putting blades off until they were dull enough to burn the meat instead of cut it. Finally grabbed one of those bench top sharpeners last month after ruining my third pork shoulder. First use paid for itself, the blade cuts like new and I'm not buying a $30 replacement every 6 weeks. My supplier charges $25 per sharpening anyway, so it's basically broke even after 6 blades. Anyone else ever try these, or do you just buy fresh blades and call it a day?

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ryan_barnes•2d ago

That 50 dollar vacuum sealer was a total scam, got 11 days out of it

Bought one of those compact chamber sealers online after a buddy swore by his, but it died mid-pack on a pork belly batch last Tuesday. The motor just seized up and the warranty form requires a receipt from a store that doesn't exist anymore, has anyone else hit this wall with cheap units?

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grays13•4d ago

The $60 bone saw that paid for itself in a week

Bought a cheap electric bone saw off Amazon to try out. Thought my hand saw was fine. First day using it on pork shoulders, cut my prep time in half. Second day did a full beef breakdown that would've taken me all morning. That week I took on two extra custom orders I would've turned down before. Cost was 60 bucks and some change. Anyone else made a tool upgrade that seemed like a splurge but turned out to be a no brainer?

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milam48•4d ago

Friday night rush went weirdly smooth, almost suspicious

Had a Friday where we sold through 14 beef briskets before 6pm, which never happens at my shop in Toledo. Normally by that point I'm sweating through my apron and trying to keep the saw blade from binding on a frozen rib section. But this time everything just clicked, the new guy remembered to sharpen the boning knives first thing, and the phone only rang twice during the whole evening. I even had time to actually trim a pork shoulder properly instead of rushing it, which felt like a tiny victory. We closed out 20 minutes early, which has happened maybe three times in the last two years. Anyone else ever had a shift that felt too calm, and did you just wait for the other shoe to drop the next day?

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jakejones•6d ago

Saw a whole pig breakdown at a small shop in Portland, changed how I trim

I stopped into this little butcher shop off Division Street last Saturday, just to grab some sausage. The guy behind the counter was breaking down a whole hog, and I stood there way too long watching. He did the belly and loin in about 20 minutes, no wasted motion, and he trimmed the fat cap on the shoulder way thinner than I ever do at my station. Asked him about it and he said he leaves more silver skin on his chops on purpose, says it keeps them from drying out on the grill. I tried that on a couple pork chops at home yesterday, seemed to work. Anyone else picked up a trick just by watching someone work a carcass in person? How long did you stay quiet before asking questions?

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torres.thea•8d ago

TIL my blade angle was off for 12 years, a customer pointed it out

Some older guy watches me break down a ribeye yesterday and goes, "you're slicing with your wrist, not your shoulder." I laughed it off, but tried his way on the next cut. Swear the whole motion felt easier, and my strips came out cleaner with less sawing. Now I'm wondering if my carpal tunnel twinges were just bad form this whole time. Anyone else get a random tip from a customer that actually beat what their mentor taught them?

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hugoj12•10d ago

Aged beef vs fresh cut, same cow, 21 days apart

I did a little experiment last month with two ribeyes from the same cow at my shop in Albany. Cut one right away, vacuum sealed the other and let it hang for 21 days in our cooler. The aged one had way deeper flavor but lost about 8% weight to moisture, and the fresh one was more tender but tasted kinda flat. Is dry aging really worth the shrink for most home cooks, or are we just chasing fancy restaurant vibes? Curious what other butchers tell their regular customers.

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nancyn69•16d ago

The kid at the farmers market made me rethink how I trim briskets

I had a guy, maybe 22 years old, come up to my stall on Saturday and ask why I was cutting off so much fat. I told him it was for a consistent cook, but he said he buys his brisket leaving all that fat on because it keeps the meat moist and he just trims it after. I've been trimming hard for 15 years, running a shop in Portland, and it never crossed my mind that some folks actually want that extra layer at home. It's got me wondering if I should start offering two cuts, one trimmed and one not, but I'm worried it'll slow down my counter on busy mornings. Has anyone else tried selling untrimmed brisket to home cooks and did it actually sell?

