Dry-Aged Prime Rib Roast & Steaks + Illustrations & Comments from Multiple SMF Members

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Strange question, but my Costco offers a decent deal on Choice Boneless rib roasts... I noticed that on this thread, people were using the Bone in version of rib roasts.

I know when you cook meat with the bone, the flavor is typically better, but is the same true with dry aged beef?

Costco does have bone in rib roasts around Christmas, but I am wondering if I had to have the bone to get the great aged flavor?

Thank you for the help.

TXDVR
 
 
Strange question, but my Costco offers a decent deal on Choice Boneless rib roasts... I noticed that on this thread, people were using the Bone in version of rib roasts.

I know when you cook meat with the bone, the flavor is typically better, but is the same true with dry aged beef?

Costco does have bone in rib roasts around Christmas, but I am wondering if I had to have the bone to get the great aged flavor?

Thank you for the help.

TXDVR
Not a strange question at all.

I know that for this thread I used a bone in roast, with the bone removed and tied back on, but I've dry aged a number of boneless roasts, and there's no discernible difference in the final result. I simply "follow the money", and when I find a good deal, be it bone in or boneless, I stock up the freezer. I currently have a boneless prime grade NY strip roast, around 8 lbs, that I bought around the first of the year now about 3 weeks into the process.

If Costco has a good deal, go for it.
 
Just use a regular fridge & spend the money on the meat.

If you can afford it, start with a full 7 bone prime rib roast, with the bones still attached.

Al
 
Choice rib roasts are on sale near me right now for 7.99 a lb and I really want to try and dry age one for Christmas but I don't have a dedicated fridge for this sort of thing just one in the kitchen so I'm sort of leary!
 
Is it worth aging a tenderloin? Or is it too small to allow the loss from drying/trimming?
I know that Umai Drybags makes a tenderloin kit. So at least using their method it is possible. On their website in the "Help and How to's" section under "FAQ'S" they have a section on tenderloin. Give it a look. 
 
My wife requested a dry aged PR steak for Valentine’s, so to the freezer I went.

The 15 oz., 45 day aged, 2-inch steak was simply seasoned with Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper with a pad of salt free butter, then vac sealed. It was placed into the sous vide cooker, set at 132° for 3 hours. After three hours, it was removed from the package, patted dry and seared in a hot CI skillet containing oil and butter for 30 seconds on each side. In addition, I hit with a torch for approx. 15 seconds on each side, halved and plated with fresh asparagus and a baked sweet potato. Normally, we would add smoke after the sear with the handheld generator, but decided not to on this one.

There was no smoke, sauce, or au jus, just the taste of moist, succulent aged beef.

Tom
 
Tom, I have a question about the possible cause for dry-aged Prime Rib to be overly tough, and somewhat dry. It's not directly related to home dry-aging, but may give some insight for what not to do when cooking and handling. This happened a couple years ago at a Hotel dining room, and came to mind after reading back through some discussions I've had with you recently, as well as a few of these threads.

Here's the story, which I think will set the background for the root cause: 5 or 6 of us went out for dinner there. They have a buffet line with...my heart almost stopped when I saw it...Prime Rib...in a steam-table pan...yeah...can you believe that one? It looked terribly overcooked, dried-out and no one even touched the buffet PR (I thought: leftover PR, maybe?), but my daughter and wife ordered a Prime Rime Rib dinner plate off the menu, even after I warned them not to. I said it will be nothing like my PR, and chances are high that you will not like it. I was referring to it being dry-aged...the intense flavor, etc...they're not accustomed to dry-aged beef. Little did I know what was about to unfold.

When their meals arrived at the table, it looked great...they dig in...it didn't take long before they were both asking questions and my daughter and wife both complained to the waiter. I tried to slice off a piece for a taste-test...these steaks were so tough I struggled to get just a small piece with a butter knife, and thought, OK, maybe this is just some connective tissue. I did grab a steak knife for a second attempt in a different area of the steak...nope still tough. Taste was slightly off from what I would have expected...a bit strong, but had that nutty background flavor...there was no doubt it was dry-aged beef, but, what went wrong? The first plates were sent back to the kitchen...second plates (replaced the steaks completely) come out...same issue, being tough as nails.

