Dry againg Ribs ( St Louis style? )

[Derek]

Well I've been googling dry age method and they say to use cheese cloth, but can I use foil instead?

[Wallaby]

Hi Derek

The problem with foil is that it will trap moisture. I have dry aged just by laying steaks on a wire rack and covering loosely the a paper towel.

Mike

[Derek]

Originally Posted by Wallaby

Hi Derek

The problem with foil is that it will trap moisture. I have dry aged just by laying steaks on a wire rack and covering loosely the a paper towel.

Mike

Thank you Mike, Will the rub wipe off on the Ribs?

[nthole]

I would be very careful aging pork. I don't think it's normally done. Pork, for one, has now been bred to be very lean, and thus I'm not sure aging it will help since it won't have much fat to help keep it moist during cooking. Additionally, aging is done to larger cuts of meat as you will have to trim the outer portion of the meat which has lost its moisture and begun to actually rot. In the case of ribs, there won't be anything to trim.

As far as the initial question of foil versus cheese cloth, no it won't work. Cheese cloth is porous and foil is not. You need moisture to be able to escape. If you don't have cheesecloth you'd be better off leaving it uncovered or using paper towels.

Again though...I don't think you can dry age ribs (beef or pork) successfully.

[nthole]

Originally Posted by Derek

Thank you Mike, Will the rub wipe off on the Ribs?

You don't want to rub until after the aging process. On ribs, I use a binder like a thin coat of plain mustard rubbed down on the ribs before sprinkling the rub on which will make it stick.

[Derek]

Originally Posted by nthole

You don't want to rub until after the aging process. On ribs, I use a binder like a thin coat of plain mustard rubbed down on the ribs before sprinkling the rub on which will make it stick.

Thank you Nthole, Can I dry age at least for 2-4 day? I'll be smoking the Ribs this week when the weather is nice!

[nthole]

Honestly I wouldn't, but you can try it. I think it's likely sitting in a fridge they are going to go bad. To dry age you have to have a very temp controlled environment 36f - 38f i believe that does NOT change often. So that means not being done in a fridge that is going to be opened and closed on a regular basis. And again, you can't trim a rib, so if the very top of the rib is going bad, you'd have to toss the rack. A bit expense for me to risk it.

Here's a website that has some discussion on aging meat. You'll notice they only talk about beef. http://www.3men.com/3men.htm

Good ribs are incredible, I wouldn't chance it.

[Derek]

Originally Posted by nthole

Honestly I wouldn't, but you can try it. I think it's likely sitting in a fridge they are going to go bad. To dry age you have to have a very temp controlled environment 36f - 38f i believe that does NOT change often. So that means not being done in a fridge that is going to be opened and closed on a regular basis. And again, you can't trim a rib, so if the very top of the rib is going bad, you'd have to toss the rack. A bit expense for me to risk it.

Here's a website that has some discussion on aging meat. You'll notice they only talk about beef. http://www.3men.com/3men.htm

Good ribs are incredible, I wouldn't chance it.

Thanks bro, I think I'll rub them the night before & then I will smoke for 2 hours and maybe finish them on the rill. Or finish them in the smoker, I'm not sure which route I want to go yet!

[nthole]

Rubbing them the night before IS a great idea. Wrap them in foil or saran wrap after to keep them moist. Plan on giving them a little bit more of a sprinkle when you unwrap them again as you'll see the moister from the meat will have turned the rub to a paste. But that IS an excellent way to add flavor.

Good luck.

[Derek]

Originally Posted by nthole

Rubbing them the night before IS a great idea. Wrap them in foil or saran wrap after to keep them moist. Plan on giving them a little bit more of a sprinkle when you unwrap them again as you'll see the moister from the meat will have turned the rub to a paste. But that IS an excellent way to add flavor.

Good luck.

I will do that thanks again for all your advice!

[rabeb25]

Sigh....Quit purposely ruining meat!

[Grillman]

Originally Posted by rabeb25

Sigh....Quit purposely ruining meat!

Derek...Please don't let people discourage you.

Derek is new to these forums...he just joined here a little over a month ago.
He is learning; and may ask questions that most people here have known
for a long time.

Beef is different than Pork & Poultry; Beef is best if it is aged before it is
eaten. Beef takes a little time for it to go bad; Pork & Poultry go bad
much more quickly...therefor it is best to eat Pork & Poultry when they are
fresh.

I always buy Beef with the intention of eating it 2 - 3 days after the
"Use or Freeze by date" on the package. You can remove it from the
package it came in; and dry age it for that time period if you want.
Just be sure to maintain safe temperatures.

[Derek]

Originally Posted by rabeb25

Sigh....Quit purposely ruining meat!

I'm still learning the in's and out's of grilling / smoking please bare with me, bud.

[deguerre]

Originally Posted by Derek

I'm still learning the in's and out's of grilling / smoking please bare with me, bud.

Annnnnd...you're turning out some good food while you're learning too!

[Derek]

You're correct Guerry, It's very tasty too.

I'm still loosing major weight as well. I'm down to 160 pounds now.