


Smallgoods Maker
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Butchers or Smallgoods Maker prepare and sell meat and meat products, either directly to the
public, or to restaurants and supermarkets. Butchers select, cut, trim and prepare meat for sale or supply.
They cut the meat into sizes
small enough for individual sale, and may also remove bones if
necessary.
They place the meat onto trays for display and sale, and may also package
meat for retail sale. They advise customers on the type of meat they sell,
and may make recommendations about cooking or preparing their products. Some
butchers also marinate, cure and smoke meat, and make sausages and other
forms of smallgoods. Nowadays, most butchers stock native game such as
kangaroo or emu meat.
ANZSCO description: 3512: Selects, cuts, trims, prepares and
arranges meat for sale or supply, operates meat or smallgoods processing
machines, or manages the processes in the production of smallgoods.

Specialisations: Retail Butcher, Wholesale Butcher
Alternative names: Meat Retailer
Knowledge, skills and attributes
A butcher needs:
- enjoy practical and manual work
- physically fit and in good health - physical strength and stamina
- good hand-eye coordination
- good interpersonal skills
good communication and customer service skills
to be able to work with animal carcasses
to maintain a high level of hygiene

Smithfield Butchery, Gulgong
1870
(Source:
Mitchell
Library, State Library of New South Wales)
Out of copyright
Duties and Tasks
Butchers may perform the following tasks:
- cut, trim and shape standard cuts of meat to size
- process carcasses into primary and secondary cuts
- pack and store products for display and sale
- order supplies from wholesalers using AUS-MEAT Language, as well as
weigh and check stock on receipt
- assemble and operate mincers, grinders, mixers, patty-forming or
sausage-forming machines, and bandsaws
- use correct detergents and sanitisers to prevent food poisoning and
contamination of premises and equipment
- assist clients (including hotels and restaurants) in menu planning,
estimating food portions and production costs
- collect payment for sales
- prepare marinated meats, value-added and ready-to-cook dishes
- advise customers about alternative cuts, cooking methods, storage
requirements and nutritional aspects of meat.

Pork Meat Cuts
Working conditions
Butchers work in supermarkets, independent shops/outlets, or in boning or
slicing rooms. Their work can be untidy, especially in the latter
environment, as they are exposed to animal blood. They often work long hours
with early morning starts. Their work requires good customer service skills
as they regularly come into contact with customers.
Butchers work with a variety of knives, hand tools, power equipment
(including mincers, mixers and bandsaws) and computer-operated machinery.
Butchers work in shops and boning/slicing rooms. They usually have early
morning starts and their work involves a lot of contact with people such as
customers and workmates. Butchers are exposed to animal blood.

Country Butcher (Source:
CB)
Tools and technologies
Butchers use a variety of knives including cleavers, carving knives and
filleting knives. They also use hand tools and power equipment including
mincers, mixers and bandsaws to chop, crush and grind meat. They may also
use computer-operated machinery, and may need to know how to use a cash
register or EFTPOS machine.
Education and training/entrance requirements
To become a butcher, you usually need to complete an apprenticeship. The
general butcher apprenticeship takes 36 months to complete and is available
as a school-based apprenticeship.
Did You Know?
Butchers may also
be involved in the putting together and final processing of continental, fresh and cooked
smallgoods using hand skills and machinery. They may also prepare seasonings and cures
according to recipes.

"Sausage making is a logical outcome of efficient
butchery. Traditionally, sausage makers would salt various tissues and
organs such as scraps, organ meats, blood, and fat to help preserve
them. They would then stuff them into tubular casings made from the
cleaned intestines of the animal, producing the characteristic
cylindrical shape. Hence, sausages, puddings, and salami are among the
oldest of prepared foods, whether cooked and eaten immediately or dried
to varying degrees.
Early humans made the first sausages by stuffing roasted intestines into
stomachs.
The Greek poet Homer mentioned a kind of blood sausage in the Odyssey,
Epicharmus wrote a comedy titled The Sausage, and Aristophanes' play The
Knights is about a sausage-vendor who is elected leader.
Evidence suggests that sausages were already popular both among the
ancient Greeks and Romans, and most likely with the various tribes
occupying the larger part of Europe."
(Source:
Wikipedia)
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Smallgoods makers select and prepare meat, and manage the processes
in the production of smallgoods.

ANZSCO description: 3512: Selects, cuts,
trims, prepares and arranges meat for sale or supply, operates meat
or smallgoods processing machines, or manages the processes in the
production of smallgoods. AQF Certificate III including at least two
years of on-the-job training, or AQF Certificate IV (ANZSCO Skill
Level 3)
Knowledge, skills and attributes
-
enjoy practical and manual activities
-
physically fit and in good health
-
good hand-eye coordination
-
good interpersonal skills
-
good hygiene

The Late Bernie Jurcan,
owner of Istra Smallgoods, Victoria until his death in 2017.
Istra Smallgoods create bacon, chorizo, prosciutto, pancetta and
salamis
(Source:
Broadsheet)

Livio, Olivia, & Lidia
Jurcan.
Olivia has taken over from Bernie as the owner of
Istra Smallgoods -
famous across Australia for their smallgoods.
(Source:
Lost Magazine)
Duties and Tasks
-
selecting
and preparing meat to produce smallgoods
-
operating machines to grind, mix,
mince and tenderise meat
-
making seasonings and pickles by
mixing spices, salt and other ingredients
-
operating sausage filling machines,
smoking chambers, and cooking kettles and vats
-
assemble and
operate mincers, grinders, mixers, and patty-forming or
sausage-forming machines
-
shape meat or meat emulsion to make
sausages and smallgoods
-
add seasonings to ground meat
-
operate filling machines, cooking
kettles and vats, and smoking chambers
-
cure and cook meat products
-
use correct detergents and sanitisers
to prevent food poisoning and contamination of premises and
equipment
-
pack and store products for display
and sale
-
collect payment for sales
-
order supplies from wholesalers, as
well as weigh and check stock on receipt
-
store meat in refrigerators or
freezers
-
prepare meat by removing bones and trimming
fat
Did You Know?
Prosciutto, Pancetta, Cappocollo, Pecenica, Salamis, Kulin,
Kaiserfleisch, Continental Sausages, Cottechino, Kabana,
Hocks, Kransky, Bresaola, Bacon, Free Range Bred Hams,
Kassler, Chorizos, are all smallgoods.
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Working conditions
Smallgoods makers work in shops and
boning/slicing rooms. They usually have
early morning starts and their work involves a lot of contact with
people including customers and workmates.
Smallgoods makers are exposed to animal blood in some parts of the
process.
Tools and technologies
Smallgoods makers work with a variety of
knives, hand tools, power equipment (including mincers, mixers and
bandsaws) and computer- operated machinery.
Education and training/entrance requirements
To become a smallgoods maker you usually have
to complete an apprenticeship or traineeship in Meat Processing
(Smallgoods - Manufacture/Smallgoods - General).
Opportunities
Most smallgoods makers are employed in small or large smallgoods
processing companies. Some are self-employed. Smallgoods makers also
work in domestic and export businesses, where they prepare
smallgoods for local consumption or for export. Qualified smallgoods
makers may have the opportunity to become involved in other areas of
the hospitality and food industries.
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