On Wednesday afternoon, we were lucky enough to see half of an entire steer from the ceiling in ICE’s demo kitchen. Weighing in at 347-pounds, the side of beef was a chance for ICE students to learn not only the art of butchery, but also gain a better understanding of the different cuts of beef they work with in the kitchen.  Master Butcher Rudi Weid lead the demonstration and deftly broke the meat down into primals, sub-primals and ultimately into roasts, steaks, ribs and other familiar cuts of meat. Chef Rudi discussed every section, cut, muscle and the different uses for each as he worked his way through the steer.

Chef Rudi led the culinary class through the process of butchering a steer as well as the different classifications of meat and applicable terminology. Using his razor-sharp knives, he worked his way up the steer, starting at the neck and working all the way to the back leg. He demonstrated where exactly cuts such as silver tip, eye round steak, tri-tip, top loin steak, short ribs and chuck pot roast come from — tying together what we are used to seeing in the store with where it comes from on the animal. More…

As the warmer weather revs up, chefs are starting to think about how to make the most of this chance to cook outdoors. Yesterday, ICE’s resident butchering expert, Master Butcher Rudi Weid gave a demo on how to prepare a variety of beef cuts and steaks for summer grilling.

Weid fabricated entire sections of beef such as hip and shoulder. He walked through flank, skirt, hanger and flatiron steaks — inexpensive cuts of beef that are not used as much as sirloin steaks. He also deftly broke the hip into the sirloin, tri-tip and filet. As he broke down the various cuts he showed the audience many lesser-known cuts such as scotch tender. More…