Building a small butcher kitchen with Reiser

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for building a small butcher kitchen. Production needs vary based on your throughput and product offerings. You may want or require varying levels of automation for your small butcher shop. And your future goals will impact how you choose to set up and scale your operation. So how do you know where to start when building a small butcher kitchen?
With few exceptions, our small butcher customers prioritize maximizing space, minimizing waste, and building a small butcher kitchen that can grow and evolve with their business without breaking the bank. Our team of meat and sausage experts at Reiser can help you identify your current needs and future goals, and create a kitchen built for both.
Vemag500 LPV802 TM203 Stefan VideoGrab

Designing a small butcher kitchen: What do you actually need?

Our customers have varying processing and packaging needs based on their throughput and product offerings. They have different requirements for size reduction, mixing, stuffing, grinding, forming and portioning meat.

Before we discuss specific equipment, I always ask customers:

  • How many animals they harvest on a daily basis
  • What their throughput is, and what they would like it to be in the future
  • What types of products they offer, and if they intend to diversify as they grow
  • How much automation they want in their kitchen

Every butcher will answer these questions differently, which is why Reiser offers customizable solutions for butchers of all types and sizes. Of course, butchers working with the whole muscle or fresh sausage or cooked sausage will have different needs than a butcher working with ground meat or poultry. For small butcher shops of any kind (small in size or production), we recommend solutions designed around efficiency.

Take, for example, a small butcher looking to optimize the process of creating a burger patty. I often recommend a machine like a bowl cutter that does particle size reduction rather than a grinder, as the bowl cutter can replace both a grinder and a mixer. It tends to be more gentle on the meat, creating a better product. And it also saves floor space, cleaning time, and eliminates the need for yet another piece of equipment. Then the final grind can happen in a stuffer with different attachments depending on your needs.

Creating agile solutions that can grow with your business and your space

Finding equipment that can handle multiple steps of your production is just one aspect of building a small butcher kitchen that is both efficient and effective.
We will work with you to create a process flow that makes sense for your operation and your space. Oftentimes, our customers have a one-room operation, and all of their equipment has to be movable. Maybe they harvest in the morning and need to cut in the same room later that day.
Repak160309000356 porkchops
We can actually look at the blueprint of your space and make suggestions on machine placement and creating a process flow tailored to your needs. Space is a finite resource in any small kitchen, and our customers often require innovative, agile solutions with varying degrees of automation.
SEY OCV2 Detail Hackfleisch 2

How automated do you want your small butcher kitchen to be?

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for gluten-free bakeries. Egg and dairy intolerances are common in people with Celiac Disease, and gluten-free bakeries will often substitute these ingredients as well to better serve their clientele. Even within the gluten-free bakery niche, our clients require customizable, adaptable solutions. That’s why we ensure that solutions for small gluten-free bakeries are versatile, and can handle multiple aspects of your operation.
But we also know that not all of our customers are looking for that degree of automation – not right away, at least. With Reiser’s customizable solutions, there are options for every need and preference. And because we form partnerships with our customers that extend well beyond the installation of your new equipment, we are able to offer continuous support for your small butcher shop’s evolving needs.

How can you future-proof your small butcher kitchen?

When building your small butcher kitchen, we will look at your current throughput rate and future goals. Some of our customers harvest two, some harvest 200. That will, of course, be a factor in deciding equipment size. Next, how many pounds do you want to produce in a day? And what are your future goals? If you currently process five animals but you want to process 50, do you want to meet somewhere in the middle and we can scale up later? Will you want to grow with the same products or will you want to diversify?
Burger Patties
Knowing what you actually need to build your small butcher kitchen can feel daunting. Whether you are looking to scale your operation, or simply reduce your labor costs through automation, it can be difficult to know what machines will meet your needs.
That’s why Reiser doesn’t just sell machines, we build relationships. We take the time to understand your business – your history, your current needs, and your future goals. We have worked with small butchers all across the country to identify and implement solutions that can grow and evolve with their business.

Contact Reiser today to see how we can help you build your small butcher kitchen.

Post Provided by

Stefan Neumann

es_MXES