Umai dry aged whole ribeye

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scarps23

Meat Mopper
Original poster
Mar 2, 2013
195
57
Iowa
Picked up a whole ribeye for 6.99 lb. Choice cut and trying umai dry aged bag. Planning on having these ready for an elk hunting trip mid Sept. The wait is going to kill me. First time using umai.

Started Sunday and didn't get a great vacuum/seal. Cut top of bag and tried again tonight. Much better job. Steak is sitting on rack for air circulation.

Let's hear or see any success stories. Any umai or dry aged steaks welcome. Cured meats too.

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Price was great and I have never had a dry aged steak. Will end up with some waste, but should be worth it.


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Great start Scarps! I have done 2 Ribeyes now using the UMAI bags and went 45 days. They were outstanding!

The last one I did was "au-natural", as in- NO BAG at all and I went 30 days. Even better!

All the ones from now on there will be no bag and I will go longer on the next one.

 
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Great start Scarps! I have done 2 Ribeyes now using the UMAI bags and went 45 days. They were outstanding!


The last one I did was "au-natural", as in- NO BAG at all and I went 30 days. Even better!


All the ones from now on there will be no bag and I will go longer on the next one.



So what was your process without the bag? Salts? Good looking picture! Did you notice a huge difference in more or less time?


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Nope. Just on a rack bare in my old fridge. It kept constant at 38 degrees and 50% humidity and didnt peek or open the door only except for a couple times. I had more weight loss without the bag in 30 days than 45 days with Umai bags. I thought the flavor was better also.
I attribute a lot to the good old 1970's refrigerator. They don't make them like that anymore!
My journey is here:
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...-aged-45-days-final-pic-heavy/30#post_1736765
 
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Nope. Just on a rack bare in my old fridge. It kept constant at 38 degrees and 50% humidity and didnt peek or open the door only except for a couple times. I had more weight loss without the bag in 30 days than 45 days with Umai bags. I thought the flavor was better also.
I attribute a lot to the good old 1970's refrigerator. They don't make them like that anymore!
My journey is here:
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...-aged-45-days-final-pic-heavy/30#post_1736765

Are the older fridges better for humidity control? I've always wanted to make something for charcuterie with humidity control. These umai bags seemed to be an easy way to use my fridge and easily controlled. My fridge is at 35 for temp. Have been afraid of taking the plunge on something without researching more.

On your link you mentioned doing some venison dry aged. Could you expand on your experience with venison and what you used?We usually bone out meat and put in tubs in fridge. Usually it sits for a few days or up to a week. Then I clean up the meat and process. I've been thinking about trying to dry age a deer loin if this beef goes well, but not sure if I would be doing any good. Haven't read up on it at all.

The fat difference is what concerns me. Wondering if I would be doing much good. I'm not a big fan of fat from venison. Also might have some elk meat to try something on this fall. Fingers crossed.


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Are the older fridges better for humidity control? I've always wanted to make something for charcuterie with humidity control. These umai bags seemed to be an easy way to use my fridge and easily controlled. My fridge is at 35 for temp. Have been afraid of taking the plunge on something without researching more.

On your link you mentioned doing some venison dry aged. Could you expand on your experience with venison and what you used?We usually bone out meat and put in tubs in fridge. Usually it sits for a few days or up to a week. Then I clean up the meat and process. I've been thinking about trying to dry age a deer loin if this beef goes well, but not sure if I would be doing any good. Haven't read up on it at all.

The fat difference is what concerns me. Wondering if I would be doing much good. I'm not a big fan of fat from venison. Also might have some elk meat to try something on this fall. Fingers crossed.


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There is no dial for humidity control in my fridge that I am using. But nearly all fridges should have an adjustment for temperature.  But I would say yes in many ways the older fridges are better.The components were built better back then before all the greats started outsourcing. I think the refrigerant that was used in them is different than what is used now (Freon to R134 perhaps?) Don't get me started on a rant about how appliances are a commodity now days that are only expected to live 5-10 years at the most!

The #1 important thing is to just get a humidity meter and stick it in your fridge and watch it. (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HDW58GS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)  That will tell you if you need to try and humidify (humidifier) or dehumidify (salt or desiccant)  your refrigerator. But if your condensate drain system is working correctly I don't think it will be an issue. Log your findings (temperature and humidity)  a few times a day over several days and also note that along side the external (ambient) temp and (relative) humidity.

#2 Clean your coils and sanitize your condensate system. This is an area behind the back panel of your fridge. This is a really icky part of your refrigerator that gets neglected where the air is circulated and moisture in the air is collected (condensed and is allowed to either drain into a large pan where it can evaporate or is connected to an external drain. Most all of them go to a large evaporative drain pan. It will likely be full of scum and mold. Also look very closely at the drain tube or orfice where it comes in. Might be a duckbill one-way valve, that often gets clogged or partially clogged. Go online to find the manual or youtube for instructions.

