Dry aging beef?

[jonumberone]

Thanks Pete, I never noticed Prime cuts in costco, though I never looked for them.
An inquiry will be made with the butcher there.
It was suggested on the other forum not to spend the extra coin on a prime graded cut.
I'm starting to suffer from a bit of info overload, not a bad thing, it just means I have some decisions to make.
I think I will go with Moses method on a costco choice cut.
Until someone else posts something that changes my mind
All the info has been great! Thanks fellas

[Chainsaw13]

I've had decent results with smaller rib roasts, dry aging for about 12-14 days. Haven't tried anything beyond that time frame. Like others have said, lowest rack in the fridge, on a drip tray. I didn't use any sort of paper towel/cheese cloth, but it makes sense.

Good luck Dom!

[mosesbotbol]

If you go prime to eat at Costco, get the shell sirloins. It gives you the prime taste and quality, but at a just choice strip price.

It's either better cut at choice or lesser cut at prime. For the money, I think the end product is equal for the money. Prime is nice to eat now and then.

The prime strips from Costco are just awesome but pricey.

[T.G]

I found it...

Alton Brown did the dry aged sage rubbed Au Jus standing rib roast in Season 5 Episode 4 Part 1 "Celebrity Roast"

Here's the segment on ytube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmfaeWEjGpM


And here are the accompanying pages from Good Eats: The Early Years cookbook:

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/5...agedroast1.jpg
http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/945...agedroast2.jpg
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/3232/abdryagedroast3.jpg
http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/1...agedroast4.jpg

note:
The book is way too heavy and thick to lay properly on my scanner and I don't have access to a book scanner, so I photographed the pages, but, since I don't have a copy stand and book brace anymore, they aren't quite evenly focused, so I left them at their large resolution - you'd be best to probably save them to your computer and view them in an image viewer where you can just view the sections you want. (IrFranview for example)

[hscmit]

thanks tg
thats some good info and worth the read through

[jonumberone]

Scans look great.

Thanks Adam

[jonumberone]

After 2 days the Thermometer I put in the fridge has remained at a solid 36 degrees.
After Adam's posted scans recommended a RH of 50% to 60% I grabbed a hydro from one of my desktops and tossed it in for chits and giggles.
RH of the fridge is 32%.
Not concerned at all about it, did the hydro thing more for fun.
Since my temp seems to be holding, it looks like I'll be starting this tomorrow.
The plan is to attempt to age 28 days, and then break down into individual steaks.
If all goes according to plan, I'll begin the process of aging a rib roast for 60 days for Easter dinner.

Pics to follow.

[T.G]

At 32% RH for 60 days, I think you might have a lot of shrinkage, and in a home refrigerator, which are known for temperature cycling, you run a possibility of spoilage.

Take a read of these docs:
http://www.beefresearch.org/CMDocs/B...0of%20Beef.pdf
http://www.beefusa.org/uDocs/dryagin...yofbeef164.pdf

A max of 14-21 days should be sufficient. I can't tell you if 14-21 is even safe in a home refrigerator though. You might not even need that much for a simple standing rib roast.

Something to keep in mind, the restaurants and high end butchers that age beef for the seemingly insanely long periods are 1) using a commercial walk in that does not cycle in temperature or waver in humidity, 2) sometimes have huge blocks of salt in the corners of the cold rooms 3) are aging entire half carcases that still have the natural membrane &/or hide on them which reduces moisture transfer.

Remember, Alton Brown really does tend to run things through the science before offering them up as cooking advice. If he says 4 days, you probably don't need 60. Maybe 7-14, if you feel that he is erring on the side of safety. In a refrigerator that gets opened a lot, I'd even be worried about 14 and spoilage.

Be careful bro.

[T.G]

Sorry - forgot to explain why the "huge blocks of salt" are worth mention. Besides working as a desiccant to some extent, they have a sterilizing effect on the air (the air in salt mines is nearly sterile). This will play a major factor when leaving a slab of raw meat exposed to the air (typically laden with mold spores and bacteria) for an extended period of time.

I don't know if you could duplicate this in a home refrigerator. Maybe a few 4lb boxes of ice cream (rock) salt in open trays. Maybe. One of which would be in the aging container with the roast. Big problem here is that virtually the entire airspace of the refrigerator changes out when you open the door, it takes awhile for the salt to do it's stuff. It might never get a chance if you open the fridge a lot.

[jonumberone]

Adam, I agree with your concerns, but I've resigned myself to trial and error at this point.
I might be better served by adding only another week or 2 on my next attempt, assuming I haven't poisoned myself with the first.
The boxes of salt will be added as I have plenty of room since I'm using a spare fridge usually reserved for extra beer storage.
The door will only be opened to change out the pans and dry up any excess juices.

[mosesbotbol]

How long it can age is dependent on how big the cut is and which cut. I have seen people age beef and end up with dog scraps as it dried all the way through. 5-7 lbs. roasts, 20 days or less is fine.

[jonumberone]

I haven't picked it up yet but it will be in the 16 - 20 lb range.
I plan on getting the largest cut they have.

[mosesbotbol]

Originally Posted by jonumberone

I haven't picked it up yet but it will be in the 16 - 20 lb range.
I plan on getting the largest cut they have.

That is some roast!

[jonumberone]

This got derailed a bit by a busted furnace and emergency surgery for my dog.
This morning I braved the cold and snow and returned home with 18.39 lbs of choice cut beefy goodness.
The delay will force me to age only 25 days instead of my intended 28.
I still feel this is long enough to get a feel for the process and to use as a barometer for longer aging periods.

Here's what we're starting with



I plan on updating every 3-5 days with pics if any one is interested
Thanks for everyones help and input!

[mosesbotbol]

That looks awesome. I assume that is a strip?

What you can do is cut a steak on the left side each week, put Ceranwrap on the fresh cut edge of the strip and try a few over the drying process. You'll taste how it changes over each week and the Ceranwrap is good for preserving cut edge. If you don't put it on the cut edge, the edge will dry up and you'll lose a lot of meat with the constant trimming.

[T.G]

Originally Posted by jonumberone

I plan on updating every 3-5 days with pics if any one is interested
Thanks for everyones help and input!

Please do post updates, I'm very curious to hear how this works out.

Originally Posted by T.G

Please do post updates, I'm very curious to hear how this works out.

Nobhill has Choice New York Strip slabs for $3.97 lb. right now. I picked up a 15 lb slab for under $60 last night. I thought about this thread, but I got it cut into 9 THICK steaks and about 1 1/2 lb.s of ground steak for last night's burgers. $3.97 for New York steaks and burgers? "I was like. "SH!T!, why not?" I was gonna have htem ground some chuck for me anyway, and it only cost $0.28 lb. less. I'm thinking of going back and grabbing the other one they have for this dry aging thread which haunts my day dreams. I might have them cut in half or thirds so I can try this two or three separate times.

[mosesbotbol]

Originally Posted by mariogolbee

I might have them cut in half or thirds so I can try this two or three separate times.

If you think you could eat the whole slab in a month or so, you don't have to break it up, just cut eat steak from one end as you want them while the rest continues to dry age.

[BigAsh]

I like it Dom and will be following this one!....When's the test dinner?!?

Originally Posted by mosesbotbol

If you think you could eat the whole slab in a month or so, you don't have to break it up, just cut eat steak from one end as you want them while the rest continues to dry age.

I may have to try this...