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word of caution: When you open an aging bag, the meat often smells odd, some say like parmesan cheese. It is called the cry- ovac stink, and it usually dissipates within an hour.
Dry Aging Is Controlled
Rotting
Some Egyptian royals were
so fond of dry aged beef
they were buried with it.
During dry aging, meat is
stored on a rack in a sani-
tary room at 34 to 38°F and usually 70 to 80% humidity with brisk airflow for anywhere from 28 to 75 days. Dry aged beef has a different taste than fresh beef or wet aged beef. It is sometimes called "controlled rot" because en- zymes, molds, bacteria, and oxygen go to work on the meat. The exterior of the muscle gets dark purple and a small amount of moisture evaporates, shrinking the meat about 5% (not the 20% you might have heard). Dehydration causes some flavors to concentrate, so the meat tastes more meaty. While water evaporates, fat does not, so the ratio of muscle to marbling changes. The meat becomes fattier overall. The higher the fat ratio, the richer and juicier the meat feels in the mouth, proving once again
that the juiciness sensation is caused by more than the meat's water content. Fat plays a significant role in juici- ness. As for flavor, some describe the taste as earthy and mushroomy with notes of prosciutto, and they can't get enough of it. Others say it tastes gamey and don't like it.
Just before cooking dry aged beef, the outside crust is trimmed off, and the meat is sliced into steaks, so another 10 to 15% of the weight is lost. Now, can you see why dry aged steaks are so expensive? Dry aged steaks typically sell for an additional $1 per aging day on top of the normal price. That's why it pays to age beef yourself.
Don't Bother Aging Single Steaks
Alton Brown of Good Eats on the Food Network recom- mends aging single steaks and instructs us to "Wrap the steak in a single layer of paper towels and put on a cooling rack set inside a half sheet pan. Refrigerate 24 hours. Dis- card the paper towels, rewrap and return to the refrigera- tor, on the rack, for 3 days. Change the paper towels again if they become damp and stick to the steak. An hour before cooking, remove the steak from the refrigerator and re- move the paper towels." We have tried it and, although we usually agree with AB, it was a heckuva lotta work, and we're not sure there was any improvement.
How To Age Beef At Home
First, select high quality meat, at least USDA choice or USDA prime, preferably tightly wrapped in a cryovac bag.
Go for a prime rib roast that weighs 20 pounds. Or a strip loin. Or a sirloin. No tenderloin because it is al- ready very tender, it is low fat, and it can get mushy with age. Fresh meat is best. These are expensive meats, so don't screw around or take shortcuts with the aging process.
You must control six vari- ables: Quality of meat, sanitation, temperature,
airflow, days of aging, and to a lesser extent, humidity. We don't recommend using your kitchen fridge to age meat. The door opens and closes, moist and warm air and mi- crobes enter, and there are lingering smells that the meat happily absorbs. If there is any mold in the fridge, you likely will fail (remember: that meat is expensive!). It is best if you have a second fridge used just for aging meat. Make sure it's clean. Turn it off, wipe it down with soapy water, rinse, and rinse once more with a bleach solution made with one tablespoon 5% unscented liquid chlorine bleach per gallon of clean water. Then air it out to get rid of the chlorine smell. Some folks buy a small dorm refrigera- tor or a keg fridge and dedicate it to this purpose. When not aging beef, you can use it as a beer fridge.
Keep the fridge at 34 to 38°F. Any lower than 32°F and the enzymes will go on strike. Above 40°F spoilage microbes can grow. And you need a reliable thermometer. A dial thermometer won't cut it. Normally we recommend digital thermometers, but a liquid bulb thermometer is accurate enough for refrigerator temps.
Many experts believe humidity is critical with the ideal being 80 to 85%. Recent research says don't sweat it. Ac- cording to a 2008 technical paper on Aging Beef by Profes-
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