First Time Dry Aging Help

[Simmo81]

Hi,

I have just completed doing my first ever dry age. Used Misty Gully Bags (Same thing as Umai bags). Now i aged a 3.7kg piece of sco

tch for 25 days in my fridge. Now when i took it out of the bag, it had a strong blue cheese odour. Is this normal? The next day i cut it up into steaks and trimmed off the outer layer. I then did a reverse sear on my Traeger, but the meat still had a blue cheese odour and also had the taste. Is this normal or should i bin it?? First time trying so apologise if they are noobish questions. Any help from the dry aged experts..

Cheers.

 

[fivetricks]

Almost sounds like your bags weren't allowing the proper transfer of air, moisture, and gasses off of your meat. I'm not a fan of those bags for that reason. I don't trust them, though lots of people use them with little trouble.

When I dry age, the smell of the meat lessens over time, towards the end the meat smells like whatever your cooler smells like.

HOWEVER, that's taste you're describing is a bit subjective. Most describe it as more "beefy" or more concentrated. But if you're not used to it, I could see how it's interpreted that way I guess.

But overall, I would say after 25 days if there's a blue cheese smell, something ain't right. It sounds like you ended up "wet aging" the meat.

 

[sawhorseray]

I've done rib roasts in UMAi bags for 28 to 45 days over the last couple of years and had one end up with a funky odor, wouldn't eat it. I wouldn't be too thrilled if the meat still had a funky odor and taste after it was cooked. I'll say I'm done with dry aging, don't think it's worth the time and expense or the room it takes up in the fridge. I don't think it makes the meat taste any better and the hard rubbery skin that forms on the outside of a steak I find inedible. It's just my opinion, I think the dough would be better spent going towards a Sous Vide unit, perfect steak ever time. RAY

 

[sawhorseray]

I'm just wondering Simmo81, did you have the meat resting on a wire rack when you were dry aging it in the fridge? Needs to have good air circulation all around when dry aging in a bag rather than laying flat on the bottom of the shelf. RAY

 

[Simmo81]

I'm just wondering Simmo81, did you have the meat resting on a wire rack when you were dry aging it in the fridge? Needs to have good air circulation all around when dry aging in a bag rather than laying flat on the bottom of the shelf. RAY

Yeah mate had on a wire rack. Had an entire shelf to itself.

 

[tx smoker]

I'll say I'm done with dry aging, don't think it's worth the time and expense or the room it takes up in the fridge.

I gotta agree with Ray here. I've done several dry aged primal cuts of beef and although good, they weren't worth the time and effort. First one was done naked (standing rib roast) and the next two were done in the UMAi bags. One of those was a couple of strip loin roasts and the last one was a CAB prime rib. In order they were done 45 days, 60 days, and 65 days. After a point you'll get a bit of a "funky" flavor that comes from the aging but that's not typically till you get closer to the 90 day mark you really start to notice it. The time you spent won't do much for the flavor though. Gotta go closer to 45 days before you start to see any significant change in flavor, and even then it's not a lot. You will see a difference in texture, coloring, and tenderness however. If you got a funky smell or flavor after only 25 days, I'd have to agree that something is off kilter. Side note: it's not worth it at all to try dry aging individual steaks unless you only do it for a couple weeks. That will make a difference in tenderness only though. If you let them go for any length of time, by the time you trim them there's nothing left. It's kinda like trying to make a baked potato out of a potato chip. If you're intent on making another run at it, I'd say get a BIG chunk of meat (18 to 20 pounds) and just put it on a rack in the fridge naked, no bags, bottom shelf where it's coolest. You want the fridge temp in the lower 30's, not a standard 40 that is common in most refrigerators for standard household use. Make sure the rack allows for GOOD air circulation all around and flip the roast every week or two. If you don't have good circulation the meat will rot on the bottom and then you have a mess.

Best of luck and keep us posted on future attempts,
Robert

 

[daveomak]

The outer hard "skin" is case hardening... It dried too fast with too low a humidity... ~80% Rh is the target with a temp of ~55F....
Here is a perfect charcuterie hunk of meat....

