GOOD TO THE BONE

Editor’s note: The author spent the better part of five years working in a high-end specialty butcher shop in coastal west Michigan. Th at shop is no longer in business, though what he learned there has stayed with him and, as he noted, is very dear to his heart. We thought him to be the ideal writer to do a story on five of today’s factory boning knives. We think you will agree.

I hunt deer and other large game regularly and own all my own professional processing equipment. Among these items is the most basic and essential tool: the boning knife. As a butcher’s mate and now as a full-time outdoor writer, I have some opinions on these blades and how to best use them.

A boning knife is a rather specialized tool, and getting the right shape for removing meat