Has anyone Aged Beef at home?

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Quality over Quantity
Just curious if any of you have tried this and what your results were. I haven't tried it but began reading up on it this morning using Google. Apparently it can be done pretty easily.

Thoughts? Experience?
 
You need a very cool and dry place. If not, then the mold that can form could kill you. Just an FYI.

From what I have read is you triple wrap in cheese cloth, elevate it on a rack for circulation and just keep it in the fridge. One video showed a guy using coarse pink salt in a pan below the rack. Trim away the exterior after aging and enjoy.

But I have no doubt if not done right it would either kill ya or make you wish it would kill ya.
 
Have not, but recently was watching some of the same videos. A week or two ago I cut up a wet aged strip loin subprimal which kicked off the curiosity about dry aging.
 
I aged a prime rib roast last year for 2 weeks in the fridge. You must keep room for air circulation all around (place on rack, support any cover so off the meat). I was nervous with a $60 cut of meat but it turned out great - did not trim. Lost weight, loss of water but it did concentrate the flavor when roasted. The hard part was convincing the wife to let me try it.
 
I read that anything that is vacuum sealed is basically wet aged if you let it sit in your fridge for a while.
Meats that are dry aged for really extended periods will form a white mold, which is actually good 'cause it keeps black mold from forming, which is basically the grim reaper in disguise.
Meat has to be dried from the inside out, BTW so a constant humidity has to be present to prevent the outside from drying out too quickly, which would prevent the inside moisture from escaping.
But this has more to do with cured/dried meat than dry aging.

And there's no way I could dry age anything in one of my fridges which my significant other makes sure are always full to the hilt.
 
I wet age just about all the beef I buy. Four tender loins this year. Been doing this at least a couple decades now. I generally age them between 4 and 6 weeks, though most of the aging happens the first 2 weeks. I have written about it alot in this forum with pics. My fridge stays around 35°, so it's no problem. Never even came close to ruining one. Hell, if I buy a single steak, it stays in the fridge a couple of weeks. I'm the guy that buy's the discounted brown meat in the meat counter. There are alot of articles on Google about wet aging. The loins go in the fridge red and come out a bluish brown. Time to slice. As a mater of fact, I'm cooking some today.
 
There's a Good Eats episode where Alton Brown shows how to dry age. Haven't tried it yet though every other thing I've tried from him has been spot on.
 
There seems to be plenty of credible info on the 'net about the required conditions. Generally, temps just above freezing, say 34-36F, humidity 80-85%, and free circulation of air around the beef..sometimes fan assisted.
 
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I have aged a few prime rib roasts, and I guess the results were ok. I picked up a suitable sized plastic storage container at Walmart, then drilled about 20 1/4" holes all over the sides, (for ventilation). Then, placed paper towels on the bottom, (to soak up drippings). Next I had a rack for roasting chicken, placed that on top of the towels, then put the roast on the rack. Next, I put the cover on the container, placed everything on the lowest part of the fridge, and waited 3 weeks. Change the towels as needed.
After thinking time was up, I took the roast, cut off the dried out outer side of the roast, cut steaks to a preferred thickness, vacuum sealed, and froze for future meals. My wife did not approve of using the whole bottom shelf of the fridge to dry age two roasts, but sure liked the steaks.
 
Thanks for the responses. I think I am going to have to give it a try when I find a deal on a prime rib roast. One of those things I just have to try to decide.

I found and bought 3 Prime Rib Roasts after Easter earlier this year for $5.55 lb. Cut them into steaks and ended up with 22 1" ribeyes. Next one I find like that will get aged.
 
Don't believe I've ever seen a cow more than five years old, although I hear they can live to 15 or 20 ...

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Thanks for the responses. I think I am going to have to give it a try when I find a deal on a prime rib roast. One of those things I just have to try to decide.

I found and bought 3 Prime Rib Roasts after Easter earlier this year for $5.55 lb. Cut them into steaks and ended up with 22 1" ribeyes. Next one I find like that will get aged.


I was eyeballing some USDA grade prime Rib Eye roasts/subprimals at Costco last time I was there and thinking about dry aging. Was going to be about a $165 experiment so still thinking about that...
 
I work for a Meat company, in the division that sells to restaurants. Although I'm not a " meat cutter" I know a bit about this.
First, age makes a difference. In Canada most grocery stores steaks and roasts are aged 14, maybe 21 days. 30 - 45 days under carefully controlled conditions is way better.
"Wet " aging, in the vacuum sealed bag from the slaughter plant will improve tenderness, and to some degree flavor.
"Dry" aging. Aging in an unsealed state allows moisture to evaporate. This process not only improves tenderness, but intensifies flavor. It does however give microscopic critters an opportunity to set up camp on your future meal.
Before attempting to age something at home, one should be certain what the "kill date" is. A place like Costco where you can buy a whole Striploin, Ribeye, or whatever sealed in the bag it came in will be able to tell you this. A grocery store with a smaller portion plastic wrapped on a foam tray,,, I'd be careful. It may not even have been cut and packaged in that store, or that city for that matter. It may have been previously frozen. If there are people cutting meat in the store, talk to them.
The beef we sell or cut into steaks is aged in a closely monitored area, there are alarms that sound if the temp varies + or - 1 degree Celsius.
A domestic refrigerator in a kitchen in the summertime. where the door is open many times per day the temp can vary wildly. Keep that in mind. If you have a second, less used fridge that would be better.
Aging beef makes a big difference in eating quality. If it didn't we wouldn't tie up hundreds of thousands of dollars in inventory for weeks at a time. If you do it at home, know how much age is on the product you start with, be careful, read lots about how to do it. Most of all, if you give it a whirl and it smells rotten be prepared to pitch it. A good steak or roast is a beautiful thing, but it ain't worth getting sick, or dying for. Christmas dinner can be pretty awkward if you killed a few family members on the labour day cook out.
 
There's a Good Eats episode where Alton Brown shows how to dry age. Haven't tried it yet though every other thing I've tried from him has been spot on.

Yep, look for the Good Eats episode on dry-aging beef. I did it on a hearty cut of ribeye for 3-4 days. Seared it quick and finished it off in the oven for 4 minutes. Just on the rare side of mid-rare. Delicious.
 
My dad, a product of the Great Depression and WWII, swore that beef wasn't worth eating until it had a little bit of a green tinge to it. He was a good cook, regardless.
 
I've done some wet aging which seems much safer and easier than dry aging. Dry aging can add really amazing flavors but I don't think I'll ever try it at home.
 
I have a lot of experience with aging wild game, Deer, and Elk. I always dry age and go for at least 2 weeks for deer, and as long as a month for Elk. The meat develops a rind which seals up the interior. Wild meat is somewhat easier to age then Beef as it is very lean, and you are aging an entire carcass and not bits, and pieces. I would suggest with beef is to look around and find a good custom butcher who slaughters and ages his own meat. The best beef comes from a member of The American Grass Fed Beef Association. http://www.americangrassfed.org/
 
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