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Dry aging steak in my home fridge

S

steakafficionado

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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
 
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!!!
 
Dry aging steak

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.
 
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.
 
Aging steak in your fridge

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

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
 
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.
 
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
 
Dry aging in the fridge

You guys are tough... I am not doing any ad for any bag. Was trying to share my experience, but if you don't care for it. No biggie... Chill out.:)
 
Dry aging

Hey, I am with you on that.... the flavor and the texture of dry aged steak is uncomparable. To me wet aged steaks have a metallic, sometimes livery tones depending on the aging time. Dry aged steaks have more of a high acidic tone to them. IMHO
 
Steakafficionado, did you ever try salting your steak? I like to dry rub my beef with salt a day before I am ready to grill or roast it. I hate beef with that livery taste. I hate liver period. The salt rub is very much like a salt water brine but not using the extra moisture. The salt rub draws the moisture from the beef but then after several hours the beef draws it back in with the salt. After the salt is on the interior of the beef it breaks down the interior tissues of the beef to make it more tender and seasons the interior getting rid of that livery taste..
 
Hi IC thanks for the reminder of salting! Like you I do not like Liver, for some reason it gets my gag reflex going (maybe an allergy?) and I get sick when I eat it. But anyhow I love the salting method as well! And you are right it does remove any off flavor.

I know this much aged beef is better tasting, just my & my Dad's opinion;) He is the one who taught me that! And he is not a really great cook, but he knows his steaks!!! That's My DAD!!!
 
Cook Chatty Cathy said:
Hi IC thanks for the reminder of salting! Like you I do not like Liver, for some reason it gets my gag reflex going (maybe an allergy?) and I get sick when I eat it. But anyhow I love the salting method as well! And you are right it does remove any off flavor.

I know this much aged beef is better tasting, just my & my Dad's opinion;) He is the one who taught me that! And he is not a really great cook, but he knows his steaks!!! That's My DAD!!!
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Bon Apetite'

Cathy
 
Salting steak

I would definitely concur on the salting of the steak. I have tried it and it works, the steaks do come out more tender and the off flavors do decrease.
The reason I like dry aged steak is because its lower moisture cooks a bit more evenly and of course the flavor is superb.
When I cook wet aged steak salting is a good way to improve the flavor and texture.
 
Real and honest vs lie and pretend

Is aged steak just an old steak no one wants? Is it just like cheating on your wife with older ugly "friend"? Why buy aged when you have fresh and real at home?
 
FoodLoverCA said:
Is aged steak just an old steak no one wants? Is it just like cheating on your wife with older ugly "friend"? Why buy aged when you have fresh and real at home?
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The perception for some is that when it comes to meat, perfectly red and slaughter-house-fresh is best. But many think that's just a ploy to divert novices from the real quality product! ;) However we don't often remark much about it because afterall, we like that they stay away from the preferred aged stuff, 'cause that leaves more for us! Ha!

I personally let wild game hang for days before butchering it. And I regularly buy more aged meat at the store- my personal optimum is stuff less red, even close to brown w/ tinges of green around the fat-cap. Not a thing wrong w/ it at all (although one really needs to have some protein knowledge and be "in the know" because obviously foods can cross a line!). Aged stuff for me has far more flavor than the fresh-killed stuff. It's like the difference between adding beries to vinegar and using it in a salad dressing the very first day- versus waiting a week or two and using it then. The flavor of the berries in the vinegar is much happier and more present as more time passes and it ages.

By the way- welcome to Spice Place, FoodLoverCA! This is a great place w/ fine folks and we're glad you found us!
 
Somehow Kevin along with my Dad and many others have discovered that aged beef is a notch above the fresher product. My Dad has told me for the longest time that aged beef is delicious, I thought he was just being cheap and buying the outdated stuff to save a $ (being the tight-wad type that he is) but now I am beginning to see that aged beef is a preferred product! I have tasted the difference and I believe there is a much better tasting product in buying the aged!
 
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