Seems like I'm not the only one doing a dry aging experiment at the moment.
I got my SteakAger about 2 weeks ago and I've just got the chance to get a rib eye roast to put in it. After waiting 3 days for the gases in the compressor to settle per their instructions, giving it the initial cleaning, and relocated the electronics unit as instructed by Kingsford (ice would build up with it in the default location), I plugged it in to give it a day or so to cool down. One thing I noticed right away was the noise level. It's definitely noisier than I expected, but not intolerable. Which is good since that thing needs to run for weeks while dry aging the beef. It also has a definite off gassing issue from the plastics when you first unpack it. By the time I plugged it in, the smell was not noticeable anymore.
I'm going to start with a 45 day dry age and then do a 30 day and then a 21 day dry age. Once they come out of the SteakAger, I'm going to cut them into steaks, grill up one to see how it taste, then vacuum seal the rest and freeze them. When I have all 3 lengths completed and get them all cut, vacuumed, and frozen, I'll pull one of each and defrost and grill them for a taste test. The reason for freezing the 21 day run is that I want to try to get all the steaks as close to the same condition before cooking for the test. It will be a long wait for the final taste test, but I think it will be worth it.
Here's some pictures from Day 1 of the 45 day dry aging:
The unit by itself:
The rib eye roast:
SteakAger Loaded:
I got my SteakAger about 2 weeks ago and I've just got the chance to get a rib eye roast to put in it. After waiting 3 days for the gases in the compressor to settle per their instructions, giving it the initial cleaning, and relocated the electronics unit as instructed by Kingsford (ice would build up with it in the default location), I plugged it in to give it a day or so to cool down. One thing I noticed right away was the noise level. It's definitely noisier than I expected, but not intolerable. Which is good since that thing needs to run for weeks while dry aging the beef. It also has a definite off gassing issue from the plastics when you first unpack it. By the time I plugged it in, the smell was not noticeable anymore.
I'm going to start with a 45 day dry age and then do a 30 day and then a 21 day dry age. Once they come out of the SteakAger, I'm going to cut them into steaks, grill up one to see how it taste, then vacuum seal the rest and freeze them. When I have all 3 lengths completed and get them all cut, vacuumed, and frozen, I'll pull one of each and defrost and grill them for a taste test. The reason for freezing the 21 day run is that I want to try to get all the steaks as close to the same condition before cooking for the test. It will be a long wait for the final taste test, but I think it will be worth it.
Here's some pictures from Day 1 of the 45 day dry aging:
The unit by itself:
The rib eye roast:
SteakAger Loaded:
