Dry Aging Beef at Home - the topic

[child of the storm]

I tried the AB method yesterday and the meat was fantastic, just perfect. My only issue with it was that I didn't get very many drippings at the bottom of the pan, and had to resort to a little more marmite than usual when making the gravy. Any thoughts? I put the meat on my roasting rack, same as always. I didn't smear the meat with butter like I usually do, which made for a much lighter-tasting roast, but might have affected the dripping situation.

[Abra]

In the end I just left the meat sitting on the cut-off bones. I figured if the bones were still in, they'd get aged too. I'll probably use the bones as a rack when I roast the meat, to add flavor and improve the drippings. I started it last night, and will serve it on Sunday. Fridge temp on that shelf is 38.

[ChefCrash]

I placed a 9.5LB prime rib roast BI in my 15'x15' cooler uncovered on a rack. I checked on it today (72 hours later). The roast is very hard to the touch, as if frozen but it's not. So hard that if I push down on it with my thumb, it only sinks in about 1/8". There is no liquid in the pan. Is it over dried? Should I wrap it? If so with what?

Is this going to be one tough roast?

The cooler temp ranges between 35 and 40 deg.

Help

[Octaveman]

We must've started at the same time. Mine is exactly as yours with a fridge temp of about 35 and I was wondering the exact same thing.

BTW, I plan on cooking at 350 for about one hour, then down to 200 for the duration with a 500 blast after resting to brown. If I'm shootin for medium rare center with medium sides what is the temp I should pull it out at?

TIA,

Bob

Edited December 22, 2005 by Octaveman (log)

[tejon]

That's exactly what mine did last year. I cut away the dry parts before roasting and it was meltingly tender and delicious. Oddly enough, I've had a roast aging since Sunday and it isn't as dry this time - I think there's more humidity in the air this year in our area.

[ChefCrash]

BTW, I plan on cooking at 350 for about one hour, then down to 200 for the duration with a 500 blast after resting to brown. If I'm shootin for medium rare center with medium sides what is the temp I should pull it out at?

Ah man...By Sunday (Chritmas day), mine won't need any cooking. It gonna be beef jerky.

Hygrometer in my cooler reads 68-69. Is that too low?

[Abra]

This is my first time with dry-aging, but mine's not hard. I started it on Sunday, and I have it triple-wrapped in fine cheesecloth, per the Fine Cooking instructions. They say it will lose 20% of its weight, and that one should trim off the hard, dry bits before roasting, but I just went and poked it, and while it feels stiffer than it did 4 days ago, it's still tender to the touch.

Maybe you should wrap yours for the remaining time? I don't have a hygrometer, so I'm no help there.

[BryanZ]

Inspired by this thread I've been dry-aging a little boneless beef rib roast since about Monday in a single layer of cheese cloth. I roasted it tonight and it was very, very tasty. Since this was my first time dry-aging I went with USDA Choice beef as opposed to Prime (I didn't want to risk messing up at $50+ piece of meat). I plan to use this dry aging for all my future roasts. You do waste some meat, but I think it was worth it in the end. I ended up making a super conentrated red wine syrup by rendering out some of the dried fatty pieces.

After aging for a week, I trimmed the thing. I had no idea how much to take off, so I just kind of winged it.

Roasted at 325F with some Maldon salt, pepper, and some herbs de Provence until my thermometer said 120F. Pulled it from the oven, tented, and let rest for about 12 minutes. The temperature got up to 132F. I gave it a little crust with a 500F blast for about 7 minutes. It came out a lovely medium.

This was a fun little experiment and a resounding success.

[Kent Wang]

Interesting stuff. We're discussing similar stuff in the Anti-Brining thread about salting and dry-aging poultry and pork.

Has anyone had any horror stories of their meat succumbing to rot?

Other than the matter of excessive moisture loss, maybe pre-salting before drying can help fend off bacterial growth? Worth it?

[woodburner]

I'd like to age a whole bone-in Ribeye for the upcoming holidays. Anyone else have any plans for home aging some beef at home?

woodburner

[jtcookie]

I have a whole rib-eye, off the bone, that comes from an organic producer in Alberta. This will be the perfect opportunity to test the wet vs. dry methods. Both halves are vac-packed right now. The first half will be wet, cooked December 9th. The second installment will be Boxing Day, having had a week's dry age combining one or two of the great ideas this thread has provided.

Pics to follow - watch this space for beef porn!

John

[ChefCrash]

I'd like to age a whole bone-in Ribeye for the upcoming holidays. Anyone else have any plans for home aging some beef at home?

woodburner

←

Ya, I'll be getting a 13lb roast on the bone about a week before Christmas. I'll place it in my walk-in, uncovered for about 7 days.

I have a whole rib-eye, off the bone, that comes from an organic producer in Alberta. This will be the perfect opportunity to test the wet vs. dry methods. Both halves are vac-packed right now. The first half will be wet, cooked December 9th. The second installment will be Boxing Day, having had a week's dry age combining one or two of the great ideas this thread has provided.

Pics to follow - watch this space for beef porn!

John

←

What size roasts do you have and how do you plan to cook them?

