The Butchers Block | Bearded Butchers Blog

A perfectly grilled burger is a thing of art. There are several tricks you can use at home to get restaurant-quality results every time you grill a burger. We'll walk through some of the ways you can step up your burger game easily at home.

Smoking brisket is one of those things that requires steadfast patience and is probably the most stressful thing you'll put in your smoker. Wrapping a brisket during the smoking process is one of the more misunderstood and inaccurately used steps. So we're going to explain all the "how," "why," "when," and "with what" questions you've got about wrapping brisket or any other large hunk of meat you are smoking.

We love the processing, prepping, and storage tools from our friends at Meat! We've shown you the 10-inch meat slicer we use all the time, but we realize this slicer isn't going to be perfect for everyone. 

Luckily, Meat! also makes a 7.5-inch electric meat slicer that has a much smaller footprint, so we thought we would check it out and see if it's worth picking up.

Grill baskets come in a lot of different shapes and sizes to serve different purposes. The grill basket also opens up the opportunity to grill some things in creative new ways using ingredients you normally wouldn't put on the grill. So today we're going over what you can grill with each type of grill basket. 

Some strong opinions can come out when you're at a restaurant and someone at the table orders a well-done steak. You might see the look of disgust on another person's face, the shocked puzzlement of why anyone would ever order an overcooked steak. It might seem funny or even over the top, but there are actual reasons that medium-rare is considered to be the optimal temperature for steak. We'll explain why medium-rare steak temp is ideal and also give you some tips to help hit the perfect internal temperature each time you cook so that you get consistent results.

Rusty grill grates both look unappealing to cook on and can cause lots of foods to stick. You should always try to prevent grill grates from getting rusty, but if they do, you'll want to follow a few tips to get them back into good shape.

Regularly cleaning your grill grates is one of the best things you can do to keep your barbecue, smoker, or gas grill working at it's best. A clean grill is less likely to stick to skin-on chicken, and you won't have carbonized bits from the last cook-out searing into your steak. Keeping the grill grates clean helps to make them last longer because they are less likely to become rusty and weak. We'll share some of our tried-and-true methods for keeping all types of grill grates clean using safe and natural cleaners.

A lot of people have dull knives in their kitchen drawer because they're concerned they might ruin the blade by incorrectly using a sharpening stone. This is a very real fear, but never underestimate the importance of a sharp edge – it's essential. So we want to help by showing you the different types of stones and how to choose the right stone for the type of knife you are sharpening.

How much do we love Victorinox boning knives? So much that we had our logo laser-etched onto the blade. This isn't just a gimmick, either – we really use these knives every day at work and at home. We've used lots of different styles and brands of knives over the years for a wide variety of tasks. What we've found is that the Victorinox six-inch boning knife outperforms other blades at nearly every task. It makes for an excellent skinning knife, gutting knife, and it will effortlessly break down a carcass. It also works amazingly well in tight spots and when you need to make precise cuts along bones.

Grills are one of the most iconic American cooking instruments that are practically a requirement for outdoor get-togethers. Most people are more familiar with griddles at diners and restaurants where the flat surface sizzles and sears in the background all day long rather than a tool for cooking up some steaks at the next holiday barbecue. But a griddle can unlock opportunities to prepare a wide variety of food items with an easy-to-clean cooking surface.

Cool fall and winter mornings are the best times for a hot cup of coffee and a steaming stack of pancakes. Pancakes are one of our favorite things to make on our Blackstone griddle. Light and fluffy, these pancakes are a hit on weekends. They also freeze well to make for easy breakfast options throughout the week. Getting the perfect pancake takes a bit of practice, but once you figure out a few tricks, you'll have the airy, sweet, delicious pancake of our dreams.

Have you ever been at the grocery store and found a really great deal on a thick steak that's been marked down because it has hit or passed the use by date? It's natural to wonder if that discount steak is even still edible or if it will make you sick. Knowing how to avoid buying a steak that has started to spoil is just as valuable as knowing how to buy the most fresh steak that will cook perfectly. Today, we'll break down what to look for when you are concerned about the freshness of a steak, how to identify the common signs of a steak that is going bad, and how to avoid cooking spoiled meat.