According to this paper ageing meat for long periods can help tenderize it but can produce chemicals that produce off flavors. A very interesting read on many levels.

http://www.beefresearch.org/CMDocs/B...f%20Flavor.pdf

Sounds like it's not worth the time! That if you cook your brisket the right way your going to produce a good product anyway.

Probably not that cut and dry. I'm sure that picking through a group of briskets and finding the one that yields the best when bent and shows the best tenderness could replace the need to age. I think the aging is good for someone who finds a brisket with the size and shape they like for comp yet still doesn't yield as nicely as they would like. It could also be good for those who are limited on what they can pick from. Its not always easy finding the perfect brisket for your comp. One with the right size flat and proper tenderness. There is also a taste issue. Finding that perfect point between blood taste and great beef taste could be the result of aging that brisket. Its all personal preference but the preference you cater to may be a judge and not your own.

I'm betting what you are comparing it to though has at least 2-3 weeks of age from the kill date. I have bought a few cases of briskets that had a very recent kill date and they were stiff as a board. Would agree that after 2-3 weeks there is diminishing returns going out to 5-6 weeks of age.

I have tried both ways and there maybe a slight difference, but when cooking something for so long at low temps, I still don't see a huge advantage. Give me a dry aged porterhouse cooked under a 1700 degree salamander to Med rare and we are talking a different story!!!!:lol:

Damn, now I am hungry

Me too. Reminds me of the porterhouse at Pace's Steakhouse out here on Long Island. That little bit of drawn butter they use just makes it perfect.

Nothing beats a New York Strip cooked the right way over charcoal! Finish it off with garlic butter before you take it off the grill.

There is good and bad in both type of aging. For what I want out of a brisket wet aging works great. If you cook a 7 day old brisket vs a 30 day old brisket they will both get tender and a certain temp, but the when they start to cool the non aged brisket will seize up more and the aged brisket when it trys to seize up it can only go to a certain point because the tissues were already broken down before cooking vs not broken down on the unaged.

Dry aging should be left for the steak world and let me tell you after cutting a beef up that has been aged 18 days vs 10 days there is a real difference.

Good info David.

A steak under a 1700 degree salmander sounds like a Ruth Chris's steak. Expensive but very good.

having a prime whole NY strip aged for Christmas as we speak and have 3 briskets wet aging in the fridge downstairs. I have dry aged smaller cuts in my fridge in the basement for 7-10 days no problem. I am just careful to not go in it very often when I am. I use a wire cooling rack to allow air flow and it works fine. I have only done steak size portions, I don't know about a brisket, might give it a shot, I usually leave the larger cuts to the butcher.
Is it true that when they age a primal cut for extended periods, the meat can actually get moldy kinda like cheese?

[QUOTE=Muzzlebrake;1116401]having a prime whole NY strip aged for Christmas as we speak and have 3 briskets wet aging in the fridge downstairs. I have dry aged smaller cuts in my fridge in the basement for 7-10 days no problem. I am just careful to not go in it very often when I am. I use a wire cooling rack to allow air flow and it works fine. I have only done steak size portions, I don't know about a brisket, might give it a shot, I usually leave the larger cuts to the butcher.
Is it true that when they age a primal cut for extended periods, the meat can actually get moldy kinda like cheese?[/QUOTE]

In short yes. There is good and bad bacteria which is mold. There is bad mold also which mostly is caused when a holding room has to much moisture in the air. Now in the COV I haven't heard of a mold growth since in theory that is an air tight environment. It will spoil.