sam17•28d ago

Chatted with an old school butcher at a trade show last month, totally flipped my view on aging beef

I was at the NAMP show in Denver and got to talking with this guy who's been behind the counter for 40 years. He told me he dry ages his primals for 45 days minimum, not the 14-21 I usually do. Said the extra time lets the good molds develop and breaks down connective tissue way more. I tried a 35 day strip loin from him and the flavor was nuts, like concentrated beef but not gamey. Has anyone here pushed past 30 days on a regular basis? I'm thinking about building a dedicated aging fridge now.

2 comments

2 Comments

wadecooper28d ago

Man, that guy knows his stuff. I had the same brain blast a couple years back when a buddy who works at a fancy steakhouse let me try some 60 day ribeye. It was like beef had been dialed up to 11 but still had that clean, buttery finish. Now I keep a couple striploins in my mini fridge for at least 35 days each time. The key for me was getting a small fan in there to keep the air moving and a humidity controller so I don't lose too much to waste. Once you taste that deep, funky flavor from a long age, it's hard to go back to the short stuff.

taylor_hayes2527d ago

I read that the key to dry aging is keeping the temperature right around 34 degrees, and that the fan does more work than most people think. A buddy of mine who's a butcher told me that without air circulation, you just end up with surface slime instead of that crust that protects the meat. He also mentioned that the humidity needs to stay around 80% otherwise you lose too much moisture and the meat gets tough. I tried a 45 day ribeye once at a dinner party and it had this almost nutty taste that really surprised me. It made me think about getting a dedicated mini fridge for aging, but I just don't have the space in my kitchen right now.