c/butchers

Old timer told me to age ribeyes 21 days, I thought he was nuts

At Miller's Meats in Topeka, this retired butcher named Ray said my 7 day dry age was wasting good beef. He pushed me to hit 21 days with the humidity at 80%. The difference in tenderness was night and day, and the flavor got this nutty note I never had before. Anyone else get told to stretch their aging window way past what they normally do?

Appreciation post: my first 100 pound ribeye breakdown went smooth as butter

Been cutting for about 2 years at the shop in Tulsa. Last Friday we got in a whole ribeye that weighed 103 pounds. Normally I butcher the smaller ones, maybe 60 to 70 pounds. This one had way more fat cap and the spinalis was trickier to keep intact. Took me 45 minutes longer than my usual time. But I stepped back and looked at the cuts, every steak was even thickness, no torn edges, the fat was trimmed clean. Compare that to my first ribeye six months ago, I mangled it so bad the head butcher had to recut half of it. What changed? I finally stopped rushing and started using a longer slicing stroke with my breaking knife instead of short sawing motions. Also sharpening every 15 minutes instead of only when it felt dull. Anyone else notice a big jump in their cutting quality once they dialed in their knife rhythm?

Dry aged ribeye debate, 45 days vs my usual 28 day cut

I spent 3 weeks in September trying to get a consistent 45 day dry age on ribeyes in my walk in, but the pellicle kept cracking and I lost almost 8 pounds of trim on one side. My regular 28 day process has never given me that issue, even with the same airflow settings. Has anyone else fought this long over dry aging timing, or do you think the extra flavor is worth the waste?

Ribeye went blue after 20 minutes on the truck, check your cooler seals

Had a delivery run last Tuesday to a restaurant in Jersey City. Temp read 38 when I left, hit 48 on arrival. The old gasket on my cooler door was cracked, no big deal til summer. Lost a whole $340 order. Now I check seals with a flashlight before every load. Anyone else had a cooler fail mid route?

That $12 bone scraper I ignored for months is now my go-to

Picked one up on a whim from a supply shop in Denver, figured it was just another gadget. Used it on a pork shoulder yesterday and it cleaned the blade in half the time, why did I waste years using the back of my knife? Anyone else found a cheap tool that ended up being way more useful than expected?

Why does nobody talk about dulling knives on the rail?

Spent 6 years hanging carcasses and always sharpened once a week. Last month a journeyman watched me and asked why my edge was chipped. Turns out the metal hook was scraping the blade every time I slid it off the rail. Switched to a plastic guide clip, 20 bucks at a supply shop in Omaha. Now I sharpen every two weeks, same bite. Anyone else ever wreck a blade on something dumb like that?

A customer asked me to 'trim the fat' and meant something else entirely

Last Saturday this guy comes up to my counter at the shop in Tulsa and hands me a pork shoulder, says "trim the fat" with this weird grin. I start cutting and he shouts "no, the fat on your apron strap!" Turns out he was joking about my belly. We both laughed but I still charged him for the pork. Anyone else had customers cross the line with jokes at the counter?

The difference between my first deer and my 50th is kind of hilarious

I started hunting last fall and my first deer looked like I'd been in a knife fight with it. Took me 45 minutes to get it skinned and I left half the hide on by accident. Fast forward to last weekend, I did one in about 12 minutes with my old buck knife and it came out clean as a whistle. The funny part is the only real change was I stopped rushing and started paying attention to where the fat layer sits. Anyone else notice a big jump in their skill after a certain number of carcasses, or was it more gradual for you?

The day I hit 30 whole briskets in one shift

Last Saturday at the shop was something else. We had a big catering order come in for a wedding, plus our usual weekend rush. I trimmed and tied 30 briskets from 6 AM to 2 PM, and my wrist was screaming by noon. Has anyone else had one of those days where the orders just keep stacking up and you barely have time to breathe?

Almost ruined a whole side of beef with bad knife storage

I was losing my mind trying to figure out why my cuts were getting ragged after just sharpening. Turned out my magnetic strip was rubbing the edge wrong every time I put a knife back, dulling it in minutes. Tried a wooden block at $35 from Ace Hardware instead and now my boning knives stay sharp for 3 full shifts. Anyone else have a tool that's secretly wrecking your blades?

Chatted with an old school butcher at a farmer's market last weekend

I was working a demo in Austin and this guy in his 70s just watched me for like 10 minutes. Then he says "you're cutting against the grain on the wrong side of the strip loin." I was sure I had it right but he showed me his trick with the fat cap as a guide. I mean idk if it's a game changer but I tried it on a few steaks and they did feel more tender. Any of you guys use a specific visual cue to find the grain on tough cuts?

Finally hit 500 hours on my boning knife without sharpening

I've been using the same 8-inch victorinox at the shop for almost 2 years now, and yesterday I counted up the hours logged on it from my shift records - just over 500 hours on the original factory edge. It's still slicing through chicken quarters like butter, no nicks or rolls yet. Has anyone else had a knife last this long without a proper sharpening, or am I just lucky with this one blade?

