Christmas Ham Handy Tips

by John // December 10, 2018 // No Comments

Top Tips for Picking Your Christmas Ham Plus a Few Handy Hints

The best way to find a good ham is to start with a good butcher. some tips on what makes a good ham. Chances are, that if takes care of your meat selections, he’ll take care of your ham too!

Most of us already know that master butchers live and breath Excellence in their trade. They take pride in the craftsmanship of their profession and when it comes to art of Ham production their knowledge is second to none.

Below are a few tips to help you make your selection with a little more insight that these masters aim for when wanting to deliver a top quality product for their customers. Continue reading →

Thanksgiving Time Helpful Hints

by John // November 16, 2018 // No Comments

Thanksgiving Time – A Few Turkey Tips

When we head into Thanksgiving, it’s time to start thinking about planning about that festive meal. The traditional meal is all about turkey (obviously), and for some it is just another…get your turkey, sort out what you’re having with it all on auto-pilot and away you go. For others, it is…ok, how big a turkey do we need this year, how long to defrost the turkey, how long to cook it and what about stuffing…I’d like to try something different.

Well, let me give you a few tips to help you on your way, and hopefully make your thanksgiving a just a little bit easier. I have broken the task down into a list that hopefully will make it clear for you. Continue reading →

Lamb Carcass Breakdown

by John // October 28, 2018 // No Comments

Lamb Meat Cuts From A Carcass Breakdown

You may have seen my other articles on beef forequarter, beef hindquarter and pork carcass breakdown, so today I will show you a video of how a master butcher expertly cuts, trims and slices a whole lamb into ready to cook lamb meat cut portions.

I have turned to a video from The Scott Rea Project to show you how it’s done. Watching the video you will see how he uses a butchers handsaw and his sharp knife to masterly remove each primal and then using his skills turn each piece into what you may have already seen in your butchers display cabinet or supermarket shelves.

Lamb is a favoured meat for many people around the world with many different cooking styles and also each country has different names for the cuts that they sell. I have a Lamb Cuts Chart within my website so you can see the international names that are used in the export markets that you may be familiar with. Feel free to check it out and also see some sub-primal cuts that can be extended out from an original primal for further tasty and delicious meals. Continue reading →

Hindquarter Beef Primal Breakdown

by John // October 28, 2018 // No Comments

Hindquarter Beef Cuts Breakdown By A Pro

I have already written an article on the breaking down of a beef forequarter and now it is time to to get to the other end of the carcass…the Hindquarter.

The hindquarter carries most of what we butchers call, the Premium Cuts. Most of the hind leg cuts are of great eating quality with these cuts being the tenderest of the animal. Basically the back end of the beef doesn’t do as much heavy work as the front end and hence the meat muscles are looser and tenderer.

You can see more on details on my Beef Cuts Chart page that explains where each cut comes from and what they end up looking like once a master butcher breaks and portions each sub-primal into its retail or food service size.

Again I have selected master butcher Michael Cross with his 3 part videos of breaking down a beef hindquarter, and again you will see how easy he makes it look cutting through the seams and muscles of the hindquarter and turning it into sub-primal cuts ready for the next portioning stage of the butchering process. You will hear how with his precise cutting he keeps each primal squared and paralleled as best possible for optimum yield return. A true master butcher. Continue reading →

Forequarter Beef Primal Breakdown

by John // October 28, 2018 // No Comments

Forequarter Beef Cuts Breakdown By A Pro

Breaking down a carcass of beef into its primal cuts is something that I believe can only be done by a skilled butcher. In my opinion there will never be a machine invented that will be able to perform this task (famous last words lol). Beef Carcass Breakdown is an art that should never be lost. Videos further down.

Of course time will be the factor here and I am sure there are many budding researching inventors that have been asked to try and find an answer/solution by some great meat conglomerate to see if such a robot machine can be made all just to save money on employment. But until then…just let the pros do their thing.

A beef forequarter is the front part of a beef carcass (obviously) and there are many techniques to breaking it down into sub-primal cuts. A lot of the breaking down, into sub-primal preparation, is now done within meat factories, cutting, trimming and packaging into vacuum bags and cartons, for easy delivery to butcher shops and supermarkets all around the world. But there still remains a few specialised gourmet stores that demand whole carcass deliveries to give them a marketing quality advantage. Continue reading →

Beef Pepper Steak And Tomato Stew Easy Recipe

by John // October 24, 2018 // No Comments

Beef Pepper Steak And Tomato Stew Easy Recipe

A beef stew recipe which is easy to make with easy to get everyday ingredients. Add a bit of pepper steak seasoning, McCormick’s of course, and you will make a hearty dish with a bit of pang to the taste. If you make a big pot, you can freeze the extra and have a good meal ready when you don’t have the time. Continue reading →

Pork Primal Cuts Breakdown

by John // October 20, 2018 // No Comments

How To Breakdown A Pork Side Into Primal Cuts

There is nothing better than watching how a master butcher can breakdown any cut of meat from its original carcass form and into primal cuts and then even into sub primal cuts. If you are interested in seeing such a thing it is like watching artistry in motion. (Video further done)

Being able to yield a knife and various tools in many different hand holds to cut and slice meat into a desired form is something that can be taught, but to keep the skills honed is only built up over years of experience. Continue reading →

Nesco FD-28JX Jerky Xpress Dehydrator Kit with Jerky Gun-Review

by John // October 17, 2018 // No Comments

Nesco FD-28JX Jerkey Xpress Dehydrator Kit with Jerky Gun

If you like your Jerky, there is nothing better than making your own. Not only will you save a lot of money, with a small amount of meat you can make enough of a supply that will last. The only problem you will find is that it will become so addictive that you will just want more.

With the Nesco FD-28JX Dehydrator Kit you can get what you crave for at a much quicker time and start enjoying your fine home made jerky with flavours you wish to try. Continue reading →

What Is Real Meat?

by John // September 11, 2018 // No Comments

The what is ‘meat’ question is fast becoming a controversial topic.

Plant-based food production with the scope of meat substitution is gaining momentum but the question of “can it be called meat” has stirred up a lot of discussion.

More and more supermarket shelves are now displaying these alternative foods as the consumer demand generated for these meat like products is growing.

These products are now causing a storm with regard to the definition of what is meat and how they should be labelled, in particularly in the United States. Continue reading →

Technology In The Meat Industry

by John // September 4, 2018 // No Comments

Meat Industry Technology That Can Improve Trust

You may not know it but meat is just another product that is caught up in the fake counterfeiting industry with the trade worth billions of dollars world wide.

Meat and in particular beef that consumers purchase is sometimes labelled incorrectly and not from its original source. This happens mainly in overseas markets but can happen in your home country as well.

Australian beef has been quite susceptible to this criminal act but now with technology the industry is hoping to combat the problem.