Pushing back against the 45-day dry-aging trend in my shop

A shorter 21-day age often yields a cleaner, more nuanced flavor in my experience.

3 comments

3 Comments

Honestly my problem with the 45-day trend is that I lack the patience. I agree the shorter age gives you that cleaner beef taste I'm after. I guess I just want my steak, like, now.

phoenix3661mo ago

Totally get where you're coming from, @markcoleman, lol. Felt the same way about the long wait. What I ended up doing was asking my local butcher for a 21-day dry age. It gives you a bit of that deeper flavor without going full 45 days, and you get your steak way sooner. Found it was a perfect middle ground for me, still clean but with a little more going on. The shorter wait just made it easier to actually enjoy the process instead of just staring at the fridge.

cameron6661mo ago

About asking your butcher for a 21-day age... most places near me only carry pre-aged cuts, like 28 or 35 days. They don't really do custom requests, you know? Still, worth a shot though.