Dry aging steak in my home fridge

[steakafficionado]

In my travels I had eaten at fine steakhouses that advertised that their steaks were dry aged. The taste of dry aged steaks is very distinct and adds a fifth dimension to the taste of a fine steak. I had always wanted to dry age my own steaks at home, but all the info I have ever seen involved a very messy process that I would estimate smells up the fridge and ruins the meat.

I recently found a way to dry age in my fridge without that mess. I used a product called the Drybag (it lets moisture come out and maintain vacuum at the same time - seems amazing, but it works).
I vacuum sealed a ribeye I bought at Costco (it makes about 6-8 - 12oz steaks) and aged it for 2 weeks on a wire rack in my fridge. You have to have air all the way around the piece of meat.
At the end of 2 weeks, I took the meat out and trimmed off the dry crust on the outside that forms during drying. The steaks came out very flavorful and perfectly tender.
I found this product at DrybagSteak.com

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

My Dad just buys the old steaks on sale at the meat dept. of his local grocery store and he gets the same thing! Believe it or not the steaks he buys are usually delicious! My Dad has always swore that steak should be aged!!!

[steakafficionado]

Hello Chatty Cathy
I think all beef sold in this country is aged either wet (in a Cryovac bag) or very little is dry aged.
Dry aged steaks have a distinct flavor and texture that is hard to reproduce by wet aging. Wet aged steaks to me often have a more metallic, livery, perhaps watery taste due to the process that basically has the meat aging in its own juices/blood.
Dry aging allows the meat to be aged in a dry environment, it brings out the essence of beef flavor and adds a fifth dimension to the taste. If you try wet aged and dry aged steaks side by side you would immediately recognize the difference.
Some people object to the flavor of dry aged steaks due to a more intense flavor. So dry aged steaks just like any other food is not for everybody.
Dry aged steaks are usually served in upscale restaurants and demand a premium price.

[The Ironic Chef]

Dry aging in the fridge isn't all that messy. A fresh piece of meat isn't going to smell up the fridge either.
An average sized rib roast will only take about 3 days. Even after one day there is a taste difference.
The whole purpose of sitting in the fridge is the temperature factor. You don't want the meat to spoil. You do want air to circulate around it though. Putting it into a bag or any container defeats that purpose. Letting moisture out is fine, but the air circulation around the meat is also important when time is an issue.

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

Very interesting indeed! I only know aged beef tastes very good.

[steakafficionado]

Of course it all depends on the end result you want.
Aging for 3 days by leaving the steak in your fridge is OK and it may produce the flavor that one wants, but traditional dry aging is done for 2-3 weeks in special dedicated coolers in meat processing plants or in the restaurants.
If you leave a ribeye or a striploin open in your fridge for 2-3 weeks you would not want to open the door or have any food sitting there with it.
Also air circulation provides moisture release which is critical to developing dry aged flavor. The reason I used these bags is that it allowed me to dry age for 2 weeks and produced the same deep rich flavor as I enjoy in the upscale steak restaurants like Capitol Grill or Smith and Wolensky.
It all depends on the desired result.

[Jafo232]

If you just left the meat hanging in the fridge, would it not pick up odors from other foods in there?

[steakafficionado]

Precisely, if you left meat in your fridge, it will pick up the odors and also release odors to other foods. With the use of this bag it does not happen. You can leave the meat in the fridge in a sealed bag for up to 3 weeks and it will dry age and not pick up odors from other foods. It sounds far fetched, but it works. Check out their site drybagsteak.com

[Jafo232]

Yeah, I am not buying any bag, especially when it is spammed. I do have a fridge in my garage that we usually use to hold excess soda and beer. I could easily hang meat in it and just leave the soda out.

[shipscook]

thanks Jafo, was just going to post, this seems like an ad for the bag? hope your weekend is going well, very pleasant here!
looking for signs of spring.
Nan