Butchering: Before and After Pics

[ironchef]

Was bored today at work so decided to take some pics of some of the proteins that I have to fab at work. There were some posts recently about buying whole loins and portioning them out at home to save money or to get the best possible product. It's a good skill to learn and to practice.

Here is some Japanese Kurobuta pork that we get from Snake River Farms in Idaho:





New York Striploin. The smaller pieces are used for the tasting menu.





Colorado Lamb racks.





New Zealand King Salmon:

 

[jet]

Nice...but with the exception of the salmon, is that really butchering?

 

[TATTRAT]

I hate frenching racks...but there is no other way to get 'em all pretty.

 

[Michelemarie]

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Robo410]

Nice...but with the exception of the salmon, is that really butchering?

yes it is, ( one aspect of it certainly.) Very few places get whole sides of meat due to specific needs and space. But many restaurants do get whole loins, rib sections, joints, etc that need portioning or subdividing, all part of butchery (meat fabrication) It looks simple but to do it right is a skill. Try a leg of lamb with the hip joint still attached. It won't fit in your oven until you have at it. But that bone is great for soup or stock and I always want it.

 

[luvs]

beautiful, i say!

 

[ironchef]

Not only do you save money in the price per pound category, you get more usuable product for what you pay. Whole beef and pork loins yield a good amount of usable scrap which you can use for stir fries or other things. At the restaurant we trim the meat all the way down to the eye of the loin, but at home you probably wouldn't take it down as far. With salmon, you can roast or grill the bones and scrape the meat off.

 

[Sanosarah]

Nice...but with the exception of the salmon, is that really butchering?

Yes, this is all really butchering. Based on what you said about the salmon (the only whole animal portrayed) it seems as if you think that butchering an animal is in fact killing it.

Butchering is the art of separating the animal parts to make them convenient for consumption. The actual killing of the animal in the abertoire is the slaughtering.

Butchering is a valuable art, we'd be screwed without butchers.

 

[jet]

I cannot seem to find the word "abertoire" in my English or French dictionary.

While I was there, butcher: "to slaughter and dress for market".

 

[Andy M.]

I cannot seem to find the word "abertoire" in my English or French dictionary...quote]


Try another spelling: abetoire

 

[jet]

My dictionary lists it as "abattoir".

 

[Sanosarah]

Wikipedia lists abattoir as the correct spelling.

 

[Andy M.]

Wikipedia lists abattoir as the correct spelling.

My mistake. Thanks for setting it straight.

 

[college_cook]

Ironchef- any particular reason you aren't trimming the fat caps from your pork and strip loins? Do you just like that extra little bit of fat on each chop/steak?

 

[ironchef]

Ironchef- any particular reason you aren't trimming the fat caps from your pork and strip loins? Do you just like that extra little bit of fat on each chop/steak?

Yeah, I like just a little bit of fat on there for flavor. I think the only fat that I really don't care for is chicken fat. Beef fat, pork fat, duck fat. Pretty much anything else is good.

 

[LEFSElover]

if you butcher them yourself you get to keep all that leftover stuff that's been cut away for use later, like with a sauce or broth or whatever, makes sense to do it yourself, plus the savings and the size that you can create instead of one created for you. you may want smaller portions or larger ones.

 

[Billdolfski]

I cannot seem to find the word "abertoire" in my English or French dictionary.

While I was there, butcher: "to slaughter and dress for market".

I'm pretty sure what the TS was doing was "dressing for market," regardless if it was to be sold or consumed by himself. That is indeed butchery.

It is abattoir (had to check on that one, it's a tricky one), and that's synonymous with slaughterhouse.

EDIT: I hadn't noticed that all this has been previously posted.