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angela587•18d ago

The older butcher's blade angle advice finally clicked after I cut myself bad

Old Pete at the swap meet watched me sharpen my boning knife for 2 minutes, told me I was fighting the steel instead of letting it slide, and after I nicked my thumb on a ham hock last Tuesday I tried his way, so has anyone else found that matching the bevel to the cut saves you more than any fancy whetstone?

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aaroncampbell•18d ago

The lamb leg I dropped in the sawdust at 6 AM

Was breaking down a whole lamb before the rush last Tuesday and the thing slipped right out of my hands, landed flat in the sawdust by the bandsaw. My boss saw the whole thing and just stared at me for a solid five seconds. I rinsed it under cold water, trimmed the dusty bits, and told the customer it was a pre-seasoned cut. Ended up selling it as a special for 20% off and nobody complained, but I triple check my grip now. Anyone else ever had a close call with a floor drop and had to get creative?

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gibson.avery•21d ago

Tried a bone saw on ribeye caps and tore the whole roast apart

Got a new band saw from a supplier in Portland last week, figured I'd speed up my ribeye cap prep instead of hand trimming. Set the blade way too aggressive, about 14 teeth per inch, and it grabbed the muscle fiber instead of cutting clean. The caps came out shredded and stringy, looked like pulled beef before I even hit the grill. Lesson learned, I'm going back to my old knife for caps and keeping the saw for bone work only. Has anyone else had a saw eat a tender cut like that or is it just me?

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spencer_park26•22d ago

Tried a bone saw on a brisket and it changed my whole process

Last Saturday I gave up on my band saw for a hand bone saw on a 14 pound packer brisket, thinking it would take forever but it cut clean through the chuck end in under 4 minutes. The control was way better, no scorched bone dust, and I didn't have to break down the whole rig just for one cut. Has anyone else swapped to a manual saw for single cuts, or am I just slow with my band saw adjustments?

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kimmurphy•25d ago

The 5-minute pork loin trick that saved my Saturday rush

Been doing Saturday chops for years and the line would always back up around 11am. Tried brining in big batches, tried pre-cutting, nothing clicked until I saw a guy at the Detroit farmers market slice his loins while still semi-frozen. Now I pop them in the freezer 40 minutes before service, and the knife glides through like butter, zero torn edges, cuts the prep time to a solid 15 minutes flat. Anyone else use the partial freeze method or am I just late to the party?

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miller.rowan•26d ago

Rant: My tenderloin chain almost cost me a finger on the bandsaw

Was breaking down a whole beef tenderloin in Wichita on a Tuesday and the chain slipped into the blade, grabbed my glove, and shredded the safety guard before I hit the kill switch, so has anyone else switched to cutting chains by hand even if it adds 10 minutes?

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kimr74•28d ago

Had to pick between dry aging bags and a full cooler setup, went cheap first

I only had about $300 to play with this fall, so I chose the umai bags over buying a dedicated mini fridge for dry aging. The first ribeye roast came out decent but the flavor was WAY milder than I expected, and I'm wondering if the bags just don't get that deep funk. Has anyone else compared bag aging to a real cooler setup and noticed a big difference in the end product?

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lewis.terry•29d ago

Tried dry aging in a regular fridge, the smell test caught me off guard

Last month I got a cheap mini fridge off Craigslist in Portland to try dry aging some ribeyes at home. I set it up with a fan and a salt block, watched the temp like a hawk, and after 21 days I opened it expecting that deep beefy aroma. Instead it hit me with this funky, almost sour scent that made me second guess the whole batch. Turns out my humidity was way too high, the outside crust was developing a slimy patch near the bone. I trimmed it, cooked one steak, and honestly it tasted fine but the texture was off, not the buttery melt I read about. Learned I need a proper humidity controller or just stick with my local shop's dry aged program. Has anyone else had a home dry aging fail and salvaged it, or did you toss the whole thing? I'm debating trying again with a different setup or just buying from a pro.