Old timer at the shop showed me a trick with beef clods yesterday

This guy must be 70 something, been cutting meat since the 70s. He watched me struggling to separate a clod and just laughed, then showed me how to follow the natural seam with just the tip of my knife instead of sawing at it. Took me maybe 4 minutes total versus the 15 I was fighting with. Anyone else pick up little moves from the older crew that just make way more sense than how you were taught?

Why does nobody talk about how bad ribeye caps are for grinding

Hear me out. I hit 500 pounds of trim ground this month at my shop. Everyone loves ribeye caps for steaks. But ground into burger? Too lean. Too tough. I had a customer complain last week his patties fell apart on the grill. Told him it was too much cap meat. He didn't believe me. Anyone else notice this or am I the only one?

Found a whole lamb shoulder I forgot in the walk-in for 10 days

Went to a halal butcher in Detroit last weekend, something felt off

Ngl I walked into this spot on Michigan Ave and the guy was cutting lamb with a bandsaw that had rust all over the blade. I asked him about it and he just shrugged and said 'it's fine, it's dry age.' Has anyone else seen sketchy equipment at a shop and just walked out?

Found out that aged beef loses about 30% of its weight over 3 weeks

I was reading a dry aging guide from a shop up in Portland and it said a 100lb primal can shrink down to 70lbs after 21 days. Had no idea the moisture loss was that high... has anyone else factored that into their pricing?

That one Tuesday where everything went sideways

Last spring I had a day I still think about. Got a whole steer in from a local farm. Beautiful animal, grass fed, good fat cover. I was breaking down the forequarter and hit a spot in the chuck that was full of abscesses. Had to trim out maybe 8 pounds of meat. Lost money on that whole primal. Then right at lunch my band saw blade snapped. Took me an hour to get the new one on and tensioned right. Ended up working till 8 PM just to finish my orders. Customer that picked up the ground beef the next day said it was the best she ever had. Made it worth it I guess. Anyone else had a week where nothing goes smooth but the product still turns out good?

I think dry aging bags are overrated for most home butchers

I think dry aging bags are overrated for most home butchers. Last month I tried dry aging a ribeye roast using the Umai bags that everyone raves about. Followed the directions to the letter, kept it in my fridge for 21 days at 38 degrees. Lost nearly 25% of the weight to moisture and the pellicle trim, which felt like throwing money away. Plus the flavor difference was so small my wife couldn't even tell at dinner. For the $15 per bag and the wait time, I'd rather just wet age my cuts in the cryovac for a week and call it good. Anyone else tried both and stuck with the simple method?

My new grinder blade shattered mid-cut on a ribeye yesterday

I was breaking down a whole ribeye primals for a customer order around 10 AM and halfway through a cut the blade just blew apart. Sent shards flying across the cutting board and one even nicked my forearm. Had to stop everything, clean the whole station, and swap to my backup blade which was dull. Took me 20 extra minutes to finish and the customer had to wait. Has anyone else had a blade fail like that out of nowhere or was mine just a dud?

Had a customer tell me his pork chops were too dry then watched him cook them well done

This guy comes up to my counter at the shop last Saturday morning, all huffy about how our pork chops are garbage. Said he's been buying them for months and they always come out dry no matter what. I asked him how he cooks them. He said "til they hit 165 like the government says." I told him to try pulling them at 145 and let them rest. He looked at me like I was trying to poison him. Eventually he said he'd give it one more shot. He came back today and shook my hand. Said they were the best chops he's ever had. Anyone else have customers who think they know more than the guy who butchers the meat?

Critique from a retired guy at the shop changed my deboning flow

Tbh I always thought my chicken deboning was fast enough until this old timer watched me and said 'you're fighting the joint instead of following it.' Now I drop the thigh in half the time after 2 weeks of practicing his angle. Anyone else get a tip that made you feel like you been doing it wrong for years?

Pro tip: Watch your grip when you're trimming flank steak

I was breaking down a whole ribeye primal at the shop in Portland last Tuesday and got careless with my knife angle on a flank trim. The blade slipped off a piece of silverskin and sliced right into the pad of my thumb, about a half inch deep. I had to stop mid-service, wrap it tight with gauze and tape, then finish the cut with one hand while my coworker kept restocking the case. Has anyone else had a close call from losing grip on a wet handle?

Counted my lamb orders from this winter and hit 487.

Not a huge number for a big shop but for a one-man operation like mine that's more than I did in the previous two winters combined, has anyone else seen a weird jump in demand for specific cuts this year?

Dropped $150 on a bandsaw blade sharpener and it already paid for itself

I was going through like 3 blades a month on pork rib cuts at my shop in Akron, spending like 60 bucks each time. Picked up a used sharpener from a retiring butcher and now I get 4 or 5 more runs out of each blade before it's done. Has anyone else tried sharpening their own blades or is that just asking for trouble?