First time dry aged Ribeye with Mr. T's help

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SmokinAl

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Jun 22, 2009
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Central Florida (Sebring)
After talking to Mr. T about dry ageing a ribeye. He convinced me I could do it in my fridge. I always thought you needed a temp & humidity controlled place to dry age.

He said I could do it in my fridge set at 35-36 degrees, as long as the fridge had a built in fan to circulate the air. I have a spare fridge on the patio that I used. It very seldom gets opened so it seemed like I could keep the temp in range without a problem. Ribeyes were sort of on sale at $8.47 per pound. So I picked up a bone in, untrimmed 4 bone roast. It weighed 9 lb. 11 1/2 oz. Here it is.


The bones weren't cut off & tied back on & none of the fat had been trimmed.


All I did was pat it dry & into the fridge.


It took a couple of days to get the fridge set at the right temp. I had a Maverick in there so I didn't have to keep looking inside.

Tom said to put the meat probe in a glass of water & that would give the approx temp of the meat.


Here it is after 1 week.                                                                                                                2 weeks


In the 3rd week the batteries in the Mav gave out, so I just took it out of the fridge.

The fridge temp was always cycling between 34 & 37, and the water was always 35-36.

So I felt pretty confident that it would stay that way without constant monitoring. 

                                             3 weeks                                                                                           4 weeks


                                                 5 weeks


Then after 40 days, here it is. You can see it is only 7 lbs. 12 1/2 oz. It lost almost 2 pounds.


After trimming it up, I ended up with six 1 1/2 in. thick steaks.


They each cost about $13. Can't wait to try one.


So out of a 9 lb. 11 1/2 oz roast. I ended up with 3 lb 3 3/4 oz of steaks. So each steak is a little over 1/2 lb.

It's hard to see in the photo, but the meat is a deep rich red color.


I vac packed 5 of them & left one out for dinner.


No seasoning on this guy, just S&P


Into the kettle with lump & a chunk of red oak.


Sorry no pics of the steak on the grill, because I just forgot, it was cooking fast & I didn't want to screw up now.

All done with a little butter on top.


Served with a wedge of iceberg lettuce with Blue cheese dressing, and some garlic red potatoes.


It ended up med/rare. We like rare, so I let it get away from me.


I had no idea what to expect as far as flavor goes. I've never had a dry aged steak before.

I was very surprised at the wonderful beef flavor & the tenderness of the meat. 

Hopefully next time I can get it a little more on the rare side.

I would definitely do this again, but only when ribeyes are on sale, so these will be for special occasions only.

Next year around the holidays when they go on sale, I will buy a whole 7 bone roast. 

Also I think I will let it age for 45 days.

Thanks for looking!

Al
 
Looks Great, I know it tasted Fantastic. Dry aged has a different flavor profile which is great, now you know why they are so expensive.  
points1.png


Gary
 
 
Looks Great, I know it tasted Fantastic. Dry aged has a different flavor profile which is great, now you know why they are so expensive.  
points1.png


Gary
Thanks a lot, Gary!

Appreciate the point too!

Al
 
That's a really awesome project Al!  It's amazing to me how the steak loses so much weight in moisture.  Steak looks great!   Points!!  Do you think it would be ok to try this with a rib roast thats already been frozen?  I know most meat has been frozen at some point but I was wondering if it would affect the quality.
 
 
That's a really awesome project Al!  It's amazing to me how the steak loses so much weight in moisture.  Steak looks great!   Points!!  Do you think it would be ok to try this with a rib roast thats already been frozen?  I know most meat has been frozen at some point but I was wondering if it would affect the quality.
Thanks a lot Chris, and thanks for the point!

I don't see why it would affect the dry ageing process if the meat was frozen then thawed out.

You may want to PM Mr.T, since he was the one who coached me through this just to be sure.

Al
 
Looks Great, Al !!
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I'll bet it tastes even better than it looks.
drool.gif
------Points.

Around here you gotta buy your Standing Rib or Ribeyes during Christmas Week or Easter to get the good sales. We had $4.99 during Easter this year.

6 years ago, I demoted my old ET-73 to my Curing Fridge 24-7-365. I keep it in a GatorAide Bottle 3/4 filled with water. I just change the batteries once or twice a year. It holds exactly 37° year after year.

Bear
 
Thanks a lot Bear!

Yea I missed the big sale, ours got down to $6.49 this year. I haven't seen it as low as $4.99 here in years.

The fridge I was using for my projects died this winter & Lowe's had a big double door one on sale. 

I couldn't help myself, we bought it & it's outside on the patio. 

Didn't take long to fill it up.

Thanks for the point, buddy!

Al
 
 
Thanks a lot Bear!

