Questions to Ask Your Butcher BEFORE Processing
Dating Your Butcher
So you’re thinking of working with a new meat processor or maybe working with a meat processor for the first time. Not every meat processor is the same. Did you know that? There is more way to skin a cat… so to speak.
So how do you know which processor is right for you?
Let’s think of this like dating before marriage. Before we marry our two businesses and create a product together, let’s ask some good questions and see if it’s the right fit for a great, lifelong relationship.
Below are questions I would ask a new butcher AND how our USDA-Inspected meat processing plant would answer them as well.
Asking Questions & Getting to Know Each Other
What level of inspection are you? How does that effect my business?
This is an important question to ask your butcher if you are looking to sell direct-to-consumer because it will have a big impact on how and when you sell your animals/meat.
Federal Inspection: A USDA-inspected plant gives you the most flexibility for selling product. When meat is processed under USDA inspection, you can sell to restaurants, grocery stores and private consumers nationwide, in any quantity (bundles, retail, or bulk). Learn more here about what a USDA Inspector does.
In our case, WHMC is USDA inspected and our USDA inspector is present 40 hours a week because all our processing in under the supervision of the USDA inspector.
State Inspection: A State-Inspected plant has similar flexibility to sell to restaurants, grocery stores and private consumers nationwide, in any quantity (bundles, retail, or bulk) but in that state only.
County Inspection: A Custom Exempt plant falls under county level inspection. These plants are intended to do the processing for the owners of the animal only, not for retail sale. This greatly reduces your flexibility in sales.
How long can you dry-age product for?
Dry-aging meat seems to be a resurgent trend from consumers and producers alike. Double check that your new prospective plant can dry-age your meat for as long or as little as you and you customers desire. Some only age for 7-10 days and their facility isn’t capable of holding onto carcasses for longer. Some can age for much, much longer, but that may require different equipment and may come with different fees.
WHMC offers free dry-aging for up to 21 days and extra dry-aging at $15 per carcass/ per day after 21 days. The longest we have aged a carcass so far has been 65 days. I would have loved to try their product!
*Just keep in mind, the longer you age a carcass, the more yield loss you will have from the drying process and the subsequent trimming. You will need to price your product accordingly to account for the extra cost of dry-aging as well as the loss of yield. Typically, the longer meat is aged, the more expensive it is for those reasons, as well as the epic flavor enhancement of dry-aged beef. Another blog on this subject coming soon!
Are you a “bone-in” or “bone-out” facility?
This question doesn’t get asked enough because people don’t know to ask it! But it’s critical for producers selling direct-to-consumer because it may change how you price your meat!
A "bone-in” facility means that the butcher leaves all bones in all the cuts. For example, a chuck roast will have a portion of bone in it. Pros: This is a great thing for the nutritional benefits of cooking meat with bone and bone marrow, but also important for final yield weights (finals pounds of packaged product). Cons: It’s easier for vacuum-sealed packaging to pop a seal with the extra pointy edges of bones. Expect some percentage of popped seals.
A “bone-out” facility means that the butcher removes all the bones except from requested cuts. For example, you may have T-bone steaks but all your chuck roasts have been de-boned. Pros: Less loss from popped sealed packaging. Cons: Lower final yield weight (or pounds of packaged product).
If you’re selling your meat based off of the hanging weight or carcass weight (after the animal has been killed, skinned, and gutted), being “bone-in” or “bone-out” effect you quite as much.
But if you are selling in retail stores, at the farmer’s market or by final yield weight, you will definitely need to account for this in your numbers because the yield loss from de-boning everything can be as much as 10-20%.
WHMC is a “bone-in” facility.
Packaging? Vacuum-sealed vs. Butcher Paper?
Know what to expect before processing by simply asking what the meat will be packaged in. Most people ask this question before beginning, but I thought I’d through it in anyway.
