Was breaking down a whole prime rib for a holiday order and the blade just let go on the third cut. Ended up with a gash in the roast and had to waste about 3 inches off the end. Anyone else had a blade go bad at the worst possible time?
I've been keeping a little tally in my notebook for the last 4 years, just for fun. After cutting up a whole ribeye primal this morning, I counted up and realized I hit exactly 10,000 individual steaks trimmed. Felt like I should have a ceremony or something, but instead I just swept up the scraps. Anyone else keep random counts of stuff like this or am I the only one with a weird tally habit?
I've been stuck between using dry aging bags for easier cleanup or sticking with the old cooler method for better flavor. Tried bags on a 45 day ribeye roast last month and the meat was tender but lacked that deep funk. What's your pick and why?
Always hacked off the whole fat cap before slicing, then watched a guy at a shop in Austin keep it on and trim after cutting... the marbling stayed way more intact. Anybody else been doing it backwards this whole time?
I was working a whole hog breakdown at the shop last month and the bandsaw blade just let go halfway through a hind leg. Had to stop everything, fish the broken pieces out of the meat, and swap blades while customers waited. Anyone else had a blade fail at the worst possible time?
I did a side by side last month with two 3lb loins, one soaked in a 5% salt brine for 48 hours and the other rubbed with the same salt ratio then vac sealed, and the dry cured one held way better moisture after smoking without that weird spongy bite the brined one had, has anyone else noticed the difference in how the fibers feel when you slice them cold?
I bought a handmade boning knife from a guy online last year. Cost me $600 and looked beautiful in the photos. But the steel was way too soft. I had to sharpen it after every 10 chickens. My old $80 Victorinox does a better job and holds an edge three times as long. Anyone else get burned on a fancy knife that couldn't do the work?
I read this post online from some guy claiming he dry aged a prime rib at home in his spare fridge with just a fan and a salt block. He made it sound so easy I figured I'd try it myself. Bought 40 pounds of ribeye from a local supplier in Austin for about $320. Set up my old mini fridge with a USB fan and a tray underneath. Followed his steps to the letter for 30 days. When I opened that fridge the smell hit me like a brick wall. The meat was covered in this weird greenish-black mold that wasn't the good kind you want. Lost the whole batch. My wife still gives me crap about the smell lingering for another two weeks. Has anyone actually pulled off home dry aging without a dedicated setup or is this just a fantasy?
I watched three new guys in class last week draw the blade away from the edge instead of into the steel, and it rounded their tips in like four passes. Anybody else notice this habit driving people crazy, or am I the only one who checks the angle before they start?
Used to break down primals with a stiff hack knife for years, but after watching a senior butcher zip through a side of beef with a curved breaking knife in Chicago last fall, I switched and it cut my time by about 20%. Anyone else hold onto old tools forever before finally swapping?
Spent an entire afternoon breaking down a whole chuck roll because the grinder kept clogging with sinew, and I thought I could just wing it without trimming properly. Has anyone else run into this issue with a home grinder on tougher cuts?
I tried dry-aging a ribeye primal in my home fridge back in June using just cheesecloth and a tray, but after three weeks it had this funky ammonia smell instead of that nutty beef scent. Turns out I wasn't getting enough airflow around the meat because I had it shoved in the back corner next to the crisper drawer. Has anyone else messed up a dry-age attempt and had to toss the whole thing?
Saw this fancy brand everyone raves about online, dropped $60 on their flex-core boning knife thinking it'd be the last one I'd need. First deer went fine, but on the second one I hit a bone near the shoulder and a chunk the size of a grain of rice just popped out of the edge. Now I'm back to my $25 Victorinox that's lasted three seasons without a single chip. Anyone else had luck with high-end knives holding up or did I just get a dud?
Used to think dry-aging in a fridge was pointless for home butchers, then I did a 21-day strip loin and the difference in tenderness blew me away... Has anyone else had that moment where you realized the extra wait was actually worth it?
I swear, every other week some home cook comes into my shop with a $200 knife that looks like it went through a blender. They keep running it through those pull-through sharpeners that rip the edge off at a crazy angle. Last Tuesday a guy showed me his Wusthof that had a 25 degree bevel on one side and 15 on the other because he kept swapping hands. I told him to just use a whetstone and he looked at me like I had three heads. How do you spend that much on a blade and then treat it like a butter knife? Does anyone else have customers or coworkers who refuse to learn basic stone technique and then complain about tearing meat?
I compared two whole strip loins from the same ranch last month. One was wet aged for 21 days before I hung it, the other went straight into the dry ager at 3 days post kill. The wet aged one developed a sour funk and lost way more trim weight, about 18%. Has anyone else seen this happen or was it just my setup?
Bought one of those tabletop sharpener units off a supplier's catalog about 8 months ago. Figured I'd save money long term by sharpening my own blades instead of sending them out. First blade I tried got all wavy and threw the teeth off by a mile, ruined a $60 cut. Second attempt was just as bad, teeth chipped on the first pass. Ended up spending more on ruined blades than I would have just paying for sharpening service. Anyone else tried these sharpeners and had the same luck?
I threw a choice chuck roast in a dry-aging bag for 21 days and figured it would just taste like old beef if anything. The meat came out with this deep nutty flavor and the fat rendered way better than anything I've had fresh. Has anyone else tried dry-aging tougher cuts and gotten results that surprised you?
I was up at the Iowa State Fair last month and stopped by the pork tent where this old guy was breaking down a whole 300 pound hog. He wasn't using any fancy powered saws or anything, just a straight boning knife and a handsaw for the spine. I've been a butcher for 12 years and always used a bandsaw for splitting the backbone, but that guy did it cleaner in like 4 minutes with a manual saw. He told me power saws create heat that ruins the meat close to the bone and that's why his chops always had better color than mine. So I tried it on a 200 pounder at the shop yesterday and honestly the meat looked way better and I had less waste. Has anyone else gone back to old school methods and seen better results?
I was trimming a 12 pound tenderloin for a customer's holiday order and my new boning knife caught the silver skin wrong. Sliced clean through the side and turned what should have been a clean roast into a mess of weird strips. I ended up cutting it into 8 ounce steaks instead and called the customer to explain. She actually preferred the steaks for her party, so it worked out okay. Has anyone else had a bad cut force you to totally change your game plan mid-order?
He said I was wasting too much time trimming fat off steaks before selling them, told me customers actually want that bit of fat for flavor. Has anyone else tried leaving more fat on and seen a difference in sales?
Had a nasty slip last Tuesday trimming silverskin off a top round. Took 6 stitches at urgent care and lost a whole afternoon of work. I was trying to save 5 minutes by not stopping to sharpen. That was dumb. The cut was clean but deep. How often do you guys actually stop and touch up your edges mid shift?
Swore by that thing for years. Last week it ruined a $200 cote de boeuf by leaving jagged edges. Hand stones only now, takes longer but the cuts are clean.
I was breaking down a side of beef last Tuesday and an old-timer watched me work for a minute before saying "you're fighting the blade, not letting it ride." He showed me how my forearm was twisting sideways on the sirloin cuts, costing me speed and leaving jagged edges. Anyone else had to unlearn bad knife habits after years of doing it wrong?
I've been trying to learn splitting a hindquarter cleanly since I started at the shop back in January. Last Thursday I finally nailed it on a 180 pound steer. The joint just popped open like it was supposed to. My coworker said "about time" but I could tell he was a little impressed. What was the trick that clicked for you when you were learning the big cuts?