lake Michigan shore line/Mason county | My Dad, His Dad, and two of My Dads brothers cut cattle(butchered) for a living. So its safe to say I grew up in the business. Shrink is dependent on a few different factors. #1 how much fat was on the animal. The exposed area is what dehydrates first so a good fat layer will slow shrink as a role. Skinny, more shrink. #2 how long you hang your beef. If you want 3 week aged beef, be prepared for way more shrink than 3 days. #3 how much humidity is in the cooler. We always expected 3/5 % for 7 day hang. A trick the slaughter guys like to use is they will weigh your beef on the rail after is clothes are off. Charge you .55/.65 a pound for cut and wrap. So Buy weighing off the kill floor they just made 3/5 % off you. They charge you while wet, you sell it after shrink. When I was a kid they used to have BIG blankets they would cover the sides of beef with when they came off the kill floor to help with shrink. This was still common in the late 70s but I haven't seen it used in years. Not sure if USDA thought the blankets held bacteria or what? |
Shrink from hanging to final cutting on beef