Not knowing, but suspecting, I'm sure they order their dry aged beef through a vendor who has a dry-aging room and does this professionally, in large volumes in a controlled environment...like all the pros do. And I'm sure these folks know what they're doing. I doubt the Hotel has anyone working there with the skills and knowledge, let alone the space and environment on premises, to dry-age their own beef. The taste and texture, considering the cut and that it was dry-aged, was very tough and slightly dry. Color was a deep red throughout the interior, so I don't feel it was overcooked. My thought was that the whole beef rib had been held at temp for too long in a warmer (or on a board under a heat-lamp) after being roasted, which caused it to dry out excessively. Knowing about the obvious poor judgement used for perspective buffet items, such as sliced PR, they may have handled their "to order" PR in a manner which could have destroyed it's potential, as well. Many who had previously eaten there had good reviews, but that tends to be changing for the worse.

What are your thoughts on these tough slices of dry-aged PR?

Eric

PS: when dining out I don't order PR, steaks...anything that could be messed up by the cook. Why? They never get it the way I like it, no matter if I tell them med-rare, medium. Maybe I just have bad luck in that department, but I gave up on steaks and such years ago. If I cook it myself? That's a whole new story...I can enjoy my meal. On the night in question described above I ate off the buffet line...seafood, mostly...didn't even take a chance on the PR or any other menu items.
 
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Eric, interesting story, I am curious as to the price of the dry aged PR compared to the buffet price. If there was not a huge difference, it would have signaled a red flag.

Your assumption of the PR being aged off site is most likely correct. The deep red color, which is reminiscent of dry aged beef and the aroma, was a good sign of it being dry aged, although for an undetermined amount of time.

It would be a presumption that the problem arose after delivery. It would be interesting to know how it was handled. Whether the steaks had been pre-cut at the purveyors or at the hotel, it doesn’t sound like they were properly handled. It certainly does not sound like the steaks were cut from a roast per order. Rather, they were pre-cut, put on a rack, and placed in a cooler until an order came in. This would explain both the dryness and toughness of the steak.

Another possibility is the hotel staff new little about cooking dry aged beef. Dry aged beef can easily be overcooked if cooked as you would fresh beef. They most likely cooked to a desired color rather than temperature resulting in ruined meat.

Bottom line, if the hotel was not renowned for its dry aged steaks, it is not the place to order one.

Tom
 
Besides aesthetics, is there a purpose to trimming? Isn't that just super concentrated flavor? I know it's likely to be tougher than the sliced pieces, just wondering if there are any safety reasons to do it, or if it's just what everyone does, so everyone does it.
 
Tom, you just brought up several questions that, unfortunately, can't be answered, but it does bring things into a better perspective. As for price, the buffet was around $12 or $14 (seemed reasonable for the food that was available), while the PR to order was $18 or so for a 10oz, and around $24 for a 18oz, if memory serves me (I haven't been back since)...served with the usual baked potato, horse radish cup and a side of your choice of garden veggies, or rice pilaf. It does seem that the price is quite low, if it were a well-pepared dry-aged cut of beef, now I think about it.

I've never had the desire to dry-age beef before, thus never cooked it, either. Though I'm leaning towards learning more about it and jumping in one day. Your explanation of it being easily overcooked if cooked to color and not cooked to desired I/T could the cause for the unsatisfactory meals. Whether it was from a whole roast or not, it did not appear to be grilled or pan-seared...it looked roasted, as the colors were slightly caramelized on the outer surface. My guess, if it was overcooked, they went by oven temp and timing only...bad idea unless you work with the same weight/type of roast frequently, and, of course determine your I/T via thermometer during work-up of your method.

