Help me be Butcher Bill, but without the whole killing people thing.

October 1, 2008 9:00 PM

Career-change filter: What can I do to become a butcher? Complications and qualifications inside.

The other day, I came across this Times article about chefs butchering their own meat, and it got me thinking. I love cooking. I'm pretty good at most aspects of it, and I've done some large scale food prep/service (doing Thanksgiving for 50 people at a bar, running a food tent at a city festival), and I'm seriously (not just mid-life crises-y) interested in becoming a butcher. A butcher as in having, if possible, my own butcher shop, the kind of place where people would come to get the cuts they wanted (even the exotic stuff) because I could tell them where that meat came from, and how it was raised kind of stuff.

Here's the catch. I live in Japan. I'm extremely doubtful that I could do this here (I imagine there are other problems aside from getting Japanese people to trust a gaijin). Would I need to come back to the States to learn the trade?

Is it even a good idea? I mean, I know the economy is tanking, and people will be going to wal-mart rather than my hypothetical store for quite a while. Still, are there places that could use, or aren't saturated with small scale butchers?

Would being 32 be a barrier to entry? Am I too old to learn this stuff now?

Any and all advice is welcome. Let me know if I'm being a fool, but do so gently.

posted by Ghidorah to work & money (7 comments total)

A little off topic, check out the book Heat by Bill Buford. It chronicles his real life journey into becoming a Chef, but not really professionally more on a lark. He is a writer and older than 32. At one point he moves to Italy to become the apprentice to the world's most renown butcher. Well written book, entertaining to read and opened my eyes to the fact that there was such thing as the world's greatest butcher...etc. I would certainly think it's worth a couple of hours of your time, if nothing else to show you the lengths some have gone to to learn the trade.
posted by ill3 at 9:30 PM on October 1, 2008

I can give you a little perspective as a son of a butcher (though my pop has been gone for more than a few years). I can't speak much to training, though you might be able to learn the trade by getting a job at a supermarket. You'll be starting at the bottom but you'll also get hands-on experience. Best way to find out about education is to ask a butcher the next time you're in a shop.

There really aren't a lot of small scale butchers because people aren't generally willing to pay the premium, and the retail landscape has changed over the years. At least in the States we went from full-service butchers to supermarkets that only sold shrink wrapped meats, and now the large chains usually have a combination of the two.

I doubt that 32 is too old to learn the trade, but there are a few considerations: Since you're handling cold meat, are always on your feet and constantly walking in and out of coolers, if you have any history of arthritis, back or knee pain it will likely get worse. Also, it can be a pretty dangerous trade, as you're dealing with very sharp knives and saws.

And no, you're not a fool to consider this. My dad's motto was "no matter what, people have to eat."
posted by SteveInMaine at 5:40 AM on October 2, 2008

Re: Japan. One of the things I really like here is how much is still done in small, old-school farms using techniques developed generations ago. A consequence of this is that all these little places are run by grandfatherly/motherly Japanese, many of whom have had their kids/grandkids hightail it to the cities. A consequence of that is that many of the aforementioned grandfather/motherly types have no one to help them in their work, and no one to share their passion with. Where I live (not so far from you), I've had a lot of positive learning experiences by connecting with these people through common contacts and then helping out in exchange for learning whatever it was I was after.

So, there's something you might consider. For me, I was looking at more horticultural stuff, and started by asking contacts who were interested in nature "stuff" who their contacts would be. It's like looking for a job! If I wanted to get into butchering (I've no idea if it's even done here the way it would be in a charcuterie or something), I'd look for the small meat companies (we have a small ham company here in Tsukuba, for example), farms where I saw animals, and stores that sell good meat (if you know anyone in Chiba selling cold cuts, I want to konw!!). Or people who own restaurants.

If your Japanese (language) is limited, though, this is a hard path.
posted by whatzit at 5:45 AM on October 2, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Yes — I patronize two, in fact. Be aware, though, that it is tough work, and every older butcher I've ever met has serious finger joint issues from the repetitive cutting and the cold. And scars, too.

In my experience, the small-scale butchering world is bifurcated. There's the high-end, fancy organic/grass-fed/etc shop, like what you are describing, and then there is the everyday slaughter/cut/wrap places that make their money processing cows, pigs, goats, sheep, and sometimes game. (And then there's the meat department at your local supermarket, which involves some meat cutting but is not always very good at it.)

You might have some extra cachet if you could apprentice to the trade in Japan, but then set up shop in the US. You would need to learn the US style of meat cutting, of course, but if I were paying high prices to a butcher it'd be nice if they had some experience with other country's meat cutting.

Finally, make sure to watch the film The Green Butchers for a story of how opening your own butcher shop could get complicated. Don't make their mistake of selling human meat, and you will probably do ok.
posted by Forktine at 5:53 AM on October 2, 2008

Many years ago, my high school began using a city wide course-calendar instead of it's own. As a result, we were able to see all the courses offered by the board of education. (This was in London, Ontario).

At least one school offered 'meat cutting', so it's possible that there is some classroom course that you could take, but probably not in Japan. You'd still need to apprentice somewhere though.
posted by Chuckles McLaughy du Haha, the depressed clown at 7:55 AM on October 2, 2008

At University of Florida, where I go to graduate school, one can be a meat sciences major. Is there anything similar at any of the universities in Japan? Might be worth looking into.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 10:06 AM on October 2, 2008

Here's the catch. I live in Japan. I'm extremely doubtful that I could do this here (I imagine there are other problems aside from getting Japanese people to trust a gaijin).

I ran a juku cram school that employed five (Japanese) instructors and we had about 75 students. Being a foreigner was never an issue, and I'm sure it would have nothing to do with the success or failure of your business. Indeed, operating a butcher shop in Japan would be a great way to become part of your community. There are significant barriers to entry - startup costs, access to capital and also key relationships with suppliers.

You could probably take care of all of these issues by apprenticing with a Japanese butcher for several years, to learn the trade and make those connections with bankers and wholesalers. It's not impossible, but it will take determination and a positive attitude. Like I said, I never found being a foreigner to be much of an issue when I lived in Japan...once I had learned to speak and read and write Japanese at an adult level.

Interestingly, butchering is considered to be "unclean" in Japan (as is owning a shoeshop). Many people who run their own butchershops (as opposed to the salaried employees employed by larger supermarkets) are probably related to "eta" or "hiniin" castes - the "untouchables". Ethnic Korean and Chinese folks in Japan often choose to locate in the "eta" parts of town, because these "hinin" folks are usually more accepting of outsiders or others lower down in the social hierarchy, like immigrants.

So, it might be an interesting experience attempting to apprentice with a Japanese butcher. You may wish to choose someone who sells to an upscale market (selling Kobe beef to some nice Ginza restaurant, to use a simplistic example), because there are always downward pressures in the consumer market, which is why department stores dominate.
posted by KokuRyu at 10:37 PM on November 1, 2008