# Meat Cutting Test:  Pork Shoulder Butts



## pops6927 (Nov 20, 2012)

Just cut up a 2 pack of pork butts for pork steak and pork trim for sausage.  Very simple test.

I will follow a cutting test form such as IGA's, (used to work for them):













iga meatcutting test form.jpg



__ pops6927
__ Nov 20, 2012






Company: Pops

Primal: Bone-In Pork Shoulder Butts

Date: 11/20/12

Person: Pops

Grade: All Natural minimally processed, no artificial ingredients, IBP supreme trim

Packer: IBP Pork

Date: 11/09/12  Est. 244U

Billed weight: 18 lbs 12 oz

Unwrapped weight:  18 lb 10 oz

Wrap and Purge: 2 oz

Cost per CWT: $122.00

Item: Pork Steak             wt: 9 lb 15 oz      Dec:    9.9375       % yield:  54.08                    $/sell/lb.:                        Total Sell:

        Pork Trim                    5 lb 10 oz                 5.625                       30.62

       Pork Fat                      1 lb 12 oz                 1.75                           9.52

      Bone                            1 lb  1 oz                 1.0625                        5.78

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Totals:                              18 lb  6 oz                18.375                     100.00                                     1.22                                    22.4175

Cutting Loss:                             4 oz                    .25

To make things easier I added an extra column, Dec:,  converting weights to decimal vs. lb and oz.  Add up all your lb weights, add up your oz weights.  Divide oz weights by 16 if greater than 16 and add to lbs.  The remainder divide by by 16 to get the fractional part of the oz in decimal form.

I also converted %yield to CWT (hundred weight)  % x 100.

Now, we know that the pork steak is 54.08% of the total weight, the Pork Trim 30.52%, Pork Fat 9.52% and Bone 5.78%, and equals 100% of processed weight.   Difference between whole weight and processed weight is 4 oz, or .25.

Here is where we can play!  This is how retailers arrive at their retail prices, through many many cutting tests that all meat managers are required to submit every week as to their specifications.

Let us set some prices.   Pork steak, $2.99  Ground Pork 1.99.  Total sell price is 9.9375 x 2.99 = 29.71 and 5.625 x 1.99 = 11.10. 29.71+11.10=40.81.   40.81-22.42=18.39 profit.  18.32/22.42=81.71% gross profit!

Now, you can drop your price on pork steak to 1.59/lb, but instead of ground pork, make Italian sausage with the trim at 4.29/lb.   Using the example above, what is the gross profit doing it like that?

This is the purpose of cutting tests; in a company, thousands are submitted, averaged out and used to set price points.  This is just using a simple yield of regular boneless pork steak and pork trim.  Imagine doing thin slice, cubed, the ends for cutlets, different sausages, pork patties, all with higher retails to get the most from those two pork butts.  You know not all of it will sell, but 'merchandizing' it to an Nth degree gives greater and greater yields.  A little experience and common sense, it is not hard to make your margins, along with approved creativity!


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## DanMcG (Nov 21, 2012)

Cool Pops, and not a bad profit!


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## diggingdogfarm (Nov 21, 2012)

Cool!

It's amazing what they get for fresh sausage now-a-days! :icon_eek:


~Martin


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## jarjarchef (Nov 21, 2012)

Great Test.

Sent PM with my answer.... I am a sucker for number problems....


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