A Brief Overview on The Precise Art of Butchering

Do you know how many basic cuts of beef and lamb there are in Australia? By the standards of the Meat & Livestock of Australia, there are a total of 37 basic cuts of beef and 29 basic cuts of lamb. That's a lot of cuts for aspiring butchers to master.

To many people, butchering is an ageless art form that needs human skills in combination with high-powered machines to preserve the optimum flavor and texture of meat. Good butchering requires the proper identification of the best parts of cattle and lamb meat, which may vary according to the variety of animal where the meat product is coming from. For example, the best cuts of wagyu beef are different from those of angus beef.

A well-trained butcher needs to be precise in his cuts for each variety such that the prime parts are well-separated from the rest and may thus be marketed as such. Luckily, Australia has some of the best butcher training centers that offer programs tailor-made for Australian livestock. Lucky, too, that modern kitchen equipment now provide many options for the precise cutting and slicing of meat.

Modern meat slicing implements are, of course, indispensable in getting the job done right and in the most efficient manner. However, they cannot replace the eye and skill of a good butcher who has taken the art of meat-cutting to heart.