Yea I missed the big sale, ours got down to $6.49 this year. I haven't seen it as low as $4.99 here in years.

The fridge I was using for my projects died this winter & Lowe's had a big double door one on sale. 

I couldn't help myself, we bought it & it's outside on the patio. 

Didn't take long to fill it up.

Thanks for the point, buddy!

Al
LOL---Actually I think that $4.99 was a Fluke, or a Mistake, because 4 & 5 years ago I was paying $4.99, but the last 4 years it's been going up to $6.99 on sale.

Then all of a sudden at Easter they had $4.99, I only got 3, because I still had 4 from a Christmas week buy. However my Son went & got 8 of them!!

Bear
 
Al, that looks wonderful. Thanks for the step by step instructions. Would you consider using another cut of beef like a whole top? I love ribeyes though. Was just wondering. Thanks again for the post.

BC
 
That looks awesome Al. I was also talking with Mr.T, I need to wait on a sale thou.

I have never had a dry aged steak, bet it tasted great.
 
That's a supreme amount of patience!!! Well worth the wait.

The intensity of the beef flavor of the dry aged beef will make it difficult to eat fresh cut steaks again. 

Nice job!!!

Bonus point for having something green on the plate!!!
 
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Al, that looks wonderful. Thanks for the step by step instructions. Would you consider using another cut of beef like a whole top? I love ribeyes though. Was just wondering. Thanks again for the post.

BC
Thank-you!

I'm so new to the dry age thing that I think Mr.T would be the one to answer your question. PM him, I'm sure he won't mind helping you too.

Al
That looks awesome Al. I was also talking with Mr.T, I need to wait on a sale thou.

I have never had a dry aged steak, bet it tasted great.
Thanks Adam! 

I never had a dry aged steak before either. The taste is really quite remarkable.

Thanks for the point too.

Al
Wow I can't believe how much weight it lost! I bet the flavor was awesome. Good work.
Thank-you my friend!

Al
Nice work Al! So nice of Mr T. To be so willing to help as well!
Thank-you!

I wouldn't have attempted this without his help.

Al
 
That's a supreme amount of patience!!! Well worth the wait.

The intensity of the beef flavor of the dry aged beef will make it difficult to eat fresh cut steaks again. 

Nice job!!!

Bonus point for having something green on the plate!!!
Thank-you!

Your right about the flavor difference. 

I have a freezer full of fresh cut ribeyes too!

Oh well I guess I can make myself eat them!

Thanks for the point too!

Al 
 
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Missed your original post, as we are visiting family in Arizona. I must say that you followed instructions very well making it a pleasure to work with you. I have no doubt that you will be reciprocating with me in the future.

Glad you enjoyed the steaks. Bet your wife doesn’t give you the old Eagle Eye on the next one. LOL Hopefully others will be encouraged to attempt dry aging by your fine thread.

Suggest you try different cooking methods on the others just for the fun of it. Last evening I introduced my daughter and SIL to souse vide cooking by preparing a couple of 2-inch ribeye steaks for them. Cooked them for 5 hours at 130° in a big pot on the stove, followed by a super sear with a torch. They were all impressed with the results.

For those interested in pursuing dry aging, feel free to contact me.

Point for your good work, Al.

Tom
 
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On the UMAi website (the folks that sell the dry-aged bags for steaks and charcuterie) they caution that the steaks will not cook the way non-aged beef will. They say that given the amount of moisture that has been removed, the steaks will cook faster than you may be used to. Also, that the tell-tale juice rising up from the steak won't occur. 

They do recommend sous vide and also suggest the use of a good instant read thermometer so as not to over cook the steaks. 
 
 
Missed your original post, as we are visiting family in Arizona. I must say that you followed instructions very well making it a pleasure to work with you. I have no doubt that you will be reciprocating with me in the future.

Glad you enjoyed the steaks. Bet your wife doesn’t give you the old Eagle Eye on the next one. LOL Hopefully others will be encouraged to attempt dry aging by your fine thread.

Suggest you try different cooking methods on the others just for the fun of it. Last evening I introduced my daughter and SIL to souse vide cooking by preparing a couple of 2-inch ribeye steaks for them. Cooked them for 5 hours at 130° in a big pot on the stove, followed by a super sear with a torch. They were all impressed with the results.

For those interested in pursuing dry aging, feel free to contact me.

Point for your good work, Al.

Tom
Thanks for all your help Tom!

I'll have to discuss other cooking methods with you.

Thanks for the point too!

Al
 
Looks great nice job,,, yes Mr T is the S&$t on this ,,, He helped me on mine but after a close family tragedy and work and New grand baby,,,, I had to throw my NY Roast out 
th_crybaby2.gif
  But I will be doing it again soon.... 

Yours looks awesome points AL 

DS 
 
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