Butcher knowledge?

Stuttgart

Hi guys,
I'm not sure this is the right forum for this question, but I'll give it a whirl. I am interested in learning about the various steps that my fillet steak goes through before it ends up at my butchers.

I know as much as the animal is sent to the factory, humanely destroyed, then butchered into the various rough cuts. From there is where I am interested to learn a bit more. Are the cuts of meat immediately frozen from there, or just chilled? If they are just chilled, what is the shelf life from the time the meat is first cut from the carcass? I presume the meat is then transported in fridge/freezer vans to butchers from there. Do the butchers immediately cut the meat into whatever form they desire and display it for sale, or do they freeze the products and use them as they see fit? Finally, if the butcher has frozen the meat before defrosting to sell it, is it safe for me to then freeze it after I buy it?

Thanks for the help.

nosietoes

I'm sure a google search would provide you with some of the answers but with my limited knowledge the beef will not be frozen prior to buying from a reputable butcher or supermarket. It is processed at the abatoir and left in sides which are hung. Meat needs to age in order for it to be tender, ever seen a 28 day aged steak advertised? I think the minimum hanging is 14 days but I could be wrong.

Now, depending on the butcher they will either buy in pre butchered cuts which they will slice and sell depending on the demand of the customers or better butchers will buy in sides of meat and butcher it themselves as they and their customers need it. In this way, they can hang it for longer making the meat more tender. The bigger the piece of meat, the longer it can be hung.

Once, when I was trying to describe a cut of lamb to one of my favourite butchers, he went into the back fridge, took out half a lamb and got me to point out the bit I wanted to eat. That is a true butcher if you ask me.

I hope this has answered your question. And rest assured, unless it has been marked previously frozen, it is never frozen. The shelf life of unfully butchered meat is at least a month, I would guess.

Mellor

Stuttgart wrote: »

Finally, if the butcher has frozen the meat before defrosting to sell it, is it safe for me to then freeze it after I buy it?

Just on this point, its a common misconception that the actuall freezing of food twice is dangerous. Which isn't true.

You shouldn't do it, but the reason is because freezing doesn't kill germs and bacteria, so it you have some food, and freeze it, you trap the germs, when you defrost it they start multipling again. Multiple freezing and thawing will cause a large number of germs to build up as there is a significant time when it is above 4 degree each time its repeated. Which is why it should be avoided.

I've seen chicken fillets in my supermarket that were defo store frozen, I use them fresh but it would be ok for me to freeze them if I wanted to.

duploelabs

Check out http://www.happymeat.ie

Mike Litoris

Some pointers on buying from a "reputable" butcher and not a supermarket.

I've worked in a Slaughterhouse, factory and butchers a long time ago so I'm a bit rusty on the exact shelf life of beef.

With todays laws all animals (Irish Beef) will be humanely killed. If it is stressed, the meat will most likely be tough. The give away is an almost wine/dark red colour to the meat. Avoid buying meat this colour.

Usually after the beast is slaughtered it is "hung" or left refrigerated for 5 maybe(cant remember exactly) days, to allow it to naturally start breaking down, before it's sold to butchers or broken.

From here the quarted beast can be sold directly to the butcher or the cuts broken can be vacume packed and sold to the butcher.

I've never seen beef frozen for the dublin market, only for export.

It's normally transported in refrigerated trucks/vans.

Either way when the meat reaches the butcher it is usually "hung" for another 3-5 days to further the tenderising process unless a particular cut is bought for immediate sale.

With Fillet steak(at the butchers), it's usually cut on demand from the customer as its an expensive and slow seller. Whatever is on display should've been cut fresh that day. A steak that was cut the day before will have a darker inconsistant colour.

Again, in my experience, for the local Irish market, a butcher wouldn't freeze/defrost beef. Pork and Lamb are regularly frozen and sold frozen too.

A reputable butcher will always sell fresh beef especially when it comes to fillet.

PM me if you've any other specific questions answered.

Honey-ec

Mike Litoris wrote: »

If it is stressed, the meat will most likely be tough. The give away is an almost wine/dark red colour to the meat. Avoid buying meat this colour.

I just have to disagree slightly with this part - a well-aged piece of beef will be almost exactly this colour.

I'm find it increasingly hard to find beef that has been hung for long enough, and I'm convinced it's because people are put off by the colour - people will only buy beef that's bright pink/red in colour, but this doesn't necessarily equal better meat.

Mike Litoris

Honey-ec wrote: »

I just have to disagree slightly with this part - a well-aged piece of beef will be almost exactly this colour.

No not exactly and I suppose I didn't elaborate enough with my description.

An aged piece of meat will have a slightly brown and even a green colouring and indeed the red can look darker on the outside. When the meat is cut for sale the inside will still be bright red with the darkening around the outside of the steak.

The bad meat I described will be uniformly dark red (wine) and dry looking when fresh and when freshly cut for steaks for example.

I've quoted this from a website

The energy required for muscle activity in the live animal is obtained from sugars (glycogen) in the muscle. In the healthy and well-rested animal, the glycogen content of the muscle is high. After the animal has been slaughtered, the glycogen in the muscle is converted into lactic acid, and the muscle and carcass becomes firm (rigor mortis). This lactic acid is necessary to produce meat, which is tasteful and tender, of good keeping quality and good colour. If the animal is stressed before and during slaughter, the glycogen is used up, and the lactic acid level that develops in the meat after slaughter is reduced. This will have serious adverse effects on meat quality.
Dark Firm and Dry (DFD) meat (Fig. 1)

This condition can be found in carcasses of cattle or sheep and sometimes pigs and turkeys soon after slaughter. The carcass meat is darker and drier than normal and has a much firmer texture. The muscle glycogen has been used up during the period of handling, transport and pre-slaughter and as a result, after slaughter, there is little lactic acid production, which results in DFD meat. This meat is of inferior quality as the less pronounced taste and the dark colour is less acceptable to the consumer and has a shorter shelf life due to the abnormally high pH-value of the meat (6.4-6.8). DFD meat means that the carcass was from an animal that was stressed, injured or diseased before being slaughtered.

This is the best example I could find of what it looks like



Lol, sorry no pic of well hung meat...the image search for it wasn't too good.:P

Mike Litoris

Honey-ec wrote: »

I'm find it increasingly hard to find beef that has been hung for long enough, and I'm convinced it's because people are put off by the colour - people will only buy beef that's bright pink/red in colour, but this doesn't necessarily equal better meat.

Thats the truth. In the years I sold to the public, not one of them would believe that....not one!!

UCD AFC

Mike Litoris wrote: »

Lol, sorry no pic of well hung meat...the image search for it wasn't too good.:P

Safe search on buddy....on.:P