Friday's rush at the shop in Tulsa changed how I hang carcasses

I've been hanging beef the same way for 12 years, never questioned it. Then this past Friday we got a double order for a big catering job, 14 whole carcasses and I was running the cooler solo. My usual method of using the gambrel on the high rail left me fighting with the weight distribution, took me an extra 45 minutes and my shoulder was screaming. My apprentice, this kid who just came from a fancy processing plant in Oklahoma City, watched me and then quietly asked why I wasn't using a chain hoist with a spreader bar. I blew him off at first, said it was for the big corporate outfits. But after the third carcass nearly swung into the band saw, I let him rig it up, and holy cow, the balance difference was night and day. We finished the last nine carcasses in under an hour, and I didn't have to wrestle a single one. Now I'm thinking about making that switch permanent, but I'm curious if any of you old-timers still use the traditional gambrel just because it's what you know, or has anyone else had a younger worker show them a trick that actually stuck? I'm still rubbing my shoulder today, but I'll take the lesson.

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fisher.thomas24d ago

Shoulder pain is no joke. Glad the kid helped.

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