c/butchers

The whole aging process is backwards for lamb, here's why I'm flipping it

I read a study from a meat science lab at Kansas State that says 5 days of dry aging on lamb beats 14 days for tenderness, and after trying it on 30 racks this month I think they're right. Anyone else find that longer aging just dulls the flavor on smaller cuts like chops?

1 comments

maxl93•1d ago

Tried dry aging in a $30 mini fridge, best mistake I made all summer

Last June I got sick of paying $40 a pound for dry aged ribeye from the shop downtown. So I grabbed one of those cheap dorm fridges off Facebook Marketplace, wired a computer fan to the lid, and threw in a 12 pound prime rib I cut myself. Salt block on the bottom, probe thermometer inside, and I checked it twice a day for 21 days. The crust was gnarly and I lost about 2 pounds to trim, but the flavor nailed that nutty, funky note we all chase. Anyone else tried the DIY route, or am I the only one who smells like old cheese every time I open my garage?

2 comments

brooke_taylor44•2d ago

Rant: Choosing between a $40 whetstone kit and a pro grinder for my shop

I finally had to pick between hand sharpening my knives with a basic whetstone set or dropping $800 on a commercial grinder for the counter. I went with the whetstone first because money was tight after rent hit $1,400 in Portland. Took me 45 minutes to get through just 3 steaks before the edge dulled again, and my wrist was screaming. Has anyone else tried doing production work with stones and just given up? I'm about to cave and buy the grinder this weekend.

2 comments

linda_reed•3d ago

That butcher block paste wax I ignored for 5 years finally made sense

I used to think wiping down my cutting boards with mineral oil was enough, no need for anything fancy. Then a customer from Tulsa asked me why my boards looked dull compared to his, and he handed me a tin of paste wax. I tried it on one end of a maple board last Tuesday, just to prove him wrong. The difference in color and how the wood felt was so obvious I did the whole board that night. Has anyone else found a product they swore was useless until someone showed them the right way to use it?

2 comments

morganmartinez•3d ago

Old butcher at the supply house set me straight about bone dust

He saw me brushing my bandsaw blade clean and told me i was just rubbing the grit deeper into the teeth, said to use a wire brush instead. Tried it on my last side of beef and the cuts came out way cleaner, no more dragging through the bone.

2 comments

wood.uma•5d ago

I picked a wood block over a plastic cutting board for my shop and I'm sticking with it

Everyone in our shop kept telling me plastic is the only way to go for sanitation. I got tired of hearing it so I grabbed a 2 inch thick maple block from a guy down in Tennessee about 6 months ago. Plastic is easier to bleach sure but wood actually heals itself a little from knife cuts and it stays way more stable on the counter. My band saw blade doesn't slip on it like it did with plastic and I've had zero issues with bacteria since I keep it oiled every week with mineral oil. The owner of the shop still gives me grief about it but my knives stay sharp way longer and I'm not replacing boards every 6 months like the rest of them. Has anyone else dealt with a stubborn boss on this or found a good way to prove wood is fine for commercial use?

2 comments

colethomas•6d ago

Went back and forth on bone in vs boneless for a pig shoulder order

Last month I had a customer ask for 50 pounds of pork shoulder for a big cookout. I usually push bone in because it's cheaper and I think the meat tastes better. But the guy wanted boneless for easier shredding after smoking. So I grabbed a whole bone in shoulder and broke it down myself to see how much yield I'd lose. Ended up losing about 18% to bone and fat trim which felt high. In the end I sold him boneless at a higher price per pound and he was happy. But I still think bone in is better for flavor if they have the time to pick around it. Anyone else deal with customers pushing for boneless against your better judgment?

3 comments

patricia32•6d ago

That time I watched a 70 year old butcher break down a whole steer in 20 minutes

I was just out of trade school and doing a stage at a shop in Portland. The owner, Bob, must have been 70 if he was a day. He grabbed a 900 lb carcass and had it primal cuts and ready for the cooler before I finished sharpening my knife. I realized right then that all the fancy new saws and power equipment can't replace knowing exactly where the seams are. Has anyone else learned more from watching an old timer for one day than from a whole class?

