c/butchers

My old band saw finally gave out during a big custom order last Thursday

I was working on a special cut for a restaurant in Seattle, a 40 pound pork shoulder that needed a really clean bone-in cut. Halfway through, the motor just started making this awful grinding noise and the blade slowed to a crawl. I had to finish the job with a hand saw, which took forever and the cut wasn't as clean as I wanted. I've had that saw for almost 12 years, bought it used from a guy who was retiring. I always thought I could nurse it along with oil and new blades forever. The repair guy said the main bearing is shot and it's not worth fixing. So now I'm looking at new saws, but I'm lost with all the options. Anyone have a good brand they trust for heavy daily use?

Cut my pork belly trim waste down to 8% this quarter and honestly didn't think I'd ever get it that low.

I started tracking every scrap from our weekly 40-pound batch for a catering order and realized my old trimming method was leaving way too much good fat on the skin side, so what's your best trick for maximizing yield on a tricky cut like that?

A customer's question made me look up the actual weight of a cow's tongue

A guy came in yesterday asking for a whole beef tongue, said he was making a family recipe. I grabbed one from the cooler, and he just casually asked, 'How much meat do you think is on there, anyway?' I told him about two pounds, give or take. But it got me thinking, so I looked it up later on my phone. The USDA says a beef tongue averages 3 to 4 pounds, sometimes even more. I've been handling them for a decade and never really weighed one out of curiosity. I just cut and trimmed them. It made me realize I take a lot of the basic facts for granted, you know? How many of you have actually weighed standard cuts just to know for sure?

Had a customer last week ask if we could cut a pork shoulder into the shape of a dinosaur for his kid's birthday.

Finally got my pork shoulder trim time down under 20 minutes

I was taking forever on whole shoulders, like 45 minutes each, and it was killing my prep. Last month I watched an old timer at a shop in Knoxville just roll the shoulder on the block while he trimmed. Tried it myself with a 6-inch curved boning knife, keeping the fat cap down. After about 10 shoulders, I got the motion down. Now I'm consistently hitting 18 minutes from start to clean block. Anyone have a different method for speeding up shoulder work?

Choosing between a new scabbard or a second boning knife for the shop

Our main boning knife handle cracked last week, so I had to decide between buying a whole new Victorinox scabbard set for $80 or just a replacement knife for $45. I went with the single knife to save cash, but now I'm carrying it loose in my bag and it feels wrong. Anyone have a good, cheap sheath idea that won't dull the blade?

Just read that a single beef carcass can yield over 600 different cuts and products. Found it in an old textbook at the shop.

I finally got to see the old butcher shop in my hometown after twenty years

I was back in Springfield last month and walked past Miller's Meats, the place my dad used to take me. They've turned the front into a fancy coffee bar now, and the main cutting room is just a small counter in the back. I remember watching them break down a whole side of beef on the big block when I was a kid, but now they only have a few pre-packed trays out. It felt strange seeing the space so different. Has anyone else seen their old local shops change like that?

My boss and I got into it over breaking down a whole hog last week

Last Thursday at the shop, we got a 280 pound Berkshire in. My boss, Frank, wanted me to break it down the old school way, keeping the shoulder and belly as one big piece for a special order. I argued we should split them right away to speed up the case set up. He said the old way shows respect for the animal and makes better use of the fat cap. I think it just makes more work for us later and the case looks empty until we do the second break. We butted heads for a good twenty minutes. He's been doing this for 40 years, but I've seen other shops in Seattle do the split-first method and move product faster. What's the better call here, tradition or turning the case over quick?

Just broke 500 pounds of sausage in a single week for the first time

My shop in Tacoma usually does about 300 pounds, but a big order for a local festival pushed us way past that. Some guys say pushing volume like that hurts quality, but I think our mix held up fine. What's your take on high-output weeks versus sticking to a slower, steadier pace?

A customer in San Antonio asked me to cut a brisket a certain way and it taught me something

This older guy named Frank came into the shop last month and asked for a full packer brisket, but he wanted the point cut into 2 inch cubes, not sliced. He said he was making burnt ends for a family reunion. I'd always just sliced it thin, but his way made the meat way more tender for that dish. Has anyone else had a customer request that changed how you handle a standard cut?

Tried a new boning knife from a local smith against my old Victorinox, the difference in breaking down a whole hog was crazy

PSA: Had a band saw blade snap on me while breaking down a side of beef

I was at the shop last Thursday, working on a 600-pound side of Angus, when the 144-inch blade just popped. It whipped back and scared the hell out of me, but luckily the safety guard caught most of it. I had to stop everything, put on a new blade, and recalibrate the whole machine, which took about 45 minutes. Has anyone else had a blade fail like that, and what's your usual check routine before a big breakdown?