Hanger steak..Bresaola after 120 days.. by Evan m brady... a member here..

Lamb prosciutto ~70 days...

 

[daveomak]

A link to Evans shop... https://butcherspantry.com/buy-stuff/

 

[tx smoker]

The outer hard "skin" is case hardening... It dried too fast with too low a humidity... ~80% Rh is the target with a temp of ~55F....
Here is a perfect charcuterie hunk of meat....

Hanger steak..Bresaola after 120 days.. by Evan m brady... a member here..

Dave brings me to ask another question. What he posted above and the parameters he mentions for dry aging are for meat that has been cured. Was what you dry aged cured as well or just straight out of the package and into the fridge? That could make all the difference in the world. The roasts I mentioned above, and the temp parameters, are for meat that has NOT been cured. It was straight out of the package, rinsed, dried off, and put in the fridge. I've done a lot of cured and dry aged stuff also but the approach is totally different from one to the other. I just assumed that you had not cured yours since there was no mention of it, just dry aging.

Overlooking the obvious,
Robert

 

[daveomak]

Below are Evan's threads... Those meats are all cured with cure#2...
There he explains his steps making charcuterie... A minimum of 2.75% salt is what I have found to be the salt %... Some say 3%... some higher...
2.5% salt + 0.25% cure#2 = ~2.75% salt... The % increases as the meat loses moisture for a shelf stable meat product.. Or so it says in fine print somewhere...

There is a refer time for the first several weeks for the cure#1, in the cure#2, to do it's job... Then the 50F several months drying time, the cure#2 takes over..

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/hanger-steak-bresaola.235751/

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t...ciutto-is-done-and-freaking-delicious.191225/

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/search/17448863/

 

[Simmo81]

Dave brings me to ask another question. What he posted above and the parameters he mentions for dry aging are for meat that has been cured. Was what you dry aged cured as well or just straight out of the package and into the fridge? That could make all the difference in the world. The roasts I mentioned above, and the temp parameters, are for meat that has NOT been cured. It was straight out of the package, rinsed, dried off, and put in the fridge. I've done a lot of cured and dry aged stuff also but the approach is totally different from one to the other. I just assumed that you had not cured yours since there was no mention of it, just dry aging.

Overlooking the obvious,
Robert

Was not cured. Was straight out of the packet and into the bag then sealed and into the fridge.

 

[Simmo81]

The outer hard "skin" is case hardening... It dried too fast with too low a humidity... ~80% Rh is the target with a temp of ~55F....
Here is a perfect charcuterie hunk of meat....

Hanger steak..Bresaola after 120 days.. by Evan m brady... a member here..

Lamb prosciutto ~70 days...

 

[Simmo81]

The outer hard "skin" is case hardening... It dried too fast with too low a humidity... ~80% Rh is the target with a temp of ~55F....
Here is a perfect charcuterie hunk of meat....

Hanger steak..Bresaola after 120 days.. by Evan m brady... a member here..

Lamb prosciutto ~70 days...

I am wondering if this is whats happened. Our fridge is set to 3c (sorry am an aussie :) ). So approx 37f? I have had a 60 day dry aged ribeye bone in and the taste was nothing like this. This was inedible unfortunately.

 

[sawhorseray]

Dry aging a primal cut in a UMAi bag doesn't require Cure #1 nor #2, the bag is supposed to dry age the meat thru the reaction of just being in the UMAi bag. The exact same bag can be used for charcuterie, Cure #2 is used along with some spices. I've done a few coppas and proscuittos, always leaves a firm outer shell, some refer to it as "dry rim" It can be somewhat softened by vac-sealing the cured product in a regular foodsaver bag and letting it sit in the fridge for 2-3 weeks. RAY

 

[Simmo81]

I have just had a look at our fridge, i removed the vegie crispers from the bottom of the fridge and could see a quite a bit of water laying there. Could this of possibly contributed to my issue?

 

[fivetricks]

Yes, yes and yes to the standing/stagnant water.