2 comments

flores.emma•8d ago

Split between wet aging and dry aging a whole ribeye primal last week

I had a choice to wet age half of a 70 pound ribeye primal or dry age it all in my new cooler setup. I went with dry aging half and wet aging the other half to see which gives me better flavor for the holidays. Has anyone else tried both methods side by side and found a clear winner for texture and taste?

2 comments

simon_carr•10d ago

Old timer at the shop set me straight on beef aging

Been doing this 8 years, thought I had aging down pat. Guy who's been cutting since the 70s watched me trim a ribeye and said 'that's not aged, that's just dry.' He showed me how the moisture loss changes the texture completely different from just hanging it. Took a primal he had going 45 days and the difference in tenderness was night and day. Any of you guys actually track humidity in your coolers or just go by days?

2 comments

taylor_patel•12d ago

Threw $400 at a band saw blade sharpener and it was a total waste

I run a small shop out of my garage in Tulsa and was getting tired of sending blades out for sharpening every couple weeks. Saw this portable sharpener online that claimed to handle any blade size. Paid $400 for it including shipping. First blade I tried it on came out uneven and actually left burn marks on the pork shoulders I was cutting. Tried adjusting the angle three different times but it never cut clean. Ended up tossing the whole thing in the scrap bin. Now I'm back to paying $15 per blade at the local sharpening service. Has anyone else fallen for one of these gadgets or do they actually work for somebody?

3 comments

troychen•14d ago

Botched a whole ribeye primal last Friday and saved it with a trick

I was breaking down a whole ribeye primal at the shop around 3 PM and my knife slipped on the cap, tore a big chunk off one of the steaks. Ended up with about a 6 ounce piece that was just mangled and useless for the case. I cubed it up on the spot and sold it as kabob meat for $5.99 a pound and it was gone within an hour. Has anyone else turned a bad cut into something that actually sold better?

2 comments

singh.harper•14d ago

Hit 50 whole hog breakdowns this month and it changed my thinking

I always thought breaking down a whole hog was too much hassle for the yield, but I hit 50 this month at the shop and started tracking the numbers. Turned out I was pulling 12% more saleable meat than I expected from each one, which adds up fast over a month. Has anyone else found their actual yield was way different from what they guessed?

2 comments

the_brian•15d ago

Old timer told me I was ruining my steaks with a wet bone saw

Guy named Frank who's been cutting since the 70s watched me break down a ribeye last week and said I was making things worse by spraying water on the saw blade every pass. He showed me how the water just pushes meat fibers around instead of cutting clean, leaving a ragged edge that loses moisture. I tried his way dry on the next primal and the slices came out way smoother with almost no waste. Has anyone else been told to ditch the water for certain cuts?

2 comments

mason_reed47•15d ago

Customer asked me to age a prime rib 60 days in my walk-in last month

Guy walks in, says he wants a 60 day aged prime rib for Christmas dinner. I told him my walk-in stays at 34 degrees and I don't have the humidity control for that long. He argued with me for 10 minutes about how he saw it on YouTube. Finally I just said fine, sign a waiver, I'm not responsible if it rots. He picked it up on day 62 and called me two days later telling me it was the best beef he ever ate. I still think he got lucky, and the smell in my cooler was bad for a week after. Has anyone here actually done a proper long age in a standard walk-in without a dry aging bag?

2 comments

grantw41•17d ago

Had to choose between a band saw and a hand saw for breaking down primals, I went with the band saw

I started out using a bone saw by hand on whole pork loins and it felt like I was fighting the meat every time. About 4 months ago I finally broke down and got a used Hobart band saw from a guy in Cleveland who was closing his shop. The first time I ran a whole strip loin through it I cut through 12 steaks in under 2 minutes, and the yield was way better because I wasn't wasting meat on uneven cuts. Sure the hand saw gave me more control for weird bones, but for speed and consistency on normal cuts the band saw wins easy. My only gripe is cleaning the thing takes forever, like 30 minutes with a sprayer and sanitizer. Has anyone else made this jump and regretted it or am I just slow at cleanup?

