Page 34 - FEB 2021 Digial Edition

sor Jeff W. Savell, PhD, of Texas A&M, "There are no pub- lished studies that have compared the effects of different relative humidity levels on dry-aged beef, and it appears the studies in this area have used a relative humidity of ap- proximately 80% with a considerable range around that number."
Wash the outside of your sealed cryovac bag with soap and water before
opening it. Then open it, drain off the liquid, and wearing gloves so you don't contaminate the meat, rinse off the slime and then pat the meat very dry. Leave the fat and bones in place: they will reduce evaporation dur- ing the aging process. After aging, you will want to remove them. But for now, weigh the meat so you can calculate the weight loss.
Take a large pan wider and longer than the meat, and fill it with about 1/2 inch of cheap salt. Salt is corrosive, so don't use an alu- minum pan. Stainless steel, glass, or porce- lain pans are OK. The salt will ab- sorb drips, mois- ture, and odors and prevent things from growing on the drips.
Put the meat on a wire rack, preferably stain- less steel or
coated with nickel or plastic, and place the racked meat on top of the salt pan so it sits above the salt. Make sure there is ample airflow all around the meat. If you don't have a suitable rack, you can put the meat on the (cleaned!) top rack of the fridge and put the salt pan on the rack below.
Ample airflow helps to move moisture away from the meat's surface. I use a 5 inch battery powered fan with an AC adapter and thread the cord through the fridge door gasket on the hinge side. It does a fine job. To help stabilize the fridge temp, put a few gallon jugs of water in fridge. The cold jugs of water will help the fridge recover its temp after it has been opened and closed.
Some recipes call for wrapping the meat in cheesecloth, kitchen towels, or paper towels, and replacing them every day. The idea is that the wrapping pulls moisture to the surface and helps wick it away. Don't bother with these shrouds. You want the meat fully exposed to dry air, not in contact with wet cloth.
The next step is the beauty of this technique: do nothing. Just let the meat age. Let it go for at least three weeks. Taste tests show minimal flavor changes in meat aged less than two weeks, but most people can taste subtle changes after three weeks. At about 28 days, flavor changes become more obvious. You can go longer, and you might want to push the envelope to see what age is your fave. When done aging, weigh the meat again to calculate the weight loss.
When you are ready to eat, there are two ways to go.
1) You can trim about 1/4 inch of the black crust and the bones off the entire slab. You'll need a sharp stiff bladed knife for this because the meat has dehydrated and will feel hard. Throw out the trim, and cut what’s left into steaks and roasts. Wrap everything in plastic. You can refrigerate the pieces you plan to eat within a day or three, and freeze the rest.
2) You can cut off only the amount you want to eat, trim that amount, and leave the rest of the slab to continue aging.
Now tuck in for a treat! For the best results when cooking, use our recipe for Better Than Steakhouse Steaks.
Meathead is the barbecue whisperer who founded Amazin- gRibs.com, by far the world's most popular outdoor cooking website. He is the author of "Meathead, The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling," a New York Times Best Seller that was also named one of the "100 Best Cookbooks of All Time" by Southern Living magazine. This article was ex- cerpted and modified from his book and website. For 3,000+ free pages of great barbecue and grilling info, visit AmazingRibs.com and take a free trial in the Pitmaster Club.
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