Re: Dry aging beef?
 

Temp and resultant humidity fluctuations are typical for a home refrigerator. Unless they happen a lot or are very drastic in nature, I wouldn't worry about them.

I would keep the handling of the meat down to a minimum if possible.

It would have been slick to have placed a mechanical scale under the tub that holds the meat, tared it for the tub, pan, rack, etc - then placed the meat in the tub and just let it age that way in the refrigerator. No handling necessary to see what the water loss is, just open the door and read the scale.

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

Wow, 2 lb loss in a week, that is incredible. You should cut a steak and see how it is so far. Put a piece of plastic wrap on the cut end. You'll be amazed how fresh the cut side will stay with a pefect sealed edge!

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

I do try to keep the handling down to minimum, and if I do I always wear gloves.
I learned about the bacteria on your hands being transfered to meat the hard way when I was trying to make my own Corned Beef.
Took me 3 times before I realized what the problem was.

As for the scale I think it's a great Idea. Live and learn.

This may be something I attempt in the future, but for now I am content to let the whole piece age as one.
As for the weight loss, I am not that concerned because I am sure I dumped at least a pound of juice down the drain when I initially opened the bag, at least thats what i'm hoping.
Moses when cutting a steak off and using plastic wrap, how often do you change the piece of plastic? Daily or whenever you make a cut?

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

Next time you do this I have a Johnson controller you can borrow to externally set the fridge temp to keep it more constant...

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

Only change the piece of plastic when you make a new cut. You'll be amazed when using plastic on the cut edge how clean and fresh the meat will look.

The way I approach a whole sirloin strip is to age it one week or so and start cutting steaks as I want over the month. Cutting steaks is not going to jepordize the remaining strip.

Do you plan to serve this strip as one meal/event or are you cutting up strips to vacu-seal and freeze? I am not sure how long vacu-sealed dry aged steaks last in the fridge, but I'd think it has to be at least 7 days.

Between a big meal, several steaks that sit in the fridge and the remainder in the freezer, you should be have you fill with NY Strips!

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

FWIW - It didn't occur to me to do that with a scale until I was actually writing that post earlier.

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

ready for a steak

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

I have no idea what that is, but I appreciate the offer.

I plan on breaking this rib roast down into steaks.
I am using this attempt as a primer for second one that will be aged longer and cooked whole for Easter dinner.

I planned on updating a new pic today, but the awful weather will keep me from running home on my blow.
I am amazed at how much the appearance of the meat changes from day to day.
New pic tomorrow. :tu

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

:tt It's tomorrow.

Need pics of you meat.

;):r

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

be VERY VERY careful of what you ask for.....just sayin'

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1295531006

Seth you have no idea how temped I was ;)

OK, so 12 days in
I had my first doubting moment today
To me the meat appears to be shriveling away to nothing, I placed it on the scale and found the weight remains unchanged from day 7, providing much relief.
At this point my wife is ready to call it quits as the sight of it disgusts her.
I however, will soldier on.
The RH has dropped and held in the 43 to 48% range for the last 3 days.
Still no drips in the pan.
Also, there is absolutely no odor at all.

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

If your wife thinks it is disgusting... More for you. :D

My wife doesn't enjoy steak at all, and would rather have a good burger. I am OK with that.
It looks as if you are maintaining your aging well, and you will be reaping the rewards of it in no time.

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

You have me wanting to do the same thing now Dom. I like the idea of buying the standing rib roast, then cutting into steaks after aging.

The last time I dry aged a rib roast, it was about a 4-5lber. By the time it was done, it wasn't much more than a large steak. Sure tasted good though.

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

:r

Well thanks for providing the real meat pic I was looking for.

Looking good Dom. :tu Can't wait to see the finale!

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

Looking dark and delicious Dom....(love alliteration)......I was going to ask about the smell....another surprise...

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

Great thread to follow...thanks for the regular updates Dom. I'm anxious to hear how everything turns out. :dr

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

You'll see what happens when it comes time to trim it down. You'll have to cut off all dried meat until it looks like just raw fresh meat. From this go around, you can decide the next time the right balance of meat loss and dry aging time.

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1295794419

Day 15
Today I noticed my first trace of an odor.
Smells like chop meat after it has been in the package for a few days.
Other than that, nothing new to report.
I may be ending this at 21 or 22 days instead of my intended 25.
Days 23 to 25 are shaping up to be pretty hectic, and I can't really let this meat go beyond that.
So I may trim it down when I have all the time I need on the weekend.

