What does a butcher do?
A butcher is someone responsible for turning whole or large pieces of meat into ready-to-cook or retail-ready portions that can be purchased by customers or restaurants. Butchers know how to cut meat, poultry, and fish properly, so they deal mostly with sharp instruments like knives, grinders, and other cutting equipment. Butchers are knowledgeable in the science of temperature and aging to ensure they are of great quality at all times and adhere to health regulations. They are commonly seen in wet markets, supermarkets, grocery stores, butcher shops, and slaughterhouses, but some are self-employed or have their own meat shop.
Butcher responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real butcher resumes:
- Coordinate in processing beef and fish to prepare meat in cooking form.
- Carve bone-in or boneless cuts of meat with the use of knives, slicers, power cutters and band saws.
- Handle cutting meats such as chicken, steak, pork, etc.
- Maintain smokers for sausage, bacon and jerky.
- Perform daily tasks of helping customers with their groceries.
- Maintain USDA regulations require for the proper handling and sanitary conditions.
- Perform quality choice cuts, and day to day duties in accordance with USDA standards.
- Cut meat steaks chops grind meat make sausage in charge of cleaning saws grinders and maintenance
- Supervise the deli department, slice all meats, serve customers, and cleaning slicers and equipment.
- Stack cargo in locations such as transit sheds and in holds of ships as directed, using pallets and cargo boards.
- Maintain operating equipment and follow OSHA regulations.
- Maintain sanitary work environment according to FDA regulations.
- Perform breaking down a pallet with product on it to work out to the case for the customers needs.
- Trim and cut pig tongues and ears on a factory line.
- Maintain meat grinding logs via Kroger computer system.
Butcher skills and personality traits
We calculated that 14% of Butchers are proficient in Food Safety, Culinary, and Safety Standards.
We break down the percentage of Butchers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Food Safety, 14%
Followed Quality Assurance procedures according to written specifications, achieving acceptable quality and food safety standards.
- Culinary, 12%
Butcher, stocker, inventory, receiving goods, assist prep-cooks, and assist the head Chef with other culinary tasks
- Safety Standards, 11%
Maintained a hygienic working environment and ensuring health and safety standards.
- Food Preparation, 10%
Maintained cleanliness and sanitation throughout food preparation areas.
- Sanitation Standards, 9%
Follow sanitation standards when cleaning equipment, counter tops, and working areas in order to prevent meat contamination.
- Food Products, 4%
Created innovative new recipes which were sampled to consumers in order to promote seafood products thus increasing department sales.
Most butchers use their skills in "food safety," "culinary," and "safety standards" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential butcher responsibilities here:
Customer-service skills. The most essential soft skill for a butcher to carry out their responsibilities is customer-service skills. This skill is important for the role because "butchers who work in retail stores should be courteous, be able to answer customers’ questions, and fill orders to customers’ satisfaction." Additionally, a butcher resume shows how their duties depend on customer-service skills: "assisted butcher with meat cuts, help serve customers by weighing out meat, and maintained cleanliness of shop and meat grinders"
Dexterity. Many butcher duties rely on dexterity. "butchers use sharp knives and meatcutting equipment as part of their duties," so a butcher will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways butcher responsibilities rely on dexterity: "seasoned professional in knife skills, dexterity, customer service skills, teamwork, and good communication abilities. "
The three companies that hire the most butchers are:
- Pride International48 butchers jobs
- BJ's Wholesale Club17 butchers jobs
- Fogo de Chão10 butchers jobs
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Compare different butchers
Butcher vs. Meat specialist
A meat department associate is responsible for addressing customer needs and offering product suggestions based on the customer's preference. Meat department associates ensure the safe storage of the products, carefully loading and unloading the items from the distribution trucks to the appropriate area. They also assist with product packaging, price labeling, inspecting quality, and eliminating products that do not pass quality standards. A meat department associate may also perform administrative and clerical duties as needed, such as taking orders, processing payments, and updating sales reports.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, butcher responsibilities require skills like "culinary," "safety standards," "sanitation standards," and "food products." Meanwhile a typical meat specialist has skills in areas such as "customer satisfaction," "customer interaction," "grinders," and "name whenever." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
The education levels that meat specialists earn slightly differ from butchers. In particular, meat specialists are 0.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a butcher. Additionally, they're 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Butcher vs. Meat department associate
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that butcher responsibilities requires skills like "culinary," "safety standards," "food preparation," and "sanitation standards." But a meat department associate might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "food handling," "grinders," "fresh product," and "product quality."
On average, meat department associates earn a lower salary than butchers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, meat department associates earn the most pay in the retail industry with an average salary of $30,510. Whereas butchers have higher pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $37,705.In general, meat department associates achieve similar levels of education than butchers. They're 2.1% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Butcher vs. Meat market manager
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a butcher is likely to be skilled in "culinary," "safety standards," "food preparation," and "sanitation standards," while a typical meat market manager is skilled in "excellent interpersonal," "customer satisfaction," "customer relations," and "sales floor."
Most meat market managers achieve a similar degree level compared to butchers. For example, they're 2.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Butcher vs. Meat supervisor
Types of butcher
Updated January 8, 2025
