Dedicated refridgerator for dry aging Beef.. That's my project this weekend!

Here is a shot of the prime rib at day 3. I forgot to post this yesterday. It's just starting to change color a bit and seems to be drying out slightly.  All is going as planned and the fridge is working great with the new controller! Next pictures will come at day 7.

Day 7.. Coming along well. I just replaced the cheese cloth which was clean and dry. The meat feels as though its becoming more tender. When I push the sides, it really feels like the meat inside is much softer and easier to push in than it was when I started this process. I hope I have the patience to wait 2 more weeks. There are no odd smells, mold or anything else to indicate any issues. So far I am very pleased. Next update should be in 1 week.

bhaycraft said:

I am looking to build this same kind of setup to start dry aging steaks at home in my basement. I had planned to run to Sam's and pick up a small micro fridge. I didn't realize I need more than just the dedicated fridge. I plan on using the Drybag steak technology with the breathable plastic bags and vacuum sealer. I would love to get some more detail of what wiring and soldering needs to be done to complete this project especially how you hooked up the temp controller and disabled the auto defrost. 

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For the drybag steak method you would be just as well off by putting them in your regular refrigerator and not hassle with the route that I went. The drybag method does not require high humidity or lots of air circulation. It also keeps the meat safe from cross contamination. That said, for the drybag method, any fridge will do but you will need a special vacuum sealer to do it right and that sealer is sold by the drybag company. I have read about people having limited success sealing those bags with a Food Saver type sealer but its a pain to do and really best done with the appropriate sealer.   

As for soldering, the only thing I soldered was the extension for the fans AC adapter. I chose to use plugs inside and outside the fridge so that I can easily swap the fan and the AC Adapter without having to rewire things.

For the compressor rewire, unless you are familiar and comfortable with AC (Alternating Current) wiring, I don't suggest doing it as you could damage the compressor or worse, cause a fire. That said, most if not all of these refrigerators use a 110V compressor. There are 3 wires in AC wiring. Green which always goes to a ground and ends up tied to the refrigerators frame. Its that little round 3 pin on the power plug. The other 2 are the power. Out of the power plug they are black and white. One of those wires goes to the thermostat inside the fridge and is also tied directly to the compressor. The other wire goes to the thermostat and then out of the thermostat as a red wire which goes back to the compressor.

You can rewire it one of 2 ways. I will stick with explaining the easiest way as the other is much more complicated. I chose the more complicated way so I could retain the light inside the fridge which isn't needed anyway and only works when the compressor is on.

Get a three wire 15 amp power cord from your local hardware store that has only the male connection on one end. The other end should have bare wires. Also get a plug in or portable GFI plug.This provides a circuit breaker at the power source in case of a short and is very important in my opinion.  

At the rear of the fridge, all the wires get spliced together behind a little cover that is screwed on. I suggest removing this cover to access the wires where they are spliced. Follow the wires from the compressor to the splice point. Cut both wires EXCLUDING  the green one that go to the compressor.  One of those wires is red. The other is black or white. I don't remember but its not really important. 

Attach the green wire from the new power cord to the refrigerators frame using a crimp on eye plug to secure it to one of the grounding screws at the rear of the refrigerator. You should see other green wires connected to the frame. Use that mounting point and leave the other grounds connected as well. Next you need to connect the remaining 2 wires from the power cord to the compressor which are the black and white wires on the power cord. Of the 2 wires coming from the compressor, one color will match that of the 2 other wires on the power cord.. The other will be red and will go to the left over white or black wire on the power cord. Connect both the wires to the cord. You can use butt connectors or crimp connectors to secure the wire connections. I always use some electrical tape over those crimp connections to insure they are adequately shielded and protected. You compressor should now be wired up. You can test it by plugging the power cord directly to the wall and see if the compressor turns on. Once you verified that it works, unplug it.  

The Ranco 111000 controllers can be purchased one of 2 ways. Wired or un-wired. I suggest wired as it will include a male power cord for the wall and a female for the compressor. The cord that you just wired to the compressor goes to the female connection on the Ranco controller.Plug the wall side of the Ranco power plug to that portable GFI plug which plugs into the wall socket.  Program the controller to your desired temp and desired off set and you are done. Make sure you have a good remote device to remotely monitor both temp and humidity. Many people use a small pan with water and salt in it to maintain humidity. This is an alternative to the humidifier and humidity controller. If I were to do this again, I might opt for a cigar storage humidifier as the controller is built into it.  

Keep in mind that it might be easiest and cheaper just to get a small fridge that does not have the defrost cycle. You might not have the same kind of temp control but it would be cheaper and should work just fine. Many people keep it simple and go that route without issues.  Also, since there is not defrost cycle on the modified fridge, there  is frost build up on the cooling plate. I am at over a week of running now and the frost/ice build up is significant. Its not a problem yet but could end being a problem after extended use. I will most definitely shut this refrigerator off and defrost it after the meat is done. The frost build up actually slows the compressors ability to cool the fridge however, the thicker the frost the more stable the temps and humidity. Its kind of a double edge sword that has yet to become an issue. The high humidity increases the frost build up. Time will tell if it will be a problem or not but after over a week of continuous use, its not an issue. I suspect that excessive frost build up would be the case with any refrigerator due to the high humidity that is ideal for dry aging without the drybag method..

Hope that helps. If this continues to work well, I might consider building these for others who are interested.

bhaycraft said:

Thanks for getting back to me. I am sure I have the skill to make the changes to the fridge. I am now wondering which is the better way to dry age, in the bag or in a dedicated device with no bag. I still would get a dedicated fridge for the dry aging as our main fridge doesn't have enough space to do bone in ribeyes with 3 children in the house. I now wonder is the bag just as good or not.

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I have only read positive things about the drybag.. Whether or not it's as good as the non drybag aged steaks is subjective. The bag allows moisture out but not in so in theory it should work just as well while protecting the meat from bacteria or contamination.. Of course that is the "theory".  They seem to have a loyal following though.

bhaycraft said:

Well how is the dry aging going with the rig ? Has buildup of ice become a problem or any other new problems creep up ? Just curious. Thanks

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Everything is going fine. Ice build up has not been a problem to speak of though I haven't opened the fridge in a little over a week. The temp and humidity has be very stable as well. I am planning on cooking the prime rib this Sunday so I will update things Saturday when I pull the meat out to season it.

Here is the prime rib after 20 days.. Since I have never done this before, I'll reserve judgment (hoping I don't poison the family) until after I cook this thing up tomorrow  at which point I will start another thread for the results..



Kind of scary looking and not for the faint of heart! No mold to speak of. It didn't really smell bad either. It just smelled different if that makes sense.  



Trimmed up and looking much better. Most of the fat was tied on and disposed of when I trimmed it. I might make a run to the meat market to see if I can get some extra fat to put on this thing or above it when I cook it.





Seasoned and back into the fridge wrapped up until tomorrow.