Meat carvers show off skills during Henderson competition

Blades decidedly different than those used by Silver Knights hockey players found their way onto the ice Tuesday at Lifeguard Arena in Henderson.

Instead of sharp skates, these blades were the tools of Texas Roadhouse butchers who faced off for a chance to be named the top meat carver in an annual competition.

Twenty butchers for the southwest-style steakhouse chain compete annually in the National Meat Cutter Challenge as a way to highlight the job’s craft and the restaurant’s continued use of butchers following years of a shift to pre-packaged meat elsewhere.

“These guys are really experts at their craft — it’s truly an art. No one really has butchers anymore, anywhere,” said Jason Mennie, senior director of legendary food for Texas Roadhouse. “It’s not easy to do. I would even put them against chefs — a lot of chefs can’t even do this because it has to be cut specifically.”

Narrowing down the competitors from an estimated 1,000 on the job across the country began in August. The company’s 12 markets slimmed the pool to 100 butchers across five regional competitions, held through next week.

For the challenge, each butcher receives 30 to 40 pounds of sirloin, filet and ribeye beef to cut in an hour. The cuts are judged on quality, yield and speed. The top five cutters advance to the final round held in late February in Louisville, Kentucky, the company’s headquarters. The winner of the national competition receives a $25,000 grand prize and the title of “Meat Cutter of the Year.”

Tuesday’s competition hosted contestants from states in the West and Midwest. It was held at the Henderson ice arena because of its central location and ideal conditions to replicate working in a 35-degree walk-in cooler. Meat cut during the competition was taken to the Texas Roadhouse’s Henderson location at 3531 St. Rose Parkway.

Butcher Angel Devora, who holds the company’s highest title of “master cutter,” reached eighth place in the 2020 competition and was working toward the top honor this year. The Fort Collins, Colorado, resident said many people don’t realize what goes into being a good butcher: hours alone in a cold room, comfort with numbers and math to calculate a cut’s best weight and yield, early mornings for the food to be fresh by lunch and dinner.

But to cut hundreds, or even a thousand pounds of beef that will be fresh for the customer is a source of pride for many of the chain’s top butchers.

“It took a lot of years, a lot practice, a lot of time in the meat room getting the highest yield you can with the highest quality possible,” Devora said.

McKenna Ross is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Contact her at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on Twitter.