A retired butcher in Des Moines told me to toss the meat glue, and I think he was wrong

Oliver Torres · 2026-10-07T21:10:02.509805+00:00

Had an older guy named Ray come through my counter in Des Moines about 4 months ago and he went off on me for keeping a tub of transglutaminase behind the block, said real butchers never glue scraps. I get the old school pride, but I've used it to turn trim into a $16/lb tenderloin special that sells out every Friday and nobody has complained once. Is it actually cheating, or is Ray just holding onto a rule that stopped making sense when beef hit $7 a pound?

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A retired butcher in Des Moines told me to toss the meat glue, and I think he was wrong | Butchers - The Community Guide