So I gave the dry aging with the Umai bags a whirl and it turned out great. I know purists will dismiss the use of these bags for dry aging but it was a painless and easy way to do it so I though why not.
I ordered me a combo pack from Umai and this is what I got. Complete with instructions plus they have a website with videos, forum, FAQ's etc.
Got me a clamshell foodsaver since the automatic foodsaver won't work well getting all the air out when vacupacking the meat.
And of course the meat. I got a boneless ribeye to make it easy as this was my first try.
All you do is take the meat out of the cryovac and put it in the Umai bag, massage the air out as the foodsaver takes as much of the air out as possible. All you do is make sure the special bag makes contact with 75-80% of the meat surface. During the course of aging the bag adheres to the surface more and more and creates a bond. The bag is permeable and during the process allows moisture to escape and evaporate.
Put it in a fridge and make sure air will circulate around it. I placed it in my outdoor mini fridge.
And wait
8 days
16 days
29 days
37 days
And finally 45 days
I started at 15lbs and at day 45 it's around 12lbs (where it should be)
Out of the bag
Cut into it
This is the best pic of what the color looks like and smells insane even raw. Tender as heck to the touch as well.
Trimmed into 14 steaks total of 8lbs. I didn't go too thick this time around. About 2lbs of good fat trimming leftover for grinding into sausage etc and 2lbs of inedible waste.
Vacuum packed ready for to go into the freezer.
I'll do a cooking review later and thanks for looking.
I ordered me a combo pack from Umai and this is what I got. Complete with instructions plus they have a website with videos, forum, FAQ's etc.
Got me a clamshell foodsaver since the automatic foodsaver won't work well getting all the air out when vacupacking the meat.
And of course the meat. I got a boneless ribeye to make it easy as this was my first try.
All you do is take the meat out of the cryovac and put it in the Umai bag, massage the air out as the foodsaver takes as much of the air out as possible. All you do is make sure the special bag makes contact with 75-80% of the meat surface. During the course of aging the bag adheres to the surface more and more and creates a bond. The bag is permeable and during the process allows moisture to escape and evaporate.
Put it in a fridge and make sure air will circulate around it. I placed it in my outdoor mini fridge.
And wait
8 days
16 days
29 days
37 days
And finally 45 days
I started at 15lbs and at day 45 it's around 12lbs (where it should be)
Out of the bag
Cut into it
This is the best pic of what the color looks like and smells insane even raw. Tender as heck to the touch as well.
Trimmed into 14 steaks total of 8lbs. I didn't go too thick this time around. About 2lbs of good fat trimming leftover for grinding into sausage etc and 2lbs of inedible waste.
Vacuum packed ready for to go into the freezer.
I'll do a cooking review later and thanks for looking.