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1296166985

Day 19
The odor has gotten stronger.
Surprisingly you don't smell it much when you open the fridge, however when you open the freezer it really kicks you in the nuts.
The plan was to break this down and eat it the night before vacation next week.
My wife put it in my head that if we get sick vacation will suck.
That combined with the increased smell led me to call this quits today and break it down.

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1296170178

Before I started I checked the weight one last time.
It was still 16.4 lbs, unchanged since day 7.

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1296170277

When I was finished trimming it weighed in at 10.8 lbs
I definitely think I over trimmed after I got all the dried bits off I was trimming off all the sightly discolored parts.

Tonights dinner

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1296170505

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1296170505

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1296170505

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

Holy **** that looks amazing!

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

In the end we really enjoyed the meal.
The steak was great.
I am kicking myself now for not holding out.
I was able to get a dozen steaks out of the remaining piece.
7 smaller ones for my wife and 5 thicker for me.

I will say now that I cut this one up letting the next one go longer will be a lot easier.
Thanks to everyone for the encouragement and advice :tu
And thanks to all who followed along :D

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

OK, now I want steak for dinner. None of that mamby pamby chicken that wifey wants! Geez that looks good. Thanks for the thread! :tu

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

Nice work Dom. :tu:tu

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

glad it turned out good for you

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

I will be checking to make sure you log back in tomorrow to see your still with us.:r

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

:r:r

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

Dom... I gotta tell ya brother... I thought you were freakin' crazy when you started this. I know you did your research and all... but heck you can find anything on the net!!!

I stand corrected... it looks awesome!!!!

Thanks for the info and the great updates throughout!!!

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

Good job, the steaks look just as they should!

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

Wow those look amazing. Thanks for keeping up with the thread and the pictures.

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

Thanks for the updates and pics. I have thought many times of doing this, but haven't. Did it really make the steak taste any better?

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

Looked mighty tasty Dom...Did you NOTICE a taste DIFFERENCE by dry aging?....I mean it was a nice slab to begin with that would've no doubt been tasty as is...next time maybe cut a steak and vac seal before you begin for side-by-side comparison....all in all I gotta say a learned a bunch from this thread :tu

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

Thanks guys :)

I did notice a taste difference.
I didn't achieve the Gamey undertones that I have tasted in some high end steakhouses, however I felt the steak flavor was much more pronounced.
The biggest difference I noticed was in texture.
The meat seemed more dense, that is the best way I can describe it.
It wasn't tough, just firmer or tighter.
I am looking forward to doing this again.
Now that my anxiety has been quelled, i would like to see what happens over longer periods.

Keith, if august happens, I will add this to the menu :tu

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

I guess the denseness comes from losing about 2 lbs. in pre-trim weight from where you started....Get practicing, August ain't that far!!:D :tu

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

This is classic Brent right here, I laughed so hard my boss came in to check on me.

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

Many hundreds of steak houses count on it, train people for it, utilize expensive space for it, and have been doing it for many decades. Do you think they are wasting their time, money, manpower, experience, and efforts? Or do you just doubt his palate is refined enough to tell? ;):r

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

I have eaten some of those mail order steaks and eaten at those steakhouses. IMO, I can't tell THAT big of a difference. The big difference is Dom was doing this in his home fridge. The hundreds of steakhouses aren't. They also usually start with Prime.

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

I'm glad you haven't died yet, Dom. :r

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

Yesterday I just bought a 11 lb NY Strip at Costco for $4.99 an lb. I plan to dry age. I washed the meat off and pat dry it. Covered and rubbed in kosher salt, let it sit about 10 minutes, washed the meat off again, pat dry and put on rack to dry age in fridge.

An hour ago today, I cut one end off to square the meat up, cooked the cut off meat and place cling wrap on the cut end to keep it fresh. Next week will be the first real meal from the strip.

I plan to cut from the steak once or twice a week until the meat is ready. At that point I will vacuum seal the steaks and store in the fridge until all are gone. I figure about 12 steaks from the strips in total. If a bunch of friends come by, the strip could be gone a lot sooner.

Anyone around who wants a NY Strip lunch & cigars in a couple of weeks, give me ring!

