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Home Dry Aged Steaks?

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twinsfan

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I know this is a very touchy subject throughout the internet meat community :blabla: . But hear me out.

Do any of you dry age your own steaks? I understand it's very difficult, dangerous, and an exact science. From what I've read, you want a dedicated fridge, which is between 34-37 F, with plenty of air circulation, you want to limit bacteria if at all possible, if it smells or looks bad, chuck it.

I gotta think someone on this ingenious forum out there has done it. None of us have ever had dry-aged steaks (we like beef but eat it fairly rarely) and the prices are astronomical for the commercial stuff.

I also saw this product, DryBags, http://www.drybagsteak.com/shop-drybag-steak-in-house.php, and was wondering if they'd work if I borrowed a vac sealer from extended family.

I'm thinking I'd have to buy a mini-fridge of CL and sanitize the heck out of it so I have a devoted space to dry age.

Thanks
 
I just did a search on "dry aged" here and found a ton of threads.

I gotta run now or I would link them for you.
Maybe later.

TIM
 
I have dry aged cuts of beef in my home refrigerator. I wrapped the steaks in a paper towel and placed on the bottom shelf of my fridge. Ideal aging temps are between 35-37 degrees. I placed mine on top of an upside down tupperware container to allow air to circulate to the under side. Each day I would replace the paper towel and flip the steaks. Some say 3 days is all you need but something came up and I aged for 5 days. The steaks were deliciously tender. I highly recommend trying it.
If you want to dry age a side of beef then you will need a dedicated fridge with an internal fan, and humidity control. Large slabs of beef needs 35+ days to age properly. Some restaurants age in excess of 4 months. But for single steaks, only a couple days is needed.
 
here is my instruction sheet if you have a small fridge lying around. otherwise, i've seen guys using their beer fridge with relative success but i had the fridge.
 

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Thanks Ron and hnd, I looked around on Google a lot but never thought to search the Brethren. Shoulda thought of that :rolleyes:

Well maybe I'll pick up a boneless choice rib roast and try this. Love to try some some NY Strip steaks dry aged.

Thanks
 
Dry Bags work very well. It's best if you're dealing with a subprimal due to the crust that must be removed. The results are stellar
 
I have never done a full dry aging, but I regularly give my choice or prime ribeyes a 24-hour mini-dry. I put fine sea salt and fresh ground black pepper on them, put them on a cookie cooling rack, and let them sit for a day in my fridge.

They will typically lose an ounce or more in water weight in that one day.

When I grill them, they get a beautiful char, and I can taste a mild, but noticeable difference.

Without a dedicated fridge, I wouldn't attempt a full dry age.

CD
 
I do it quite often. If you do a whole roast for the full dry age, you definately need a dedicated fridge that get's very little use. But, you can cut a primal down, or buy individual steaks and do a 1 to 3 day age (depending on how thick the steaks are) on a cooling rack above a sheet pan on the bottom shelf of your fridge.
 
I'm about to try aging roasts using those UMAi aging bags and my new vacuum sealer. After I age it for 21ish days, can I trim them, slice them into steaks and vacuum seal them individually to freeze or do they need to be consumed right away?
 
TheGrillingNetwork on youtube is a brethern. He did a 28 day dry aged ribeye in the Umai bags. He highly recommends them. I am going to give them a try soon.
 
Sounds like some folks are trying to reinvent the wheel again. 'Dry' aging means just that. You can age meat in a plastic bag but you cannot 'dry' age in a bag. Air circulation and low humidity are a must. That means a compact fridge will not 'dry' because it has no circulation. The conventional type with a fan and coil is what is needed. The meat should be hung for good circulation. A drip pan is to collect moisture when you dry age. If the recirculated air is not dry enough then salt or salt block can be used. A green mold may form and that's OK because it is breaking down the connective tissue. It is harmless just trim it off for looks. The real butcher shops hang full sides and quarters with a date tag on them. 14 to 30 days is normal and longer is better in that range. So, if you're going to dry age meat KISS.
 
htrisna said:
I'm about to try aging roasts using those UMAi aging bags and my new vacuum sealer. After I age it for 21ish days, can I trim them, slice them into steaks and vacuum seal them individually to freeze or do they need to be consumed right away?
Click to expand...

i think that would be fine, but i'd personally slice off a couple every 7 days or so and eat them. then do it all again with the age time you preferred.
 
I've dry aged rib eyes before. I wrapped them in cheesecloth for 24 hours then unwrap and discard the cheesecloth and re-wrap. I waited 7 days and yes they did smell but next you cut off about 1/4 an inch of the grey looking outside and put the remainder on the grill after cutting into steaks. Goooo-ooood. I believe I learned this method from Alton Brown.
 
boogiesnap said:
i think that would be fine, but i'd personally slice off a couple every 7 days or so and eat them. then do it all again with the age time you preferred.
Click to expand...

I've used the UMAI dry bag system a few times and once the dry aging part is done, I slice them and vacuum seal them like you described above. The UMAi folks have a new "sleeve" that works great with my FoodSaver 2340. The results have been very good.
 
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