A Butcher, or Meat Butcher, prepares beef, lamb, pork, poultry and other meats for purchase. Duties often featured in a Butcher job description include inspecting, unpacking and cutting shipments of meat, sharpening knives and maintaining equipment, and deboning, trimming and packaging meat to make it ready for customers to buy.
A Butcher should be able to fulfill various duties and responsibilities. The following are some duties and responsibilities a Butcher should be able to execute:
- Receiving, unpacking and carefully inspecting shipments of meat
- Cutting, deboning and trimming meat into roasts, chops, steaks and other cuts
- Grinding meat and making sausages
- Weighing, packaging and labeling meat
- Fielding questions about meats and fulfilling special orders
- Sharpening knives and performing maintenance on cutters and other equipment
- Cleaning and disinfecting working areas to ensure food safety
- Conducting inventory and ordering meats in some cases
A competitive Butcher will have certain skills and qualifications, including:
- Ability to use knives, meat slicers, meat grinders, sausage fillers, meat saws, knife sharpeners, scales and other tools and equipment
- Knowledge of common cuts of meat and USDA meat quality grading systems
- Ability to move heavy boxes and cuts of meat from one location to another
- Interpersonal skills to make a good impression on customers
- Observational skills to conduct inspections
- Ability to remain upright and mobile throughout most of a shift
- Computer skills to utilize inventory control and point-of-sales software systems
