How to make lean beef cuts for your health-conscious customers

Customers have become more knowledgeable and aware of the things that make their lifestyles easier. And this includes their diets. More and more people are choosing healthier food alternatives; food that offers them the nutrient ingredients their bodies need. 

Butchers need to be aware of the knowledge and skills required to cater to healthy consumers. When it comes to meat, these customers are specific about acquiring lean meat cuts, and as a butcher, you have to know how to offer your customers a healthier option. 

Below, you’ll find a guide to cutting meat, specifically beef cuts using your butcher knives. You have two beef cuts options to make; lean beef cuts and extra-lean beef cuts. Generally, 

there are at least seven beef cuts which are considered to be low-fat beef cuts; these include the eye round, top round, round tip, top sirloin, bottom round, top loin and the tenderloin cut. 

The difference between a lean cut and extra-lean cut?

The simple answer is the fat content in these beef meat cuts. While they both have less fat content than a regular beef cut, they each have less fat content than the other. A lean cut will have at least 10 grams of total fat in it, and an extra-lean cut will have about five grams of total fat content. It has nothing to do with the actual size of the cut of beef. 

Cholesterol also has a contributing role to play in this regard, but both lean and extra beef cut should have about 95 milligrams of cholesterol. So, consumers who are cautious about the food they consume will be looking out for how much fat and cholesterol there is. 

Of course, not all customers will know exactly what to look out for; it’s your job as their butcher to guide them toward making the right choice for their diet. In the end, you want your customers to trust your expertise so that they can return to your butcher shop. 

How to trim the fat from the beef cuts 

The end goal is to cut meat into small portions of cuts that don’t contain a lot of fat content. You have to do this with precision to get it right and ensure that you cut to out fat to satisfaction. You can use the trimming technique to cut out the fat. You can use a manual meat slicer or meat mincer and sausage filler if that’s a preference. 

But for this process, you’ll need a cutting board and a knife to cut meat with. Ensure that your butcher knife is still sharp enough to glide through the meat with ease. A blunt knife will make the job difficult and may force an undesirable outcome like trimming more fat than intended or cutting through the meat as well. 

Start to carefully cut a small portion of the fat at the top, hold onto the fat and separate it from the meat. From there, slowly pull the fat away from the meat, and make tiny cuts following the line of fat with the knife to help you trim off the fat with more precision. Do this until you’ve removed enough fat from the beef as possible for it to be classified as either a lean or an extra lean beef cut. It’s good to decide before trimming the meat what meat cut you’re going for between lean beef cut and extra-lean beef cut. This is an organisational skill that will help provide you with a guide on how much to cut and where to cut the fat. 

Conscious butcher for a conscious customer 

When you become a conscious butcher, you’re opening your butcher shop for a lot of satisfied health-conscious customers who will keep coming back. All you need to do is have a good selection of beef cuts available to cater to a wider variety of customer base. You can also help your customers who are not yet well-versed on the type of lean beef cuts available for their consumption. You can further advise them on which spices to use, and our pure spices are a good example of perfect meat companion. Have a good stock of them available at your butchery in order for you to be a one-stop-shop. Visit Freddy Hirsch to buy spices online as well as the tools you need to prepare the best meat cuts for your customers.