[Angela Alaimo]

A few years ago we dry-aged a rib roast using the Alton Brown method. Not only was it delicious, but every time you opened the refrigerator, you got a whiff of beef filling the kitchen. Sort of like roast foreplay, with all that built-up anticipation.

I'm just saying.

[jtcookie]

I have a whole rib-eye, off the bone, that comes from an organic producer in Alberta. This will be the perfect opportunity to test the wet vs. dry methods. Both halves are vac-packed right now. The first half will be wet, cooked December 9th. The second installment will be Boxing Day, having had a week's dry age combining one or two of the great ideas this thread has provided.

Pics to follow - watch this space for beef porn!

John

←

What size roasts do you have and how do you plan to cook them?

←

The halves are 8 lbs each, trimmed.

After reading through this thread, I thought the slow start/fast finish would be worth trying. I'm a traditionalist who likes to sear the meat well first, then cook slowly afterwards, but the reverse makes a lot of sense. I use an Aalto-Sham a lot at work, slow cooking roast beef (outside rounds) to medium-rare over a 12 hour period. It works well, and the texture is great, so I thought the rib-eyes might be good candidates for a home version!

Carniverously!

John

[brendan mc aleer]

we recently tested two types of organic beef at work both grass fed. one was aged for 5 days and the other 21 days. suprising the 5 day beef was more tender and tasted better. i know it can de influenced by different factors but does anybody have any detailed info or links to aging studies to find out more.

[ilikefood]

Was the beef wet or dry aged? Environmental factors (such as breed, age, diet, ect.) will have a huge impact as well as how the meat was aged. Some people seem to prefer wet, others dry.

For dry aging check out:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=14286&st=0

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=119690

And (great meat porn):

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...3entry1609523

An article on the Wall Street Journal (need membership to read):

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118920026703920971.html

Great resources I found helpful when I aged a rib roast, this article lists the differences between wet vs. dry aging:

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/...ion/DJ5968.html

And:

http://www.askthemeatman.com/dry_aged_beef.htm

Edited December 15, 2008 by ilikefood (log)

[brendan mc aleer]

great info. they were dry aged.

[seahawg]

Here is a good link on home dry aging.

http://www.askthemeatman.com/is_it_possibl...eef_at_home.htm

Edited December 15, 2008 by seahawg (log)

[paulraphael]

we recently tested two types of organic beef at work both grass fed. one was aged for 5 days and the other 21 days. suprising the 5 day beef was more tender and tasted better. i know it can de influenced by different factors but does anybody have any detailed info or links to aging studies to find out more.

←

Same cut? and can you tell us what cut?

And can you describe what you mean by "tasted better?"

[brendan mc aleer]

both were rib eyes. when i mean tasted better i mean more flavourful.

[ilikefood]

Ok, had to post this seriously great panorama of dry aging beef.

I want to be in that room alone...

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/12...rooms-pano.html

[paulraphael]

"In a 2,000-square-foot industrial walk-in cooler, famed porterhouses have been dry-aged to perfection for more than 100 years."

That's what ... 520 weeks of dry age??

Seriously, I know it's dubious endeavor to try to judge meat from photographs, but the closeups I was able to see in that panorama weren't so promising. If you compare to the pictures FG posted of his beef from DeBragga, or some that I've posted from my butcher, the Luger beef looks a little sad. My general feeling is that NYC is one of the few places where it makes little sense to go to a steak house. I can buy better looking meat than that, have it aged any way I like, cook it myself, not get abused by surley steakhouse help (if you're into that, there's always casual engounters on craigslist), and it will cost me a lot less.

[paulraphael]

both were rib eyes. when i mean tasted better i mean more flavourful.

←

If the cuts were identical except for the aging, then it stands to reason that the aging was done poorly. I don't what you can do to actually reduce flavor when dry aging, but anything's possible.

One of the caveats with artisinal grass-finished beef is that it's often butchered and processed by farmers who have a whole lot to learn about that end of things.

Edited December 23, 2008 by paulraphael (log)

[Vision]

Well, I just finished up my first experiment with dry aging beef.

It worked...and it didn't.

I rigged up a small fridge with fans for air movement, sponges to keep the humidity as high as possible, and a control for the temp. Aged a 10lb choice tenderloin for 4 weeks at 34f.

Good news, it produced a NICE piece of meat. Bad news, 70% to 80& loss. I'll literally get two or three meals out of it. Never expected the loss to be that much. I know aging a tenderloin by itself is usually not done, but...I love filet, what can I say. Wish I could get a saddle or some cut with a protective covering on the meat.

Anyone have an idea on how the waste can be reduced to the usually 20% or less? I didn't use towels to cover the primal, as some sites suggest; just cut it in half and put it on a rack. Maybe that would help.

Wonder if wrapping it completely in raw bacon would act as a protective cover.

[tim]

HI,

10 pounds seems extremely high for a trimmed tenderloin.

70% - 80% loss also seem out of the realm of possibility. Are you comparing the pretrimmed weight to the trimmed and then aged weight?

That fan would definitely accelerate the loss of moisture.

Tell us more.

Tim