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diana512•29d ago

The $8 boning knife from the flea market outlasted my $120 one

Picked it up in Nashville last month just to try, figured it'd dull in a week but the blade holds an edge crazy good for basic stuff. Anyone else find random cheap tools that beat the fancy ones for real work?

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angela587•1mo ago

Hit 10,000 chickens processed this month, never expected it

Been running my own poultry setup in Green Bay for about 4 years now, and November just crossed 10,000 birds processed. That number surprised me because I started doing 40 a week for local farmers, then word spread and now I have a crew of 3 helping on Saturdays. The scald tank upgrade from a used 30 gallon to a 55 gallon was what really pushed the volume, but I'm wondering if anyone else hits a milestone like this and suddenly questions their pricing per bird. How do you know when to raise rates without losing the regulars?

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amy_anderson•1mo ago

Found out my band saw blade was dull from a cut test, not a feel test

I've been cutting for 12 years and always judged blade sharpness by running my thumb along the teeth. Last Tuesday I had a pork shoulder that kept shredding instead of slicing clean, so I finally did the test my old mentor swore by. You take a piece of scrap paper and try to cut it in a straight line with the blade off the machine, just pressing down. My blade went through like butter for the first inch then tore the paper after that. Turns out the teeth were fine at the tip but duller toward the back where I do most of my heavy work. I switched to a new blade and the difference was night and day, same cut took half the force. Has anyone else used the paper test instead of trusting the thumb feel? I'm wondering if I should teach my apprentice this method too.

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wren638•1mo ago

The county fair breakdown booth gave me a whole new rule for my shop

I watched a guy at the county fair in Lancaster ask for a pork chop and the kid working the booth handed him a piece that was mostly fat and gristle. The kid had no idea what he was cutting, just hacking away at the loin. That night I went home and made every new guy at my shop do a breakdown test on a whole shoulder before they ever touch the band saw. Has anyone else had to deal with customers who think cutting meat is just swinging a knife until it looks small enough?

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knight.dylan•1mo ago

Beef plate vs brisket for burgers, I switched and never looked back

Been running my shop in Tacoma for 8 years now and always used chuck for my burger grind. Last month a buddy from a slaughterhouse in Spokane told me to try beef plate instead. He said the fat ratio is way more consistent and it's cheaper by about $1.20 a pound. I did a test batch of 25 pounds, ground it coarse once, and honestly the flavor was deeper and the patties held together better on the flat top. My regulars noticed the difference before I even told them. Anyone else tried plate over chuck for their house grind, or am I just chasing something that's not worth the extra effort for most folks?

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avery_flores17•1mo ago

After 12 years, a market inspector in Portland made me change my whole breakdown routine

She watched me trim a brisket and told me I was leaving too much silver skin for the customer, so now I spend an extra 15 minutes per cut and my regulars actually notice the difference, has anyone else had an inspector or customer call out something that basic?

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patricia_gonzalez•1mo ago

Broke my good breaking knife on a T-bone yesterday

I've had this Victorinox breaking knife for about 4 years now, never had a problem with it. Yesterday I was breaking down a T-bone and the tip just snapped off clean when I went to separate the strip from the bone. Must have hit a weird angle or something. I was halfway through the steer too, so I had to finish with my boning knife which was a pain. The whole cut took me like 45 minutes longer than normal. Anyone else had a knife tip break on them like that? What did you do afterwards, try to regrind the tip or just buy a new one?

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hollyl25•1mo ago

Went to a butcher shop in Austin and nobody was using the bandsaw right

Saw three guys in a row hacking through bone with a dull blade and I swear they spent more time fighting it than if they'd just stopped to file the teeth, anyone else notice shops skipping basic maintenance on their saws?

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