Highlights from the 73rd annual Meat Convention
Highlighting five important takeaways from the 73rd annual meat processors convention in St. Paul.
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Five mistakes to avoid in your meat processing business: Opening Day
1. Moving too fast I know every single post so far, or pretty much every “5 mistakes” post has included “slow down” as one of the 5 mistakes. And at this point in your project, it rings the most true....
View ArticleWhy I'm the best boss... Or, just not the worst
Most of the ingredients to a successful workplace will be taken care of when you consider these three pillars for creating a great team: keep the best people who can work together, create a positive...
View ArticleMediator or Meat Processor?
Sometimes I feel more like a mediator than a meat processor. Since choosing to work on the slaughter side of the meat industry, in order to create better access to quality processing services for local...
View ArticleCut highlight: Boneless Lamb Shoulder
Boneless Lamb Shoulder The weather is starting to cool down, and to me that means it’s coming into roast season. I love a good roast on a cool fall night for dinner. One roast that I especially...
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Cut Highlight: Flat Iron Filet
There has been a lot of media lately around meat fabrication techniques that are resulting in “newer cuts”. You may have seen some cuts that seem unfamiliar on restaurant menus or at the butcher...
View ArticleYou (M)eat with your eyes
I hope you can use these tips for building and arranging your case. After that, it’s just all about great customer service and having a great product, and you’ve got a recipe for success.
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The Turkey Diaries
Every year since entering culinary school, I am in charge of the turkey. It’s not an option, but a requirement. Whether it’s a small gathering at my mother’s house, or a group of twenty bachelors and...
View Article2013: The year of Niche Meats
“Niche” meats are products that are raised and sold with additional quality values to set it apart from conventional meat. Examples include locally raised, sustainably raised, grass-fed, certified...
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Traceability is your Friend
I’ve told you how you can sell more meat by entering the niche meat market and adding value to your product in some way. Identity and source are the main ways consumers are going to judge your...
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What is Heritage, and why is it important? Cochon 555 DC
Heritage pork is a topic that seems to get more press than any other heritage breed. Much of this press is thanks to event planner Brady Lowe. Brady founded Taste Network to tackle the project of...
View ArticleMy favorite piece of (digital) equipment:
The RM-200. I swear I’m not getting paid for this. In fact, I happily paid full price for the one I use. This post is dedicated to one of the great loves of my day job, and one of the benefits of...
View ArticleIt's All Good!
By now my resignation announcement from Alleghany Meats has resonated throughout the Highland County community and the social media community. I wanted to address my friends, colleagues, clients and...
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Marketing and Pricing “Exotic” Meat
This spring I took the Alleghany Meats employees on a field trip to Hollow Hill Farm in Paint Bank, Virginia. There, it seems like an entire town has transformed because of Hollow Hill’s bison...
View ArticleIt's a dirty job...
Sometimes I just deal with shit all day. Really. I have a separate hamper at home reserved for my pukey, bloody, poop clothes, and the ones that can’t be salvaged go in the third hamper: the trash....
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Why so much Ground Beef?
To follow up with our last installment about carcass yields, we are going to discuss the breakdown of cuts from a single animal carcass. Each species is different; a lamb will have different cuts and...
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Why I can call slaughter "humane"
Wow this turned out to be really long. Grab a bowl of popcorn cause I’m diving into humane handling headfirst. RESPECT - that’s what it’s all about. We’ll explore several levels of standards that...
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Mistakes to avoid when building your meat processing business: CONSTRUCTION
This is the third in a series of posts on building your meat processing business. Once you have left the planning phase and completed your design, you are ready to break ground and get started. The...
View ArticleHighlights from the 73rd annual Meat Convention
Can you believe that the American Association of Meat Processors has been hosting a real meat camp for 73 years? That's a lot of meat. As my wife's relative said when he heard where I was last week,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Five mistakes to avoid in your meat processing business: Opening Day
1. Moving too fast I know every single post so far, or pretty much every “5 mistakes” post has included “slow down” as one of the 5 mistakes. And at this point in your project, it rings the most true....
View Article