Showerthought: I used a dry brine on a pork shoulder and it turned out way too salty

I rubbed a whole 8-pound shoulder with a mix of 2 tablespoons of kosher salt and my usual spices, then left it uncovered in the fridge for a full 48 hours. When I smoked it, the bark was amazing but the meat itself was almost inedible near the surface. I think the salt ratio was way off for that long of a cure time. Has anyone else messed up a dry brine and figured out the right salt amount for longer rests?

Spent 4 hours yesterday trying to get a clean break on a beef short plate

The grain was just running weird and my usual technique kept tearing. Anyone have a better method for stubborn plates?

Had a customer bring back a whole rib roast from a catering gig in Denver last month, said it was 'tough as leather'. Turns out their event planner left it in a warming drawer for 4 hours before serving.

Vent: My pork shoulder yield jumped 15% after I changed one simple thing

Honestly, I was getting maybe 60% yield on my bone-in shoulders for years and just thought that was normal. About six months ago, I started letting them sit in the walk-in for a full 48 hours after breaking them down, instead of my usual 24. The difference is crazy. The fat cap and connective tissue just come away so much cleaner now. I'm pulling about 75% usable meat per shoulder, which adds up to a lot more product for the case each week. Has anyone else played with longer aging times on primals before further processing?

I switched to a 10-inch breaking knife for my primals last month and my trim waste dropped by almost 15%

The shorter blade gave me way more control on the seams, so I'm not leaving as much good meat on the fat caps, and has anyone else found a specific tool that cut down their waste like that?

I was sharpening my boning knife wrong for a decade until a guy in Omaha showed me his trick

I always sharpened my main boning knife on a 1000-grit stone, thinking a fine edge was best for clean cuts. For years, I'd get frustrated when it would drag and stick in silverskin, especially on beef rounds. Last month, I was helping out a buddy at his shop in Omaha, and he watched me for a minute. He said, 'You're polishing it too much for that job,' and handed me his knife. He uses a 400-grit edge, which feels almost rough, and it just glides through connective tissue. I tried it on a pork shoulder the next day and the difference was huge. So, is a toothier, lower-grit edge actually better for boning, or is a polished edge still the right call for some tasks? What's your sharpening setup for different knives in the shop?

Heard a kid at the market ask his mom what a 'butcher shop' was

I was picking up some short ribs at the farmers market in Springfield last Saturday and this little boy, maybe five years old, pointed to my apron and asked his mom what a butcher shop was. She just said 'it's where they sell meat' and kept walking. It hit me how much has changed. When I started with my dad thirty years ago, every neighborhood had a shop. People knew us by name, asked for specific cuts, and we'd talk about how to cook them. Now, for a lot of folks, meat just comes in a plastic tray from a big store aisle. The skill and the personal touch feel like they're fading into the background. It made me think we need to be more visible, maybe do demos or host shop tours. How do you guys keep that old-school craft feeling alive for new customers?

TIL beef from grass-fed cows can have way less fat than I thought

I was reading an old farm report from a place in Iowa and saw a number that made me stop. It said some grass-fed sides they did tests on had under 5% fat in the lean cuts. I've been cutting meat for eight years now and always figured grass-fed was leaner, but I thought it was more like 8 or 10%. It makes sense when you think about the diet, but seeing that actual number... it really changes how you might talk to a customer about cook times. They'd dry out a ribeye fast if they treated it like regular grain-finished. Has anyone else run into this and had to adjust their advice for home cooks?

Shoutout to the guy at the market in Boise who showed me a better way to sharpen my boning knife

I was struggling with a dull edge on a pork shoulder last Thursday and he had me switch to a ceramic rod. Anyone else use those instead of steel?

Just found a batch of pork shoulders from a new supplier that felt tacky and smelled a bit off last week.

They were delivered to my shop in Tacoma and I had to send the whole pallet back. Has anyone else had issues with that farm out near Puyallup?

Had a walk-in cooler fail on a Friday before a holiday weekend

The temp spiked to 55 degrees overnight and I lost about $2,000 worth of primals. The repair guy couldn't get a part for three days, so I had to scramble to rent a refrigerated truck. It was a brutal lesson in checking those condenser coils more often, especially before big sales. Anyone else had a cooler go down at the worst possible time?

Had a close call with my band saw blade in the shop this morning

The blade snapped while I was breaking down a side of beef, and a piece flew right past my face (I was in Cincinnati, working on a custom order). Has anyone else had a blade fail like that, and what brand do you trust now?