jesse4•1mo ago

Just read that a full beef carcass can lose up to 3% of its weight just in the first 24 hours after slaughter

I was flipping through an old meat science textbook from the 90s and that number really stood out. It's all from moisture evaporating off the surface before the crust even forms. How much extra trim do you guys usually account for when you're figuring your yield on a fresh side?

3 comments

3 Comments

noranguyen1mo ago

Do you find the loss is worse on super lean grass-fed sides?

skyler8001mo ago

That's a great question, and honestly my early trim math was always a bit optimistic. I'd plan for maybe 2% and then be surprised when the scale didn't lie. These days I just build in the full textbook loss from the start to avoid the disappointment.

wendy_park7620d ago

Oh man, skyler800 is speaking my language... I used to be the queen of wishful thinking on trim. I'd look at a piece and just see the beautiful finished product, not the pile of scraps I was about to create. My math was more like hopeful guessing. Now I just accept the sad, cold truth from the get-go, it saves my ego a beating when I weigh everything out.