I don't think this would be a standard method, but it's possible that the whole roast went in for just a quick roasting to slightly caramelize first (under-cooked), then to Souse Vide. Sort of the opposite of reverse-searing...just doesn't make any sense to me why they would do that, though, other than for holding at temp and attempting to keep it moist. It would require larger than normal equipment for holding much volume, especially when they were having a weekly PR night in their dining room.

I have other thoughts about what could have gone awry, but none of them make any sense either...I'll leave it at that.

Great advice that if they are not known for serving a great dry-aged cut of beef that it's likely not a good choice. I think my wife and daughter will hear me next time I warn them about such things.

I'll keep reading and learning. Dry-aging doesn't seem difficult at all. I just need to commit a little space in my smallest fridge, add a small fan (and possibly a timer) and let it happen.

To clarify for others, I don't intend to deter anyone from dry-aging, as I think it is a great way to expand your culinary skills and experiences, not to mention the obvious...a great dining experience...if aging, prep and cooking are accomplished in an acceptable manner. This hotel dining room experience was just an example of how things can take a strange turn, but that can happen with with any food. Dry-age to your heart's content!!!

Eric
 
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Besides aesthetics, is there a purpose to trimming? Isn't that just super concentrated flavor? I know it's likely to be tougher than the sliced pieces, just wondering if there are any safety reasons to do it, or if it's just what everyone does, so everyone does it.
To put it jokily, not many would care to eat shoe leather. The good stuff is on the inside.

T
 
 
Besides aesthetics, is there a purpose to trimming? Isn't that just super concentrated flavor? I know it's likely to be tougher than the sliced pieces, just wondering if there are any safety reasons to do it, or if it's just what everyone does, so everyone does it.
To put it jokily, not many would care to eat shoe leather. The good stuff is on the inside.
 
Tom, you just brought up several questions that, unfortunately, can't be answered, but it does bring things into a better perspective. As for price, the buffet was around $12 or $14 (seemed reasonable for the food that was available), while the PR to order was $18 or so for a 10oz, and around $24 for a 18oz, if memory serves me (I haven't been back since)...served with the usual baked potato, horse radish cup and a side of your choice of garden veggies, or rice pilaf. It does seem that the price is quite low, if it were a well-pepared dry-aged cut of beef, now I think about it.

I would be looking for a price between $100 and $225 for an exceptional steak.

Great advice that if they are not known for serving a great dry-aged cut of beef that it's likely not a good choice. I think my wife and daughter will hear me next time I warn them about such things.

I'll keep reading and learning. Dry-aging doesn't seem difficult at all. I just need to commit a little space in my smallest fridge, add a small fan (and possibly a timer) and let it happen.

To clarify for others, I don't intend to deter anyone from dry-aging, as I think it is a great way to expand your culinary skills and experiences, not to mention the obvious...a great dining experience...if aging, prep and cooking are accomplished in an acceptable manner. This hotel dining room experience was just an example of how things can take a strange turn, but that can happen with with any food. Dry-age to your heart's content!!!

Eric
Yes, go for it, my opinion is, it would be a shame for someone who loves beef to go through life without having eaten a properly dry aged steak, at least once in their life, regardless of the price.

Tom
 
you guys can afford this, get one 
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https://www.dry-ager.com/en/

https://thesteakager.com/product/the-steakager/
 
Great article! Got my juices flowing and I can't wait to give this a try. I originally found this thread while researching the "Steakager" and I'm so glad I did. I have a question about the contents of the refrigerator I plan on using. It is a old side by side that was retired a few years back and found its way into the garage. We use it primarily for beverages but do keep some produce in it. By having the produce in there will it interfere with the aging process or cause flavor issues?  
 
 
Great article! Got my juices flowing and I can't wait to give this a try. I originally found this thread while researching the "Steakager" and I'm so glad I did. I have a question about the contents of the refrigerator I plan on using. It is a old side by side that was retired a few years back and found its way into the garage. We use it primarily for beverages but do keep some produce in it. By having the produce in there will it interfere with the aging process or cause flavor issues?  
Glad you found the thread. Meat will readily take on odors. I would suggest you remove all but the meat.

If you have further questions, please ask.

Keep us up to date,

T
 
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