Dry aged beef

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I've wondered about this before, and I just found a good resource: http://www.askthemeatman.com/is_it_possible_to_dry_age_beef_at_home.htm

I'm gonna be browsing through the rest of that site, too!
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The way i understand the dry aging process .

 It must be done under controlled humidity and tempratures for the process to work.

 I have done the so called wet aging and could notice no apprecible difference in taste or texture.

  i figure my smokin and grillin hasn't had any complaints so i won't waste time .
You are correct on both points. 

What people taste as a difference is a different maillard reaction rate due to the lack of moisture (dehydration in the refrigerator) it is not dry aging as in bacteria activity.
 
Dry aging in a home refrigerator is a waste of time.

Dry aging in a commercial cyrovac does nothing.
You can't "dry age" in a commercial cyrovac. That would be "wet aging". Wet aging adds tenderness, while dry aging adds tenderness and a very condensed and heavy beef flavor. 

Have you dry aged at home? If so, how did you go about doing it?
 
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Maybe I'll try this with something small first in the food saver sealer bags if it works ok I'll try something bigger. Thanks Theresa and Teacup!
I wouldn't use the FS bags - because they don't allow the meat to "breathe" (let moisture escape). You need to try the dry bag steak bags - which are special bags designed to allow moisture to escape, which is what "dry" aging is all about. 

Or you can go "commando" (no bags, just leave the meat exposed in the fridge - if you have a separate/dedicated meat locker/fridge). 
 
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Originally Posted by FLbobecu  
Have you dry aged at home? If so, how did you go about doing it?
You can not dry age at home.  You can dry it out at home and change the maillard reaction rate when it is cooked.  But you can not dry age at home.

Yes I was sent some of those silly bags to test out.  The result was astonishing... since the bag allowed moisture to escape the steak dehydrated.  No bac-T action and very little amino acid formation.  (Amino Acid formation is the classic indication during dry aging that the process is working.)

You can not age in a commecial cyrovac.  I don't care whether they call it wet or dry aging it can not be done.  EVER.  You can let it sit for weeks, but then that is what UVC kill, inert gas pack, low oxygen packaging was really designed for ....  long shelf life.
 
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You can not dry age at home.  You can dry it out at home and change the maillard reaction rate when it is cooked.  But you can not dry age at home.

You can not age in a commecial cyrovac.  I don't care whether they call it wet or dry aging it can not be done.  EVER.  You can let it sit for weeks, but then that is what UVC kill, inert gas pack, low oxygen packaging was really designed for ....  long shelf life.
Then what is being done here?

http://askabutcher.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=Beef&action=display&thread=870
 
Dehyrdration of the meat.  The protien fibers are missing a lot of water after sitting in a bag that allows the moisture to escape.  This causes less steam to hammer the protien strand when it hits the grill.  That causes a maillard reaction deeper then a non-dehydrate piece of beef.  Which does make the steak taste different.

Several things you will also find when guinnesses like Alton Brown push home dry aging.  FIrst, it shows they no nothing about dry aging.

Second they always chose prime rib this is because it is impossible to screw up a piece of prime rib, it is by nature a perfect cut of beef.  So they use it because it is going to taste way different then the strip and chuck steak most people can afford.

Third, they cut off the fat.  This is against dry aging.  You need an excellent fat cap to dry age because the fat is the protection from molds and unwanted bacteria.

Why do they cut the fat off a perfect piece of beef?

Because fat holds in the moisture.  They always say safety... also proving they no nothing about meat.  Fat is a preservative.  It is removed because it slows the dehydration process.  And they need a dried out piece of beef.  The only thing that saves them is they always use a rib eye.  Which can take a lot of stupid things done to it and it will still taste better than the normal steak most people eat.

They also play on the human psychology, I did this, I cannot wait to taste it, it is going to be so good.  And everyone agrees.  Cause they put the effort into it and have been told it will be better.  Combine that with using a rib eye which most people don't normally eat and you have set the stage for agreement.

The real dry aging process (as in USDA approved or home butcher completed) is an enzymatic and Bac-T process that is breaking the protiens down to amino-acids, which are reacted on to create sugars.  Dehydration is also part of the real dry age process, but the creation of the sugars is what it is really about.
 
The real dry aging process (as in USDA approved or home butcher completed) is an enzymatic and Bac-T process that is breaking the protiens down to amino-acids, which are reacted on to create sugars.  Dehydration is also part of the real dry age process, but the creation of the sugars is what it is really about.
Right. Which is being done in the link I posted above, correct? 
 
Right. Which is being done in the link I posted above, correct? 
No, they are just dehydrating the beef.

A piece of beef like they are showing is from a packing house.  Packing houses run a number of Antibacterial and antifungal products on the subprimes to reduce microbial action to damn near zero count per deciliter.

So the processes that degrade (age) the beef are missing.  The fact that the good Bac-T are missing allows the colonization of the meat by the more nasty racid producing bacteria.

However with the level of purity of the meat it would take 14 days for those colonies to get to racid stage, so magically most home aging is "no more then seven days" they no how long a cyrovac can take after being broken prior to getting into trouble by the outside colonies.

The fact they trim off the fat cap lets you know it is only dehydration, not dry aging. 

I have seen a few restaurants that have a dry aging station, but they cut their own beef and have the USDA and HACCP protocols to handle the colonies correctly.
 
 
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No, they are just dehydrating the beef.

A piece of beef like they are showing is from a packing house.  Packing houses run a number of Antibacterial and antifungal products on the subprimes to reduce microbial action to damn near zero count per deciliter.

So the processes that degrade (age) the beef are missing.  The fact that the good Bac-T are missing allows the colonization of the meat by the more nasty racid producing bacteria.

However with the level of purity of the meat it would take 14 days for those colonies to get to racid stage, so magically most home aging is "no more then seven days" they no how long a cyrovac can take after being broken prior to getting into trouble by the outside colonies.

The fact they trim off the fat cap lets you know it is only dehydration, not dry aging. 

I have seen a few restaurants that have a dry aging station, but they cut their own beef and have the USDA and HACCP protocols to handle the colonies correctly.
 
Gotcha, thanks. Makes sense now. :)
 
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