bringing the people behind our food to
life when I grew up doing this I didn’t
enjoy it I was forced to do it as a kid
and they came back to it and I realized
I really really enjoyed cutting me it’s
either in here you don’t you know and
it’s it’s a challenge because it’s the
same thing every day but it’s always
different because every carcass is
different and that’s what makes it hard
because of the repetition but you have
to concentrate at the same time so it’s
a challenge and I’m a challenge based
person I enjoy a good challenge those
are the things that really drive me to
do this this is a all grass-fed legume
which is what you know the Kobe beef
breed is what gives me the opportunity
to be an artisan butcher is because of
my experience and background and in
fabricating all different breeds of
animals all different sizes of animals
all different ages all different ways
they’ve been fed and finished when I
receive carcasses I can determine the
feed and the texture of the meat by look
what I’m looking for is confirmation
confirmation to be the muscle that’s
outside of the bone and so you’re
looking for rib eye size you’re looking
for a muscular animal you you want to
see some muscle on the bone secondly
you’re looking at the fat cover you want
to see a certain amount of fat cover on
it which will indicate with effort on
the outside you’ll see some marbling on
the inside secondly you’re looking at
the color of the fat the color of the
fat will generally be different shades
of yellowish white depending on the feet
the wider the fat is tends to be a grain
finished product the yellow or the fat
will go to a grass-fed product and or an
older aged carcass so when you get to
that point then you have to look at the
skeletal structure of the animal and
there’s certain characteristics within
this skeletal section of the carcass
that will indicate an approximate age of
the
so those are all things I’m scanning
when I receive carcasses immediately
there’s very few artists and butcher
shops anymore because of one the cost of
doing it and generally the training that
you need to have I you know was
fortunate our misfortune enough to grow
up in the industry so I was trained by a
professional meat cutter you don’t have
the opportunity to learn this trade
anymore because everything’s been
commercialized it’s gone large it’s
going to draw shoe stores those grocery
store guys can’t do what I do they have
no background in it on top of that if
you come from a slaughter facility like
a large plant it’s it’s on a conveyor
belt system where those guys are
isolated I’m just breaking a certain
portion down they don’t know how to take
the whole animal apart where I can do it
from start to finish
secondly it’s hard hard work you know
and it takes you know good two years of
cutting meat every day to actually learn
how to fabricate and in efficient way
that you can actually make money because
we get paid by the pound
not by the hour so you have to huff you
have to put it out there slam it out
there at the same time create a
beautiful product because I’m framing a
photo but the beef that I got some of
the most important things that I value
as a meat processor would be you know
it’s really simple it’s honesty there’s
a lot of shades gray in the meat
industry you really don’t know where
things are coming from and the claims
that are being made and I’ve always been
one that wanted to be treated the way I
treat the people I work with and so I
I’ve just been honest when people wanted
the opportunity to come to this my
facility I have an open-door policy I
have nothing to hide you can watch me
cut it up I’ll give you the opportunity
I can put you on a hook and you can hang
there and watch the beef aged I’m gonna
be honest about what I’m processing if
you ask me if I think your beefs good
I’m going to tell you yes or no and I
will also tell you why it’s in my
opinion it’s not good or bad or if it’s
great I’ll let you know that as well
I just think people deserve to know
where the food is coming from how it’s
being raised the handling of it the
humane treatment the there’s no growth
hormones in it these farm there’s a face
behind these animals the people are
raising these cattle really really are
passionate about what they’re doing and
they should be acknowledged it shouldn’t
be this coming out of this box that says
IVP they they should say Gleason ranch
Harlow ranch all these different growers
should be acknowledged for the hard work
that they do first and foremost I am an
animal lover and if they are fed well
taking care of well respected for the
two two and a half years of their life
here you know what’s important to me is
all the way through to when they end up
on a plate
you know that the chef for the
restaurant does the same thing they
honor and they respect that that animal
I always just really enjoy being around
the animals because just because I you
know it’s cut them up it doesn’t mean I
don’t love animals their family core
values and how they do think coincide
with my values as a as a human being as
well as someone in the meat industry and
so we’ve worked long and hard to create
business opportunities for herself and
myself to expand locally grown meats in
the Northwest I’m very proud that I’m
able to do this and work with people
because it’s so hard to do and there’s
very few people that are doing in and
then I’m hoping to keep people farming
if you get me on a soapbox one of the
things that it really bothers me is to
see all the farms that I used to go to
as a kid and farm slaughtering with my
dad and they’re now housing developments
and it bothers me to see that you know
that these farmers just decided to give
up or to sell out and no one’s continued
this this way of life because it’s it’s
a whale it’s a great way of life and
people need to to consider keeping that
farm and keeping it going because once
it’s gone it’s gone
I got one recently questioning about the
grass-fed beef and nice wool do you like
any other member can come on down to the
shop anytime you want
I just given that opportunity for people
to find where their food is coming from
because you know people want to know
they should know it shouldn’t be a
secret