Traditional paper packaging is great. It lasts a good while and is usually neatly labeled. My biggest knocks against it is that it doesn’t allow the producer to show off their meat or the consumer to see exactly what it looks like. I don’t know, maybe you don’t want people to see it lol.
We chose to offer vacuum-sealed packaging because most of our customers are selling retail or direct-to-consumer. Both producers and consumers like to be able to the product inside the packaging. And with a perfect vacuum seal, that meat can last 2 years in the freezer!
Custom labeling?
Can the butcher produce or use custom labels that have the producers name/ranch/brand on them? Check to see what their capabilities are. It’s nice to be able to sell meat to consumers that has your name on it so, not the meat processors.
WHMC can produce custom labels in black and white, as needed, in house for a one-time fee of $150. We can use pre-printed color labels that are custom formatted for our machine, but it requires an investment from the producer to keep them in stock.
Acceptable Percentage of Popped Seals?
Every plant using vacuum sealed packaging is going to have a percentage of packages with popped seals. The smaller the better, obviously. This goes back to whether the facility is “bone-in” or “bone out”. A “bone out” facility is typically going to see a smaller percentage of popped seals due to have less pokey pieces of bone pressing against the plastic. Ask your butcher what you should expect!
When we first opened, we had a lot of popped seals (like 13-15 per beef… Yikes!). This was partially because we are a “bone-in” facility, partly due to training staff and learning together how to use our equipment properly.
There are things that processor and producer can do to lower the amount of popped seals.
We use bone guard - a heavy duty material to cover sharp edges.
We have checkpoints. If a package clearly didn’t seal properly, our amazing packaging crew will immediately reseal. If it’s in the process of being boxed and the boxers notice a popped seal they take it back to be resealed. Nothing going out the door should have a popped seal!
Handle packaged meat gingerly. Don’t throw packages of meat or boxes. I know it’s tempting to dump your boxes of meat into the freezer when you get home, but resist. It will save your from damaged packages later. Hold packaged meat by the meat itself, not by a corner of the bag and place gingerly into wherever it’s going.
When shipping beef or loading out, the better you can pack your beef to minimize bouncing, the less chance you have of popping seals in transport.
I am proud to say that we have less than 1-2 packages per beef of popped seals now.
What sort of yields do you typically see from your facility?
This question is an important one to ask but a tricky one to answer because there are so many factors that impact a final yield weight. But businesses can be made or lost by your yields and your business numbers.
We typically see final yield rates around 55-65% of the hanging weight for our facility. This all depends on the size of the animal, how much protective fat covering the carcass has, how long you dry-age for, and what cut choices you make. A “bone-out” facility will naturally see lower numbers simply due to the lost weight of the removed bones.
Another blog on how to get the best yield coming soon.
How do you weigh animals for billing?
Most plants charge their customers based off of the hanging weight of the carcass after it’s been killed, skinned, and gutted. But I’ve seen some that charge by live weight.
I, personally, shy away from doing any business based off of the live weight aside from trucking cattle to traditional auction. There are just so many factors that contribute to an animal’s live weight (breed, hide thickness, bone structure, how much feed and water its had) and the price always seems to be in favor of the person weighing the animal. For example, a cow can consume 5 gallons of water and 40 pounds of feed before being harvested that’s doing nothing but adding weight and mess to the gut that will only be removed later.
WHMC charges processing customers based off of the hanging weight of the carcass after it’s been killed, skinned and gutted.
Facility Tour?
Ask if you can take a tour of the facility! Getting to meet your butchers face-to-face, learning about how they and their facility operate will go a long ways for building rapport, managing each other’s expectations, and may help inspire more questions you might not have thought of otherwise.
We have an open door policy when it comes to tours at WHMC! We are proud of our facility and our team and love educating the public about this industry. Because we often have all hands on deck for production, to ensure someone will be available to give you a tour, it never hurts to call ahead. Either way, we would love to show you around!
As always, reach out if you have any other questions! Can’t wait to watch your business grow!
-Cathryn