c/butchers

Vent: that $80 bone saw I got off the auction site was a trap

Blade slipped on my third goat leg and threw bone shards across the walk-in, nearly hit my apprentice. Anyone else had luck with cheap import saws or is it all about spending real cash on a quality brand?

1 comments

wesleybutler•4d ago

Fillet knife vs. breaking knife for lamb, one is way safer than you think

I've been cutting lamb for a catering side gig and used my 6 inch fillet knife for everything because it felt nimble. Last month I finally tried a proper breaking knife with that curved blade and the difference in wrist strain is unreal. The fillet knife flexes too much when you're working through the shoulder and I nearly caught my index finger twice on a slippery rack. With the breaking knife, the weight of the blade does the work so you're not sawing back and forth like a madman. I did a full lamb breakdown in about 14 minutes versus my usual 25 with the fillet. My only issue is the breaking knife feels clumsy for the fine trimming around the ribs, so now I use both. Anyone else run a two knife setup for lamb or do you stubbornly stick to one?

1 comments

the_lucas•4d ago

Marinated my brisket in brine for 8 hours and now it tastes like a salt lick

Been doing briskets for about 6 years now, always used a dry rub, never messed with wet stuff. Then my brother in law from Austin came up for the 4th and said I was missing out on a brine. Said his buddy does it overnight and wins local comps. So I tried it, 8 hours in a basic salt water mix with some herbs. Pulled it out, rinsed it, dried it, smoked it 10 hours at 250. When I sliced it, it looked perfect but one bite and my eyes watered. Pure salt. Like eating ocean water with pepper. My BIL just shrugged and said maybe I brined too long. How long do you guys actually brine a brisket? Or is he full of it and dry rub is the way?

c/butchers

Vent: that $80 bone saw I got off the auction site was a trap

Fillet knife vs. breaking knife for lamb, one is way safer than you think

Marinated my brisket in brine for 8 hours and now it tastes like a salt lick

My favorite cleaver finally bit the dust mid-shift on Saturday

Spent $120 on a boning knife I thought was overkill. Now I get it.

Unpopular opinion: I stopped using the "right" butcher paper and switched to freezer paper

Best week I ever had was a whole lamb breakdown for a wedding

TIL a dull boning knife makes a clean-cut beef tenderloin take twice as long

I finally figured out why my pork chops were always dry - it was the bone placement

Warning: That supposedly simple lamb breakdown took me 8 hours of pure frustration

Warning: I spent 3 years pulling pork shoulder wrong at my shop in Omaha

Hit 50 years behind the block last month.

Debate: hand deboning vs using a bandsaw for pork shoulders

After 30 years, I finally tried wet aging beef at home in my basement fridge

Old timer at the shop taught me something about feel...

Hot take: I used a cheap steel for 5 years and switched to a ceramic rod last month

Broke my good breaking knife on a hip bone Tuesday and had to finish the side with a backup I sharpened wrong

Visited an old slaughterhouse in Ohio last weekend

Question about that customer who asked me to saw through a frozen lamb in July

Changed my tune on dry aging after a buddy talked some sense into me

It took me 3 years to realize I was trimming my ribeyes wrong

Hot take: wet aging beats dry aging for most home butchers

Overheard a new guy say he's never dry-aged beef, kinda blew my mind

Tried dry aging beef in my home fridge for 35 days and it actually worked

Bought a whole hog and learned the hard way about freezer space...