3 comments

phoenix_singh25•20d ago

Deboned a whole pig with a cheap knife vs a good one last weekend

I mean, I've been using my old $15 boning knife for years and thought it was fine. Then I borrowed my buddy's Wusthof and it cut through the shoulder joint like butter, took me 20 minutes less on the whole thing. Has anyone else noticed a huge difference upgrading your main knife?

3 comments

rileyprice•24d ago

Wasted $150 on a fancy boning knife that was completely useless

I bought this high-end boning knife online last month, thought it would make trimming briskets a breeze. Thing was so flexible it bent like a wet noodle on the first brisket I tried. Lost my grip and nearly sliced my thumb open. Anyone else get burned by a knife that looked good but couldn't handle real work?

3 comments

brooket43•26d ago

I finally get why people dry age beef at home

Always thought dry aging your own primals was just for show, but after trying a 45 day ribeye from a buddy's setup... the flavor depth is legit. The crust he got after searing was something else. Any of you guys build your own dry aging fridge or just buy the bags?

3 comments

lee689•26d ago

Had a chat with an old timer about aging beef at home

Ran into a retired butcher at the farmers market last Saturday who told me he hangs primal cuts in his basement fridge for 21 days. He said most people rush the process and lose all the depth of flavor. Has anyone here tried dry aging in a regular fridge without a special setup?

3 comments

paul_ramirez•28d ago

Tried to bone out a pork shoulder for sausage and made a total mess of it

So I'm still pretty new to the trade, been at it about 8 months at a shop in Nashville. Last week a customer wanted 30 lbs of boneless shoulder for grinding. I figured I'd be fine, watched a bunch of videos. First shoulder took me 45 minutes and I left so much meat on the bone the owner walked over and said 'you gonna feed the trash can or the customers?' lol. Ended up having to weigh it all out and add extra trimmings just to hit the weight. How do you guys get those shoulder blades out clean and fast without losing half the meat?

3 comments

colescott•1mo ago

That USDA marbling chart I ignored for years finally clicked

I always thought the USDA marbling charts were just some desk job paperwork thing. But last week I was breaking down a prime steer at my shop in Cleveland and decided to actually lay a ribeye next to the printed chart from the wall. I always figured marbling score was just about how much fat you could see, but the chart shows specific reference points for each grade. Turns out there's a huge difference between a small amount of streaky fat and the fine, consistent flecking that makes a Prime actually Prime. I found this old USDA handbook from 2017 online that explains the ribeye muscle scoring in way more detail than the poster shows. Now I'm second guessing every grading I've done by eye for the last 3 years. Has anyone else ever actually studied one of those charts or do you just go by feel?

3 comments

stella_scott96•1mo ago

Unpopular take: Wet aging isn't worth the hype for home butchers

I tried dry aging a ribeye for 21 days against a wet aged one from a vacuum pack last month, and the flavor difference was huge. Wet aging just gives you tender meat that tastes like nothing, so why do so many guys here swear by it?

3 comments

wells.christopher•1mo ago

Had a regular tell me I changed how he cooks steak last week

This older guy named Dave comes in every Saturday for a chuck roast. Last week he told me I'm the reason he stopped buying pre-trimmed ribeyes from the grocery store. Said I showed him how to cut his own from a primal and save like $4 a pound. Felt pretty good honestly. Anyone else get feedback like that from customers?

3 comments

jessem59•1mo ago

Unpopular opinion: dry aging at home is overrated for most people

I was a huge skeptic when my buddy Mike at the shop kept pushing me to try dry aging my own primals at home. I figured it was just another gadget trend like those sous vide circulators everyone bought and never used. Then I actually did a 45 day dry age on a whole ribeye primal in my dedicated fridge setup. The crust loss was brutal, like 30% trim waste, and the flavor difference was not worth $8 a pound for what I paid. I think most home guys are better off just buying a well aged prime from a real butcher and focusing on their cutting technique instead. The mold risk alone if your humidity wavers makes me nervous. Has anyone else here tried it and just gone back to wet aged stuff?

3 comments