c/butchers

My boss said to always check the saw blade before cutting a rack of lamb

He told me a dull blade can tear the meat, not cut it. I ignored him once and ruined a $120 order. Anyone else learned this the hard way?

Just sharpened my main boning knife for the 1000th time

My apprentice pointed out the steel is now a full inch shorter than when I bought it in '09. Anyone else have a tool that's basically a different shape from years of use?

Appreciation post: The old guy at the Portland farmers market who said 'you're selling the story, not just the steak'

He watched me cut a ribeye for a good five minutes before leaning over my counter and telling me I should explain the marbling and the dry-aging process to every single customer. Anyone else get a piece of advice that changed how you talk to people about your work?

Spent $400 on a new vacuum tumbler for my sausage mix and it's cut my prep time in half.

What other equipment upgrades have actually paid off for you guys?

PSA: That 'professional' knife sharpening service cost me $300 and a week of frustration

I sent out my main boning knife and two breaking knives to a new sharpening service I saw online, promising 'surgical edges' for $100 per blade. Got them back last Monday and the edges were completely wrong for our work, way too fine and chipped on the first beef rib primal I tackled. I had to send my apprentice to buy a whole new set of Victorinox knives just to get through the week's orders while I fixed the mess. The service refused a refund, so I'm out the $300 plus the cost of the emergency replacements. Has anyone found a reliable sharpener who actually understands butcher steel, preferably someone local in the Midwest?

I finally learned my lesson about cheap boning knives the hard way

I bought a set of three no-name boning knives online for $60 total, thinking I was getting a deal. The first one snapped at the handle while I was working on a pork shoulder last Tuesday. The second one lost its edge completely after breaking down just two lambs. I'm out the cash and had to rush to my supplier for a proper replacement in the middle of a busy day. Has anyone found a decent mid-priced flexible boning knife that actually holds up?

Spent $400 on a new band saw blade and it's been a total game changer

I finally bit the bullet and got that fancy, high-end band saw blade for breaking down primals. It was about $400, which felt crazy for a blade. But man, the cuts are so much cleaner and faster, I'm saving maybe 15 minutes per side of beef. On the other hand, my buddy says I'm nuts and that his $80 blades from the supply house do the same job after a good sharpening. He thinks the extra cash is just for the brand name. What's your take? Is a premium blade worth the investment, or is it all hype?

Hot take: I saw a guy in Omaha break down a whole hog with just a boning knife and a cleaver.

He was so fast and clean, it made me rethink my whole kit. Anyone else ever see a method that made you drop a tool?

Hot take: I used to trim all my brisket fat before smoking, but now I leave a quarter inch on.

Started doing it after a pitmaster in Austin told me it protects the meat and adds flavor. What's your standard trim thickness for a packer?

Question about hitting 500 pounds of sausage ground in a single day

We hit 500 pounds of sausage ground in one shift last week, which was wild because our old grinder used to jam up at around 300, so the new one is a total game changer for our holiday prep.

Realized I've been sharpening my boning knives wrong for a decade

Tbh, I always just used a steel and thought it was fine. A guy at the trade show in Kansas City last month watched me do it and said 'You're just polishing a dull edge, man.' He showed me the proper angle on a whetstone and the difference is night and day. Anyone else have a basic skill they were totally messing up?

PSA: My uncle told me to always cut pork shoulder with the grain for stew meat, but I tried against the grain last week and it's way more tender.

He swore it would fall apart in the pot, but I did a side by side test with two batches. The against-the-grain pieces stayed together fine and were just so much easier to chew. Has anyone else found this with specific cuts?

Tried a new dry age bag on a strip loin from the Springfield supplier

I used the UMAi 45 day bag on a prime strip loin, expecting the usual results, but the pellicle formed way thicker than normal. It was almost a quarter inch thick in some spots, which meant a lot more trim loss than I planned for. Has anyone else in the Midwest had this happen with their beef lately?

Had to pick between a band saw and a hand saw for a custom order last week

A customer wanted a specific bone-in cut from a whole lamb, and my usual band saw was down for a sharpening. I could either wait a day or do it by hand with a standard butcher's saw. I went with the hand saw, and it took me about 15 minutes longer than normal, but the cut was super clean. Has anyone else had to make a call like that when the main tool was out of action?

I saw a huge change in my pork shoulder yield after switching from a 6-inch to a 10-inch breaking knife for the initial split. Went from 82% usable meat to 89% in three months. Some guys say the bigger blade is just more to handle, others swear by the clean single-stroke cuts. What's your take?

My band saw blade snapped mid-cut on a whole ribeye last Thursday

It whipped back and knocked my favorite coffee mug off the bench, shattering it. Anyone got a good brand for blades that can handle a lot of bone-in primals?

Appreciation post: The difference a proper aging room makes

My old boss at the shop in Springfield used to hang primals in a walk-in cooler for maybe 10 days max. When I moved to a place with a real controlled aging room set at 34 degrees and 85% humidity, we started doing 28 days on the ribeyes. The flavor and tenderness are on another level, it's like a different cut of meat. Anyone else made that switch and seen a big jump in what customers are willing to pay?

Shoutout to the guy who talked me into a proper scabbard

I always thought a basic sheath was fine for my boning knives, but after a nasty cut from a loose blade, I dropped $80 on a Kydex scabbard. It clips right to my apron and the knife clicks in solid, no wiggle at all. Anyone have a good brand for a breaking knife scabbard that won't break the bank?

I finally asked a retired butcher about his sharpening routine

I ran into old man Henderson at the hardware store in Springfield last Thursday, and he asked how my edges were holding up. He said he never uses a powered sharpener on his boning knives, only a 1000 grit whetstone and a leather strop. He told me, 'Speed ruins steel, patience makes it sing.' That stuck with me because I've been using an electric sharpener for years thinking it was fine. Has anyone else made the switch from powered to hand sharpening for their daily blades?

Just walked through the meat section at a new grocery in Tacoma

I was checking out the competition and saw their primal cuts on display. The ribeyes were sitting out in the case with zero trim, full caps and heavy deckle still on. The case temp felt off too, way too warm for a proper hold. It looked like they were trying to sell untrimmed weight to customers who wouldn't know better. Has anyone else run into shops cutting corners like this lately?

Been sharpening my boning knives wrong for years, and it was costing me time.

I always used a 1000 grit stone and thought a finer edge was better. Last month, I timed myself breaking down a 140 lb hog and it took me almost 90 minutes just on the primals. On a whim, I switched to a coarser 400 grit stone for my main boning knife. The edge feels almost rough, but it bites into the meat and connective tissue way better. The next hog took me under an hour for the same work. I'm not going back. Anyone else find a rougher edge works better for heavy breaking?

Just read in a trade journal that 1 in 4 foodborne illness outbreaks linked to deli meats are traced back to improper slicer cleaning

It was in the latest issue of Meat Processing Monthly. They said the main culprit is the build-up in the hard-to-reach parts of the carriage mechanism, not just the blade. I clean my slicer every day, but now I'm wondering if I'm getting deep enough into those little grooves. Has anyone switched to a specific brush or cleaner for this that works better?

I wasted $200 on a 'professional' knife sharpener that just ruined my blades.

Stopped by a new shop in Boise and saw they were using a scimitar for all their primal breaks

I mean, idk, maybe it's just me but I've always reached for a breaking knife first, so has anyone else made that switch and found it better for your joints over a full day?

Read a USDA report that said 40% of beef trimmings get ground for burgers

I was looking at some industry numbers online and saw that stat from last year. It made me rethink how much of a whole side we're really breaking down versus just grinding. Do you guys find that ratio matches what moves through your shop?