Dry Aging Beef ** Split from Steak Cooking Thread **

[Sledneck]

ADMIN EDIT: Split from Steak thread.. Another excellent roadmap topic. !!!

Originally Posted by Trout_man22

One thing that we have missed is the fact that the best places use DRY AGED meat. This is so much better (and differant) then wet aged you would not belive it. The price of dry aged is a lot more also.

I have never tried it. Does anybody have info on how to do it correctly?

[Bill-Chicago]

Originally Posted by Sledneck

I have never tried it. Does anybody have info on how to do it correctly?

Here you go:

http://www.maximonline.com/articles/...aspx?a_id=6535

[cmcadams]

I can't get to that from work... any way someone can cut and paste it somewhere?

[SmokeInDaEye]

Originally Posted by cmcadams

I can't get to that from work... any way someone can cut and paste it somewhere?

How To: Age Steak

To catch beef in its prime, you’ve gotta give it time.

Maxim, Jul 2005

1. Start Large
Get a big cut, like an eight- to 12-pound roast or a whole rib eye, because it’ll lose 20 percent of its weight in moisture while aging. What’s left is “both firm and tender, with exponentially beefier flavor,” notes Mark Motta, a founding father of the Arizona BBQ Association. (Cautionary note: The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association won’t endorse home aging, citing food-safety concerns. Wimps.)

2. Cool It
Unwrap the big bastard, place it on a pan with a rack to catch all that delicious blood, and stick it in the bottom of the fridge, where it’s coldest. Then loosely drape the roast with cloth—not paper—towels. (They allow for better air circulation, yet keep the meat clear of airborne germs.) And like a well-trained Tri-Delt, they’ll suck moisture from the meat so that it shrinks as time passes.

3. Stay Fresh
To keep the meat’s surface dry enough to hinder bacterial growth, change the towels daily, soaking them in cold water to remove the blood. At the same time, drain and rinse the pan. “Aging meat is kind of like licking a hallucinogenic frog,” Motta attempts to explain. “It’s dangerous enough. You don’t want it pissing in your mouth as well.” Wait—you know we’re trying to make steak, right?

4. Cut and Run
After about a week and a half of this routine, your little science project should have a dark maroon color, and the outside should feel tacky and a bit crusty. But before you slice it into steaks, “Trim off anything that looks like it might kill you,” Motta advises. This includes a full quarter-inch layer all the way around the outside of the roast, plus anything that’s moldy or green. “Then pray…and enjoy!”

[Q_Egg]

..... very interesting, but I would feel restricted to something along the lines of 2.5 to 3 lbs, 2.5 to 3 in thick, .... maybe xlightly larger to support the losses mentioned. Does this sound doable ... removing the 1/4 in outer covering and doing a very high temp sear on each side, then inserting a heat barrier and roasting to desired doneness .... for me, rare ?

I hope some of the Brethren have solid experience with this aging approach since I hate to 'trash' a $30. steak in the name of education.

Regards, ?????

[BBQchef33]

What they forget to mention is that proper (and safe)dry aging requires a more controlled environment than we have at home. First off it takes 10-28 days. Temps must be between 32 and 36 degrees and humidity at about 85% to control the abount of water losss and inhibit bacterial growth. Temp variations are a bad thing, so it cant be done in the kitchen fridge, and even in your beer fridge, openeing and closing it will effect the process. Good airflow around the entire hunk is also helpful, which means it should be hung or stood up. Unless its really thick, Single steaks are difficult to dry age becase they get that "off" flavor through the face of the meat. On a larger primal, that nasty stuff is only on edges and cut off before cooking. Due to the evaporation(and drainage) of the juices, dry aging concentrates the beef flavor(like reducing a sauce or glaze) and the natural enzymens in the beef begin to break down connective tissue(read decay ) to make things more tender. The tenderizing part happens at the tail end of the first 2 weeks, so if you try it, 10-14 days is the minimum. I have done it at home to some extent, with mixed results, nothing to write home about.. I been meaning to try it in a friends restaurant walk in box which may behave better than the beer fridge. But.. that hasnt happened yet. May be better left to the experts.

[timzcardz]

There are a few sites out there that recommend against dry aging beef at home for safety reasons, one of the most reputable being Purdue University's:

http://ag.ansc.purdue.edu/meat_quality/aging_meat.html


They have a great deal of information about meat quality and safety:

http://ag.ansc.purdue.edu/meat_quality/index.html

[smokeonthewater]

I've done this several times with a shell. Keeping the pan and towels clean is extremly important. I cleaned both twice a day. Left it in the fridge for 11 days with a 13 lb shell. When its ready to eat it looks kinda nasty, but once you trim it ...That's good eats !!

[Q_Egg]

..... I will bow to respected experience and expertise (in the above posts) and continue to use the best my local (and capable) butcher can offer. Perhaps he can do some extra aging for me (with some budget constraints in advance)

... this great Forum sure keeps me out of serious trouble !!

[bbqjoe]

The whole dry aging thing sounds tempting. I also think I'll leave it alone.

[Trout_man22]

We have a farm nere here that will dry age a Beeve and custom butcher for you. They base the price off the weight on the hoof and then storage for the month of hanging. It's about 1/2 the price of buying dry aged beef from Northen VA. (the olny place that has it around here.) Problem is that Dry aged beef is not known for storing well in the freezer for more then a couple months.

[RichardF]

I've dry-aged a bunch of 5 rib minimum standing rib roasts. Came out great, but took some work. Wife never liked the idea, and didn't like the way they looked before trimming, so I haven't done it in a while. I did it in a bar fridge that I could dedicate to the process. If you mess it up, it probably wouldn't kill ya...

[Ron_L]

Check your local butchers, too. Some of them may have dry aged beef. Also, if you have a Fresh Market store in your area, they carry dry aged beef. They aren't cheap, but they have some nice steaks.

[bbqjoe]

I don't believe I have ever specifically ordered anything that was touted as dry aged, although it may have been.
I did once complain about some very nasty tasting meat once in a restaurant.
The cook came out and told me it was dry aged on the premisis, and there was nothing wrong with it.
Well if I couldn't eat it there was something wrong.
No compensation.
Never went back.

[Jorge]

Cabela's sells a walk in freezer. Talking to some folks about putting one on a deer lease and doing our own butchering and aging.