butchery

Butchery is the craft of slaughtering, dressing, and preparing animals for sale and consumption. It covers the handling of carcasses from slaughter through trimming, portioning, and packaging. Butchery is practiced across multiple species, including beef, pork, lamb, poultry, and fish, with techniques specialized to each animal and to the desired cuts, portions, and products.

Historically, butchery has been a skilled trade with regional traditions and guilds. Before refrigeration, meat had to be used quickly or preserved by curing, smoking, or aging. The arrival of modern slaughterhouses, standardized cuts, and cold storage reshaped supply chains, while artisanal butchers emphasized knowledge of anatomy, provenance, and customer needs.

Process and equipment: After slaughter, carcasses are dressed, skinned or defeathered, eviscerated, washed, and chilled. They are then broken down into primal cuts, trimmed, and sometimes dry-aged or wet-aged before portioning and packaging for sale. Tools include knives, boning and filleting knives, cleavers, bone saws, grinders, scales, and cutting boards; safety and hygiene are central.

Cutting classification varies by species. In beef, major primal cuts include chuck, rib, short loin, sirloin, and round; pork is commonly divided into shoulder, loin, belly, and ham; lamb into shoulder, rack, loin, and leg. Retail cuts are produced from these primals and further prepared as steaks, chops, roasts, or ground products.

Regulation governs meat inspection, labeling, and handling to protect public health. Many butcher shops emphasize local sourcing, traceability, and value-added products such as sausages, pâtés, and charcuterie. In modern food systems, butchers may operate independently, within supermarkets, or as part of larger meat-processing companies, balancing tradition with efficiency and safety.