I age mine at closer to 35f so more in the 2c range and it's in a circulated air refrigerator so I get a bit of extra case hardening but no stale air.

But this is if the meat was sitting in the water. I have a hard time believing the inner portions of the roast would be affected by the water.

Just gotta ask, did you trim off the outsides before you ate the roast?

 

[daveomak]

Dry aging a primal cut in a UMAi bag doesn't require Cure #1 nor #2, the bag is supposed to dry age the meat thru the reaction of just being in the UMAi bag. The exact same bag can be used for charcuterie, Cure #2 is used along with some spices. I've done a few coppas and proscuittos, always leaves a firm outer shell, some refer to it as "dry rim" It can be somewhat softened by vac-sealing the cured product in a regular foodsaver bag and letting it sit in the fridge for 2-3 weeks. RAYView attachment 406358

Hey Ray.... This is an UMAI recipe.....

Dry Cure Ingredients

• Pork coppa muscle 4 1/2 lbs. (2kg)
• Kosher salt (3% of meat weight) 6 tbsp (60g)
• Sugar 2 tbsp (30g)
• InstaCure #2 (0.25% of meat weight)1 tsp (6g)
• Black pepper, coarsely ground 2 tbsp (4g)
• Juniper berries, crushed 1 tbsp (4g)
• Bay leaves, crumbled 2 (2g)
• Freshly grated nutmeg 1/2 tsp (1g)
• Fresh thyme 2 or 3 sprigs (3g)
• Garlic, minced 2 cloves

Note the insta cure #2 requirement.....
Where did you get your information from ????

https://www.drybagsteak.com/recipe-charcuterie-capicola.php

...

 

[daveomak]

This Meatcrafters' Special UMAi Dry® Charcuterie Starter Kit is the perfect way to get your start start creating dry cured meats in your refrigerator.

https://www.drybagsteak.com/

Kit comes complete with UMAi Dry® Charcuterie Kit, FoodSaver® vacuum sealer, Escali® Arti Digital Scale, as well as illustrated instructions and recipes for popular dry cured meats like: capicola, bresaola, lonzino, guanciale and pancetta.

Everything you need for five amazing charcuterie projects--just add meat!

Your kit includes:

• 2 UMAi Dry® Large Charcuterie size: 8x18 / 200x450mm
• 3 UMAi Dry® Small Charcuterie size: 10x11 / 250x275mm
• 5 VacMouse® adapter packet
• 6 tsp Instacure #2 for curing 30 lbs of meat
• 2 tbsp Juniper berries
• Escali Arti Digital Scale ($60 value) list of features below
• FoodSaver 2000-series advanced design channel vacuum sealer list of features below

 

[daveomak]

Lomo/Lonzino Recipe

This Italian / Spanish cured pork loin either has a paprika coating (lomo) or not (lonzino).

Dry Cure Ingredients

• Pork loin, trimmed, 2-3 in / 4-5cm ∅ 1 lb (454g)
• Kosher salt 1 1/2 tbsp (15g)
• Sugar 1 tsp (4g)
• InstaCure #2 (0.25% of meat weight) 1/4 tsp(1g)
• Black pepper 2 1/4 tsp (5g)
• Garlic powder 1 tsp (2g)
• Dried thyme 1 tsp (2g)
• Ground cloves 1/2 tsp (1g)
• Onion powder 2 tsp (4g)

 

[daveomak]

Bresaola Recipe

Northern Italian specialty air-dried beef, also known as Viande des Grisons in Switzerland.

Dry Cure Ingredients

• Beef eye of round 2 1/4 lb (1kg)
• Kosher salt (3% of meat weight) 3 tbsp (30g)
• Sugar 2 tbsp (23g)
• Instacure #2 (0.25% of meat weight) 1/2 tsp (3g)
• Black pepper 2 tsp (4g)
• Dried rosemary 2 tsp (5g)
• Dried thyme 2 tsp (5g)
• Juniper berries 4

Instructions

1. Mix Dry Cure Ingredients well and rub onto meat, making sure to cover all nooks and crannies.