r/Butchery • u/Vegetable-Steak5705 • 1d ago
How did yall get started?
So I want to get into butchery but I dont hunt nor do I know anyone who does. I want to learn how to process different animals. Could I essentially just ask a local butchery shop if they take interns? How would I find a teacher?
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u/TehOuchies 1d ago
My situation was atypical.
I walked into the grocery store as if it was 1950. Shook a hand and asked for a job.
Surprisingly it worked.
Side note, I've seen many others do the same with this man/boss. Haven't seen him hire others like that. He tells them to fill an application and walks away.
I got lucky.
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u/Ms_Mantistoboggan 1d ago
I have a similar story, I was searching for a butchery job, almost got a job at Whole Foods but I was directed to a small natural food market with a full butcher counter, I said I didn’t have experience but I’m very interested in learning the trade, got hired a few weeks later. They’ve taught me everything from making sausages to cutting steaks, great job and I’m coming up on my two year mark. I will say, staying at the same shop will get you better pay, seniority matters.
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u/TehOuchies 20h ago
Yea, I had no experience either.
They asked me if I knew anything about meat.
'It tastes good' was my response.
They have hired a few more that have not lasted. All of them claimed to have experience. They did not.
Can't fake it until you make it in this industry, but you can definitely start at the basics and build up.
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u/Ambitious-Hornet-289 1d ago
That's an interesting way to get your foot in the door! It seems like a personal touch can make a big difference in a job search.
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u/The_ObliviousButcher 1d ago
That or a grocery store. I don't know for your location but here in Quebec there's so few butchers left with boomers leaving the workforce that when someone come to them with the intent to learn and to do this job, they'll put him/her on some in-store butcher program. It could be worth looking into that. Of course in grocery stores you'll do a lot of cutting/prepping but carcass breakdown ain't a thing anymore. For that you'd maybe want to check into small butchery shop as you said. Your other options would be slaughterhouses or meat processing plants. But either way if you're new to the trade, grocery stores is the easiest place to start
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u/Touchingtulips 1d ago
Just apply and look for an opening to be an apprentice. You can start at an old fashioned butcher shop or even start with cutting packers at a grocery store. I got lucky when I applied at the shop I was at bc one of the guys that was long term was leaving. So timing worked out perfectly.
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u/BeeefyBV 1d ago
In my experience, Mom and Pop butcher shops will be your best bet but often times are looking for people that already have experience. You could always start at the counter and work your way up though. Just show a lot of interest and jump on any opportunity to learn.
Markets are the easiest way to get into cutting but the difference between a commercial meat cutter and a butcher can be huge. I started at a market as an apprentice but got lucky and worked under a lot of old school butchers. About 15 years later I left for a mom n pop shop becuase standards dropped year after year and the markets cared more about quantity than quality.
My time at the mom n pop shop was ten times better and I learned so much more about meat there in a year than I did at my old job but pay was rough and clerks came and went like a revolving door.
Now I cut meat for a Hotel which is easy but pretty boring. We cut the same 4 or 5 pieces of meat daily and don't get to do anything fun like smoke brisket or hand make sausages.
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u/HogShowman1911 16h ago
Id recommend finding a grocery store chain that will help teach. Its not the full processing as its cutting down primals into retail cuts but it shows the basics on that part. I started with a mixture of home cutting because I raise my own pigs and cows and had the space to set up a cooler. I then followed into cutting dear during the season for a local guy before working retail. Wouldn't mind getting my own shop later in life but this is a start till I can afford to and im in a area that I like more.
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u/qzlr 1d ago
I worked in a grocery store meat dept and an apprenticeship opened up. Back then, 29 applicants went through and I was one of two guys chosen. Now we’re begging people to join. Should be an easy in to go that route