As for the venison... I completely agree about deer fat. I process my deer very similar to the way you describe. It all gets chiseled out and all silver skin and fat removed in the final processing. But it does hang for a bit after it is dressed and skinned and cooled as quickly as possible. How long it hangs depends on how soon I bag it during hunt camp and when I go home and also the weather. So it may be 2 weeks at a minimum, before I get it home to process.  however it also depends on where I got the deer. We have Western Blacktail west of the Cascades and Mule deer in central and eastern Oregon (high desert), the weather and ambient temperatures can vary dramatically that time of year particularly in Central and Eastern Oregon. It will get well below freezing and/or hot and dry- even in the same day. Here in the valley (Western Oregon) it is pretty consistently raining and cool that time of year so it will hang wrapped in a sheet or cloth my garage until I am ready to get to it, and gauge based on what the weather and temperature has been like before it gets quartered and into the fridge. If the weather has been cooler, I feel comfortable letting it hang longer to age in the whole. Then however long in the refrigerator having quartered till I get it process in the evenings and weekends.  But in the end, the packaged meat is 100% lean and clean and no gamy taste at all. I have noticed that the longer aged venison is kind of sweeter, but not gamier. Next time you get your kill, try hanging a 1/4 of your game in your refrigerator or in the open air for longer before you process it. But I DO recommend lots of extra trimming out of 100% of the fat, sinew and silver skin, Then slice each muscle across the grain into 1/4" to 3/8" thick medallions or miniature steaks. That is the very time consuming part, but SOO worth it!
 
As for the venison... I completely agree about deer fat. I process my deer very similar to the way you describe. It all gets chiseled out and all silver skin and fat removed in the final processing. But it does hang for a bit after it is dressed and skinned and cooled as quickly as possible. How long it hangs depends on how soon I bag it during hunt camp and when I go home and also the weather. So it may be 2 weeks at a minimum, before I get it home to process.  however it also depends on where I got the deer. We have Western Blacktail west of the Cascades and Mule deer in central and eastern Oregon (high desert), the weather and ambient temperatures can vary dramatically that time of year particularly in Central and Eastern Oregon. It will get well below freezing and/or hot and dry- even in the same day. Here in the valley (Western Oregon) it is pretty consistently raining and cool that time of year so it will hang wrapped in a sheet or cloth my garage until I am ready to get to it, and gauge based on what the weather and temperature has been like before it gets quartered and into the fridge. If the weather has been cooler, I feel comfortable letting it hang longer to age in the whole. Then however long in the refrigerator having quartered till I get it process in the evenings and weekends.  But in the end, the packaged meat is 100% lean and clean and no gamy taste at all. I have noticed that the longer aged venison is kind of sweeter, but not gamier. Next time you get your kill, try hanging a 1/4 of your game in your refrigerator or in the open air for longer before you process it. But I DO recommend lots of extra trimming out of 100% of the fat, sinew and silver skin, Then slice each muscle across the grain into 1/4" to 3/8" thick medallions or miniature steaks. That is the very time consuming part, but SOO worth it!
My problem with hanging outside is finding the correct temps. We have a shed that we hang our deer in and I'll leave there if the temps are good. Most of the time it gets below freezing or is too hot to hang. Hard finding that perfect balance. I also don't like boning out a deer that is frozen. Much easier when it is not frozen. We have hung whole in a shed that kept sun light off of it for a few days. Need an extra fridge to hang some quarters in. My wife doesn't like the ribeye I have in our fridge now. HAHA. She might have a bigger problem with two deer quarters hanging. 

I do the same thing in terms of sinew, silver skin and fat. I trim until we have 100% pure meat. 
 
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Flipped it over to make sure air is getting to the bottom. Not as good as a seal as first picture because of shape of ribeye. Watched a video where they cut that part flat for better seal and bond. Hopefully this should be fine.


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Looks like a good bond to me! Yeah, trimming that rib meat off so it is flat worked better for me. All of that will be wasted anyway by the time you are done aging anyway. That rib trim makes great cheesteaks!

You are 2 weeks in now right? How's it looking?
 
Cheesesteak is a great idea for this. Seems to be aging nicely. Changing darker color all the time. Other than that, not sure. Won't be too long. It has been two weeks. Sometime between the 10-13 I will cut up.


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Umai bag peeled right off. Need to flatten the rib side next time to get a better seal and less waste. Although, waste and dry age go together I guess.

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Big package is for elk hunting. Leaving Friday.

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Haven't cooked the thick steak I cut aside. I'm in between cooking methods. I had weber smoker going cooking pork loins for the elk trip. That is running about 300. Might through on there if I can get temp up. Didn't realize to take to 120 and let rest for medium rare. Glad I looked into. I would have been upset.

Texture difference is quite noticeable and you can smell a nutty flavor as people have said. Texture is very firm. Quite a bit of shrinkage. Forgot to weigh.

Will add more pictures of finished 2 inch steak for tonight.


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Steak was good. Not over the top. Have to try another couple steaks to get better idea. I couldn't taste the nutty flavor difference that I smelled.

Might have been how I cooked. 2 inch steak on lower level grate of weber smokey mountain smoker that was running from some pork loins I cooked. Cooked to 85 degrees. Flipped. Cooked to 125. Rest 5-7 minutes. Cooked well in the center. Ends were overdone.

Maybe I need to let dry age longer. Could be the way I cooked. I'll cook high heat on weber kettle next time for 1 inch thick cuts. Eating steak in the mountains is always better.

Had some canned sweet corn to add to the steak. Dinner was still very good!

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Well, congratulations are in order! Those look great! I would eat that for sure! Are you a "well-done" kind of guy or was that a mistake? I too have noticed the dry aged steaks cook a lot faster than regular. I swear you will get a better nutty flavor without using the Umai bag. Go NAKED. It is better when you bare your meat!
 
Rare to medium rare is my taste preference. Ends were only part over cooked. Middle was perfect. Still had lots of juice.

I will be trying another bag since I have them and probably go longer. Will try without bag in future too.


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