Seam Cutting

Seam cutting (also called "seam butchery") is the technique of separating individual muscles by cutting along the natural connective tissue seams that divide them, rather than cutting straight through the meat. It's one of the most fundamental skills in butchery and the key to maximizing value from a primal cut.

Why Seam Cutting Matters: Every primal cut contains multiple muscles with different tenderness levels, grain directions, and ideal cooking methods. By seam cutting — separating these muscles individually — you can treat each one according to its strengths rather than cooking the whole thing one way.

Example — The Chuck: A cross-cut chuck roast contains pieces of the chuck eye, flat iron muscle, chuck tender, and several other muscles all in one slice. Some of these are tender enough to grill; others need braising. When you seam cut the chuck into individual muscles, you can grill the flat iron, braise the chuck eye, and grind the smaller bits — maximizing the value and eating quality of every ounce.

The Technique: 1. Identify the seam — look for the white connective tissue line between muscles 2. Make a shallow initial cut along the seam 3. Use the tip of your knife and your fingers to separate the muscles, pulling gently as you cut 4. Follow the seam around curves — it's never perfectly straight 5. The knife should be doing very little cutting — mostly it's pulling apart

A Good Seam Cut: When done right, each separated muscle has a clean surface with minimal scoring or cutting into the meat itself. A poor seam cut leaves ragged edges, cuts into the muscle, and wastes meat.

This is genuinely a skill that takes years to master. My grandfather could seam an entire shoulder in minutes with barely a glance at where his knife was going. It's the kind of knowledge that lives in the hands.