I finally broke my personal record of 10,000 pounds of beef put through on a single month... and honestly it kinda bothered me. That number means I'm rushing through 300-plus carcasses a month, and I started wondering if the quality is slipping. Everyone talks about volume like it's the goal, but I swear my yield percentage dropped by 2% compared to when I was doing half that. Anyone else feel like hitting big numbers makes you cut corners you'd never take before?
Honestly, I've been running the same bone saw at my shop in Portland for about 14 months now and the blade play is getting ridiculous. I noticed it last Thursday when I was breaking down a half pig and the cuts started wandering by almost half an inch on the backbone. I keep the tension adjusted and clean it every shift, but the guide rails just feel sloppy now. Is this just normal wear for a mid-range saw or should I be looking at a different brand? Has anyone else had their saw start drifting after that many months?
I threw a prime ribeye in my dry aging bag at 38 degrees for 3 weeks straight. The crust came out darker and the fat had this nutty flavor I never got from a wet aged steak. I used a Umai bag and a standard fridge in my garage. Anyone else notice a bigger texture change after the 2 week mark?
Had a coworker swear by it for months and I kept using my old $25 Victorinox until he handed me his to try on a tough shoulder and I literally stopped mid-cut to ask where he bought it.
I read a post from some guy in Chicago who dry-ages subprimals in a mini fridge with a humidity controller. He said he does 28 days and loses about 15% yield but the flavor is insane. So I tried it with a 12lb strip loin I got from a local farm. Set the temp to 34F and humidity around 75-80%. After 4 weeks, the crust was funky but the meat inside was super tender and nutty. Anyone here tried home dry-aging with a setup like that or just stick with wet aging?
Wasted 20 minutes fighting silver skin with a dull blade before I grabbed my buddy's Victorinox and finished the whole primal in under 5, has anyone else found that one decent knife just saves your sanity in the cool room?
Honestly, I was just trimming a pork shoulder and the blade gave out with a loud pop, scared the daylights out of me. It was a 14-inch saw and the blade was only a month old. Anyone else had blades fail way sooner than expected?
I was breaking down a leg of lamb last Tuesday at the shop in Portland, not even rushing, and the blade grabbed my thumb just enough to pull it into the guard. Lucky it was just the tip through the nail, but blood everywhere and I had to shut down for 20 minutes to clean up and wrap it. The owner chewed me out for not using the push stick on smaller cuts, and honestly he was right. Anyone else had a close call with a saw that made you change how you work?
I was up in Montpelier last month visiting a small lamb processor and saw they keep 3 knives going at once, one on the rail and two soaking in hot water. They swap every 10 cuts or so and never stop to touch up a blade mid-batch. Has anyone else tried cycling knives like that to keep the pace up?
Worked at a shop in Portland for 5 years and always thought home dry-aging was a gimmick for Instagram types. Then my boss bought a $45 Steakager fridge and made me dry-age a whole prime rib for 21 days. Trimmed off about 15% of the weight in pellicle and lost another 5% in moisture. The flavor on that roast was so concentrated it tasted like beef butter. I still think most home kits are overpriced, but the controlled environment setup actually works. Anyone here use a dedicated dry-aging fridge or just stick with wet-aged stuff?
I had this one Saturday last fall where every single person who walked in wanted a whole lamb for a graduation party or something, and by 10 AM I was completely out of stock. Has anyone else had a day where demand just completely caught you off guard like that?
I stopped by this place called Laurelhurst Market last weekend while visiting Portland. They had this simple rail system for hanging their beef that let them age it right in the open cooler. No fancy bags or vacuum sealers, just good air flow and temperature control. The owner told me they lose maybe 5 percent to drying but the flavor is way better than anything wrapped in plastic. Has anyone else tried open aging like this or do you stick with the cryovac method?
I always swore natural hog casings were the only way to go, but after three straight batches of snappers that just burst on the smoker I finally broke down and tried the collagen ones my buddy Jerry kept pushing. They cost about $15 for the same amount and held up way better - has anyone else switched and noticed a real difference in texture?
I got tired of my handle getting greasy mid-shift at the shop last Wednesday. Tried wrapping the handle with a rubber band near the bolster and it actually gave me a solid grip through a whole side of beef. Cost me nothing and I didn't have to buy those expensive grip tape rolls. Anyone else got a quick fix like this for dirty hands?
I was at the St. Paul farmers market two Saturdays ago getting some chuck for grinding. This older guy running the booth stopped me and showed me how he separates the chuck into its subprimals first. He pointed out the blade meat and the flat iron, said most butchers just chunk it all together and lose money on the good parts. I started doing it his way at my shop and my chuck turn a solid 15% more profit. Any of you ever break down your chuck differently or just toss it all in the grinder?
I watched a new guy at my shop try to break down a whole pig with a bandsaw last Friday, even for the tenderloin. You're ruining the meat and making a mess, learn to use a boning knife like the rest of us. Has anyone else seen this lazy habit take over?
Pulled it out yesterday and it actually came out pretty good, just had to trim way more than I thought. Anyone else try this at home and get a weird smell that's not rot but still makes you nervous?
I've been a dry age guy for 10 years, but my supplier tossed in a wet aged ribeye last month and said just try it. Cooked it medium rare and the tenderness was honestly shocking, felt like butter. Has anyone else had a wet age change their mind?
Honestly I never thought I'd hit that number but last Saturday during the holiday rush I just kept going. We were short staffed so I ended up doing two stations by myself from 6am to 2pm. The scale at the end showed 502 pounds of trim work and I could barely flex my fingers. Has anyone else had a shift where the pounds just piled up faster than you expected?
A customer sent back a ribeye saying it tasted like dirty locker and I realized I was just letting meat rot in the bag for weeks without proper airflow. Has anyone else had that moment where a customer's complaint actually taught you something?
Last Tuesday I slipped on a greasy tile in the walk-in and dropped a whole beef primal right into the drain. Took me 20 minutes to fish it out and by then it was a total loss. Anyone else ever have a freak accident wreck your whole day like that?
I was cutting some pork shoulders and the blade kept wandering no matter what I did. Adjusted tension, checked the guides, even swapped the blade out. Turned out the weld on the blade had a tiny bump I could feel with my fingernail. Had to file it down smooth and it cut perfect after that. 3 hours because I didn't check the weld first. Has anyone else dealt with a bad factory weld on a new blade?
I was chatting with my old mentor Dave last weekend at a shop in Portland, and he said I was wasting too much time on perfectly trimmed cuts when customers just want the meat. He told me "stop chasing the Instagram butcher look and sell the whole damn thing." Has anyone else had a boss or mentor say something that completely changed how you work without you realizing it till later?
Had been putting off sharpening for weeks. Got to the second hind quarter around 10 AM and my wrist was already screaming. Took me almost 45 minutes just to get through the inside round on one side. Finally stopped at lunch to hit the stone for 10 minutes and finished the rest in under 2 hours. Anyone else ever push through a bad day like that instead of just stopping to fix the tool?