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

I didn't think you wanted to cover the meat with anything, to allow it to release it's moisture and basically dehydrate (amongst other changes it'll go through). Wouldn't the cling wrap hold moisture in and allow bacteria to grow?

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

It's only on the cut end. Leaving the wrap the cut end keep the meat fresh, saving needless trimming each time I want a steak. The other 5 sides are bare.

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

This sounds awesome.

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

Picked up a 3" thick porterhouse on sale yesterday. I know the idea is to age full roasts but I thought I'd give it a shot. Not really afraid to lose to much of it, figured this would be a good experiment.

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

Nice, never attempted this nor will I ever try but pure kudos to you! Looks great, except for the onions part (like my meat plain with sea salt and cracked pepper), but to each his own, I ain't hatin!

I picked up 2 aged whole backstraps (tenderloins), Prime Grade, out of a cow from HEB in Temple last summer and cut it up and packaged it myself for $6 a pound! The pricing guy must have had a seizure or something when he was labeling the meat, cause I got away with murder. The steak was so tender I hardly had to use a knife, could almost cut it with a fork. I seared them on my iron skillet and finish them in the oven,......absolutely fasntastic! I never grill tenderloins, lose all the moisture out of them.

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

Just wrap in a papertowel and change the towels until they stay clean daily. As soon as your steak has hint of dryness on the outside, cut it off and cook it. I'd imagine 4 days would be perfect. You'll end up with the best dog chew toy if you try to age a steak like a whole untrimmed roast.

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

Did 5 days... Trimmed off some of the outer edge and pan seared it, finished it in the oven. Absolutely friggin perfect. I cooked it to 130 degrees, took it out and covered it, let it stand for 10 mins and trimmed it up. There are subtle flavor differences between aged and non aged, but there are noticeable differences in texture. I'm normally not a fillet guy, usually save that part of the P-house for my girlfriend, but i wanted to try it out, and wow I must say that it was awesome. Its as if the connective tissues begin to break down even further giving you a steak you can cut with a butter knife.
I took a bunch of pictures but I'm too full and lazy to bother posting now, I'll put them up over the weekend.
I seriously suggest giving it a shot.

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

I decided to do this again. This time I used a special bag that gets vacuum sealed and forms a bond with the meat.
The Roast was a choice cut boneless ribeye from Costco and the starting weight was a touch over 17 lbs. 17.23 if I remember correct, but again, I forgot to write it down.
My initial plan was to age this for 35 days.
Unlike the first attempt posted in this thread, I made it the full 35 days, however on day 35 I wasn't feeling well so I added another 6 days and wound up cutting it up on day 41.

Day 1

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps83n9q7kc.jpg

Day 10

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...psyphay6cd.jpg

Day 17 - I decided the meat needed a friend so I added a 15.75lb bone in roast to the fridge.

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...psseb0ugnj.jpg

Day 29 for the boneless day 12 for the bone in.

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...psoyz8ffij.jpg

Day 35

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...psmhtja2ua.jpg

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

Day 40 and day 23

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...psugp58kbd.jpg

Time to trim this baby up. The weight before trimming was 15.8 lbs.

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...pscz8ecoe0.jpg

BigAsh lending a hand

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...psaretmppc.jpg

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...psft6dmjgw.jpg

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...psqnwzbvxc.jpg

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

The finished product with a trimmed up weight of 10 lbs even.

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...psegiculhz.jpg

After I trimmed it up I went ahead and cut it into steaks.

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...pswtme3xga.jpg

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps1pqv0txn.jpg

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...psceqkzrtq.jpg

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...psranuzef7.jpg

Re: Dry aging beef?
 

Cooked Sous vide @132° for 1.5 hours and finished off with the serzall.

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...psigncyote.jpg

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...psutp6ntk9.jpg

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...psnmyku5xy.jpg

Mike eating some steak! :D

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...psgqfq3b45.jpg

The steaks were out of this world. One of the guys said that the steaks were better than what we get at high end NYC steakhouses that we go to for our Christmas herf.
I was able to get 7 real nice sized steaks. 4 of them in the 20 - 22oz range and 3 in the 26 - 28 oz range.
Again, I wasn't able to detect any hint of game or funk kind of flavors that I was expecting.
Because of that, I'm thinking of taking the bone in roast to day 75.
When I told my wife that she gave me a look, so we'll have to see if I can get her on board.
Keith had one of the steaks, so maybe he will share his thoughts?