Butcher
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Image:Butcher shop in Valencia.jpg
A butcher is someone who prepares various meats and other related goods for sale. Many butchers sell their goods through private stores, but nowadays, in the Western world most meat is sold through supermarkets.
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[edit] Duties
A butcher will carry out primary butchery by selecting carcasses, sides, or quarters from which primary cuts can be produced with the minimum of wastage, separate the primal cuts from the carcasses using the appropriate tools and equipment following company procedures, trim primal cuts and prepare for secondary butchery of sale, and store cut hygienically and safely. Secondary butchery involves boning and trimming primal cuts in preparation for sale. A butcher will also manufacture meat products for sausages, pies and stir-frys. Butchers will normally buy in 'hindquarters' which will be either the left or right side of a cow's back and leg. The back is called 'Strip loin' and the leg either a 'Ham' or 'top'. Image:Whole Top.jpg
[edit] Boning
The ham consists of four main parts: 'silverside', 'topside', 'feather', and 'hind shin'. These are more commonly boned out: first the 'shin' is removed, then the ach bone followed by the 'feather', which is 'seamed out' (acheived by cutting the connective tissue between the muscles of the animal)as there is no actual bone removed during this stage and then the 'ham bone' is boned out, and the 'topside' and 'silverside' are separated using the seaming technique earlier described. The excessive fat and cuts that are not used as whole cuts are then removed then minced and spiced to produce sausages and mince the whole cuts are either 'hung' or vac-packed until needed.
Dependant on where the hind quarter was split the jump is either left attatched the striploin or the ham regardless of where it is leeft it is taken off and the single jump bone is removed to leave a jump of beef.
The 'striploin' also consists of two main parts: the 'sirloin'and 'fillet'. These are boned out from the 'striploin', trimmed and cut into steaks. They can also be served 'bone-in' for roasts and T-bone steaks.
[edit] Sausage Making
Sausage making was first conceived as a use for leftovers of meat. Originally, the meat was minced, salt was added, and the resulting mixture was filled into intestines. Queen Victoria had her butcher roughly chop the meat so the sausages had more texture. Today, sausages are made with different types of packaged seasonings, fresh herbs and spices, rusks or breadcrumbs, water or ice. A small amount of pork fat is added to chicken sausages to help moisten them during cooking.
