Beef butchery demo, yield analysis, taste and flavor profiling

In this all-day in-person learning experience, we used a butchery demo to guide producers through meaningful knowledge about variations in carcass breakdown, cutout, and options for cut choices that maximize full carcass utilization. We reviewed yield calculations and profit analysis, flavor profiling and taste, and the powerful Restaurant/Chef and Rancher connection. This all-day course was organized in conjunction with the Good Meat Project.

Members can access Pricing and Margin Tools from this workshop here.

In this all-day in-person learning experience, we use a butchery demo to guide producers through meaningful knowledge about variations in carcass breakdown, cutout, and options for cut choices that both maximize full carcass utilization while highlighting the benefits of grassfed practices. We cover calculating yield during butchery and processing in-depth, from live weight through cut-out decisions, and how best to weigh your options in marketing various cuts. We perform pricing exercises on various cutouts of the same subprimals, showcasing options and opportunities, and also compare a regular aged animal (24 mo’s) to rose veal in both product characteristics and yield. We introduce a proprietary yield calculation tool that can be paired with margin tools to weigh your options for profitable cuts based on actual harvest numbers. In this quantitative and experiential exercise, we pair practical tools you can take back to the ranch to utilize each season alongside a chance to deepen your knowledge of butchery and breakdown.   

In the second half of the day,  we investigate various cuts from the morning’s butchery in a flavor profiling exercise based on a curriculum developed by the Good Meat Project. Cooking various cuts and examining them for flavor, tenderness, and carcass utilization via a blind tasting, we compare and contrast muscles and discuss the pros and cons of choices for cutout based on various customer groups (consumers, chefs, butcher shops).  We review the essential connection possible between Chef and Rancher and discuss the realities of each role’s vocation that makes our sales relationships both challenging and rewarding: communication tactics, scheduling, sensitivities & priorities, profitability considerations, and meeting each others’ needs. We further our discussion on rose veal versus average aged and mature animals and how these harvest choices affect marketability, flavor, and preferred cooking methods. 

This course is designed to empower both current and emerging grassfed beef producers — those who are currently direct marketing meat and looking to refine or deepen skills, as well as livestock producers not yet selling product direct. We also invite chefs to participate to hone their knowledge of butchery, cuts, and the rancher reality. We look forward to facilitating a healthy and supportive exchange between these two interconnected groups. 

Educators: Nathan Burk, Olivia Tincani, Camas Davis (The Good Meat Project)

We hope to be able to provide more in-person workshops and training opportunities in the future.

Sponsors

Instructors

Camas Davis

Camas Davis

In 2009, Camas Davis, a ten-year veteran magazine editor and food and travel writer, traveled to Gascony in southwest France to study the art of butchery and charcuterie with a family of pig farmers and butchers. Upon her return she founded the Portland Meat Collective, a one-of-a-kind meat school and culinary resource that has changed the way citizens of Portland, Oregon, think about their food, their community, and their local food economy. In 2014, Davis launched the Good Meat Project in order to spread Meat Collective-style education across the country. Camas continues to write about her experiences in the world of meat, including stories for the radio show, This American Life and Elle magazine. Davis and the Portland Meat Collective have also been the subject of media stories from the New York Times Magazine to Martha Stewart Living. She is also the author of Killing It, a memoir about her adventures in the world of meat. Camas lives in Portland, Oregon.

Olivia Tincani

Olivia Tincani

Olivia Tincani is a food and agriculture business consultant and educator with 17 years of experience in the field. Her work focuses on farmer and rancher training, business, financial and strategic planning, curriculum development, whole animal supply chains, and communications. Her deep experience in her own food and farming entrepreneurial endeavors infuses her work with ambition, empathy and creative spirit. She is a Business Strategist for Rancho Llano Seco, designer and educator of business curriculum for Fibershed, and is co-director of the nascent Grazing School of the West. Past projects include work with venerated organizations such as Glynwood and Pie Ranch, alongside independent coaching for a roster of small-scale sustainable farms. Olivia splits time between Sonoma County (CA) and her husband’s farm and winery in the Valtènesi region of Italy, keeping her hands in the dirt and her skin in the game.   

Nathan Burk

Nathan Burk

Nathan Burk prides himself in supporting the niche meat industry. Over the past decade Nathan has garnered a breadth of experience working in various segments of the cattle and meat industries.  From cow/calf and seedstock operations to packing plants and meat retail settings, Nathan is passionate about providing both strategy and solutions.  Equally comfortable in the branding pens and the butcher shop, Nathan can also brings value in the board room. Nathan has a strong creative drive and is focused on providing business driven strategies for his clients.  Nathan has a belief that butchery can be less intimidating and more accessible. Nathan has a BA in Environmental Studies and is currently based in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Nathan is creating a Legacy for his vision and purpose with his wife and three young boys.  

 

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