I used to think cheap knives were just asking for trouble, but last month I grabbed a no-name boning knife from a hardware store clearance rack for $18. Figured it'd be fine for breaking down chickens at home but not much else. Three weeks later I'm using it for pork butts and even a leg of lamb, and it holds an edge way longer than I expected. The steel is softer than my Wusthof so it sharpens up fast on a ceramic rod, no fuss. Sliced through a chuck roll yesterday without that annoying drag you get with a dull blade. I'm not saying ditch your fancy set, but has anyone else found a hidden gem from a random bin that just works?
I was working at a shop up in Capitol Hill and we got this beautiful 10 rib primal from a ranch in Eastern Washington. The marbling looked perfect to me, tight and even, so I cut it into steaks and put them right in the case. Well the old timer who ran the counter came over and asked if I even looked at the fat distribution because half of it was going to be chewy as hell. He pointed out that the fat was all clumped in one spot near the cap and the rest had barely any. I had already priced them all the same and now I had to eat the loss on three of them because nobody buys an uneven ribeye. Has anyone else had a total brain fart moment on grading that cost you money?
I threw a bone-in ribeye into my regular fridge on a wire rack with a fan on it for two weeks. The pellicle got that dark brown crust and the smell was a little wild at first (kind of like blue cheese). After trimming off the hard parts I pan-seared it and the flavor was way beefier than anything from the store. Has anyone else tried this with a cheaper cut like sirloin? I'm wondering if it's worth the wait.
I was visiting a family-run place near Columbus last month and watched one of the old timers work a chuck shoulder. He told me it's all about the hanging time before you break it down, like 10-14 days instead of the typical 5. I tried it on a few shoulders back at my shop and the fat distribution was way more even. Has anyone else played around with extended aging on tougher cuts like that?
I always thought electric knives were for people too lazy to sharpen a real one. My buddy Mark at the shop in Portland convinced me to try his on a side of pork last Thursday. It cut through bone and fat smoother than anything I've done by hand. Anyone else give in to a tool they swore they'd never use?
I've been cutting for about 8 years now and my personal best was always around 900 pounds. But last Friday we had a big load come in and I just got in the zone, kept the knife sharp and moved steady. Has anyone else had one of those days where everything just clicks without you really trying?
I always kept my walk-in at 34F because that's what I learned in school. Last month a retired butcher who's been doing this 40 years stopped by and told me to bump it up to 38F for better aging. I tried it on a couple of primals and after 21 days the flavor was way deeper and less metallic. Has anyone else had better luck with a warmer temp for dry aging?
I was rushing through a side of beef and dropped my Wusthof right into the fat pile, then spent almost an hour digging through it before I found it. Anybody else lose good tools in the trim bucket and feel like an idiot afterwards?
My 9 foot blade snapped clean in half while breaking down a side of beef. Local sharpening guy wanted $18 to weld and re-stress it, but a new blade was $32. I went with the weld and it's tracking fine so far, but I'm wondering how many times you can re-weld a blade before it gives out. Anybody ever push one past 3 welds?
Tbh I spent years thinking sharper is always better. Been a butcher since around 2015 in a shop near Columbus. Last month I was working through a tough chuck roll and my sharpest blade kept catching on the bone splinters. Out of frustration I grabbed this old beater knife I use for scraping. It actually slid along the bone way smoother and I got cleaner meat off the rib section. Anyone else go against the grain with their blade choice?
I tried doing my own dry age in a spare fridge I had. Umai bags, the whole thing. Did a ribeye for 30 days. Then I bought a piece from a shop in Austin that had been aged 45 days. My piece came out... okay. A little funky but not as tender. The shop piece was night and day better. I think my fridge wasn't keeping the humidity right, or maybe I didn't let it go long enough. Has anyone else tried the bags and had better luck?
Last weekend I grabbed a whole shoulder from the local farm shop, cost me about 40 bucks. I figured I'd just sharpen my boning knife quick and get to work, but it felt fine so I skipped it. After fighting through the first cut, I ended up tearing the meat all along the blade path. By the time I finished trimming, I had lost maybe two pounds of good meat to jagged scraps and shreds. That's almost 15 bucks of pork just went straight to the stock pot instead of the smoker. Idk why I keep thinking a dull knife saves time when it clearly costs me money and meat. Has anyone else had a bad day from not honing before a big cut?
Was trimming a strip loin last Tuesday and my coworker pointed out I was cutting against the grain when removing the fat cap. Now I feel like an idiot, but it really does make the steaks look cleaner. Anybody else have that moment where a simple trick got past you for way too long?
Bought a Dexter Russell boning knife after getting tired of cheap ones losing their edge mid-shift. Six months in and I only sharpen it once a week. Has anyone else dropped serious cash on a knife that actually paid off?
I spent 6 months buying pre-cut ribeyes from the big grocery store near me. Thought they were fine until my buddy at a local shop showed me how they cut them wrong from the get go. We watched him trim a whole primal himself and the marbling was twice as thick on every single steak. Has anyone else noticed that grocery stores rush the process and mess up the yield?
I was reading through some USDA waste data last night from a 2023 report. It said almost a third of each carcass never makes it past the trim table because of fat, bone, and silver skin. That shocked me because I always thought we were pretty efficient. But then I added up what I trim off a typical 800 pound steer and it matches pretty close. Has anyone else looked at their own trim waste numbers and tried to cut it down?
I bought a prime ribeye last Friday and thought I'd try dry-aging it in my regular fridge for 5 days. Wrapped it in cheesecloth and set it on a wire rack like I saw online. By day 3 the whole fridge smelled like a barn, and my wife said it reminded her of her grandpa's old hunting cabin. I learned that home fridges don't have enough airflow for dry-aging, so I'll just stick to buying dry-aged from the shop. Has anyone else tried this and ended up with a stinky fridge?
I was looking up yields for a catering order I got coming up next month and stumbled onto some USDA chart online. Blew my mind how much weight you lose just from bones and silver skin and fat trimming. I always knew we lost some but 40% gone? That changes how I'm gonna price stuff going forward. Any of you guys factor this into your per pound cost or just wing it like I been doing?
I went with cutting it since the customer wanted individual portions, but I still second-guess if they would have liked the full roast better for presentation, has anyone else dealt with that split decision on a tight deadline?
Bought a 6-piece set with all the bells and whistles last fall for $200, thinking it'd make breaking down primals easier. After 3 months, two blades chipped and the handles started slipping in my grip. Anyone else find that one solid chef's knife beats a whole set every time?
The fancy one with humidity control just dried out my prime ribeyes faster than the old walk-in cooler ever did, anyone else find the expensive gear isn't always the answer?
I mean, it worked fine for separating portions of ground, but the seal kept failing on anything with moisture after about a week. Anyone else had better luck with the chamber style ones instead?
Spent $180 on a 5-piece set from some brand I saw on Instagram. The first pork shoulder I tried to break down the blade chipped before I hit the bone. By the third week the handles started cracking. Anyone else get burned by those flashy knife sets that look nice but can't hold an edge?
Some lady walks into my shop with a whole ribeye primal and says she wants me to dry age it for her, but she'll pick it up every few days to let it 'breathe' in her minivan. I told her that's basically a salmonella science experiment, but she insisted it's how her grandma did it. Anyone ever deal with a customer who had a completely insane storage idea?
Last Tuesday I was breaking down a whole steer and the blade on my 14 inch bandsaw gave out halfway through a femur. Chipped tooth flew past my ear and I had to stop everything to swap the blade and double check the tension.