Dry-Aged Beef – Is It Worth It?
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Us Texans love our steak. And many of us prefer a dry-aged steak over a regular one. Sometimes, I look for dry-aged beef (What wine goes well with beef?) near me for my home cook meals.
Aging is one part of meat preparation that some say is key to preparing a delicious steak. In my opinion, a steak made from freshly slaughtered beef doesn’t have the rich flavor I’m looking for and can often taste somewhat metallic. So dry aging is very much a technique that I support!
The metallic taste in a freshly cut steak comes from the myoglobin, a protein which stores oxygen in the meat’s muscle cells. This myoglobin contains iron, which gives it its blood-like color.
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Wet Aging Beef vs Dry Aging Beef
Aging refers to the amount of way in which a piece of meat is stored after slaughter. There are two types of aging – wet aging and dry aging. Wet aging is the more common aging process. It involves putting the meat in a vacuum-sealed bag and placing it in the freezer, where it then ages for as long as required.
There is no moisture loss in wet aging. The meat’s tenderness is affected, but there is no change in flavor and texture of the meat.
What is Dry-Aged Beef?
Compared to the much simpler wet-aging process, dry aging is both more complicated and more expensive. An aged piece of beef can go for over twice the amount of a freshly purchased steak. And in many reputable steakhouses with dry aged beef on the menu, it can go for up to three or four times the regular price!
Beef is stored in a refrigerated room maintained at a temperature between 32–34°F. The room must also have a relative humidity of 61–81% and a controlled air flow. The steak is then aged from anywhere between 14 to 21 days.
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It’s best to dry age primal cut beef rather than cuts intended for smaller servings of steak.
Inside a dry-aging room, the air should be circulated around to prevent the growth of harmful pathogens. During this phase, the enzymes in the muscle cells break down the fats, proteins and glycogens, producing amino and fatty acids. The texture is also affected, although in a good way. It's not going to be mushy like some people would imagine
A layer of white mold grows on the meat, indicating that the beef is aging safely. This mold plays an important role in the success of the dry-aging process, as it gives the beef plenty of flavor.
You may wonder what the difference is between mold growing on food in your refrigerator versus mold on the outside of a piece of dry-aged beef. Well, the answer is simple – the mold growing on your refrigerated beef will make you sick, while the mold in a dry aging room won’t. Nevertheless, as a safety measure, the mold on your cut of dry-aged beef is removed before it’s served on your plate.
During the aged meet process, the meat loses water and shrinks, losing up to 30% of its volume and original weight. This is one of the key reasons why dry-aged steaks are more expensive than their non-dry-aged counterparts.
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Dry aging is the process of drying meat from a few weeks to a few months to improve the taste and texture of a cut of meat. In This case, beef. Dry-aged beef gives cuts of steak a funky almost umami flavor from it with texture immensely more tender than any fresh-cut you can find. Through a mix of bacterial growth, enzymatic reactions and moisture loss a cut of dry-aged beef can set you back up to $259.95 from Allen Brothers Steak. A step up from that is a Dallas steakhouse ‘Knife’ which serves a steak dry-aged for 420 days costing a hefty $1000. And last but not least if you’re feeling extremely picky about what steak you’re going to eat, you can try the 2000 vintage cote de boeuf which typically costs the diner a staggering $3200. It is only aged for 28-56 days but the aging process involves blasting -43C air over the meat continuously, at a speed of about 75 miles per hour.
Why dry age?
There are three main aspects that ultimately determine how beef will age. Let me begin by saying that dry-aging beef is not a science per se. There are theories and claims as to why and how the bacteria and enzymes react with the beef so that it adopts the funky, cheesy flavor, how temperatures and loss of moisture all impact the aging process.
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Moisture loss: This is really the tricky one to figure out. Some say that dry-aged beef can lose up to 30% of its moisture. This is significant since most meats average at around 75% water. The idea is that as water is removed from the beef, the beef flavor will become more concentrated.
Tenderasations: The beef’s natural enzymes will begin to break down connective tissue and muscle fibers. Certain fungal species like thamnidium in particular, produce collagenolytic enzymes that contribute to the tenderness and distinctive taste of dry-aged meat.
Flavor: A number of natural processes occur in the proceeding days including bacterial and enzymatic reactions and the oxidation of fat which causes the meat to go brown. That along with water evaporating forms that crust on the outside that is eventually removed before cooking.
Taking on dry-aged beef, especially if it’s dry-aged for a long time, definitely requires an acquired taste. One of its main flavor profiles is umami. Other foods with umami profiles include mushrooms, truffles (What wine goes well with truffles?), strong cheeses, fermented and aged produces, and marmite.
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How long does beef get dry-aged?
Drying in most restaurants is typically done in 15-28 days. Obviously, as you’d expect some creative chefs such as John Tesar, in his restaurant Knife, where you can buy a steak aged either for 45 days, 90 days, 180 days, 240 days, and even 420 days.
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Environment for Dry-Aging
Primal and sub-primal cuts are stored in a refrigeration unit while it ages. This process is expensive as you have to keep the room aging room between 34-36ºƒ with maximum airflow to ensure there is no spoilage.
Some aging methods involve blowing cold air directly onto the cut, like Alexandre Polmard’s, whose restaurant, Boucherie Polmard serves the most expensive steak in the world. The age their beef for any length of time in a process the Polmards call ‘hibernation’ where cold air is blown directly at the meat at 75km per hour in a -45ºƒ environment.
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Dry Aging Beef at Home
According to food writer and BBQ expert Meathead Goldwyn, there are five variables you need to control during the dry-aging process:
Meat quality
Room temperature
Air flow
Days of aging
Humidity and humidity control
Controlling these factors means being able to produce some of the best-tasting steaks out there. However, this kind of controlled environment comes with plenty of expenses. And unless you are willing to dedicate a lot of dollar to setting up a refrigerated dry-aging room with precise temperature and humidity controls, it’s tricky to successfully dry age a piece of beef at home. Using home fridge to dry age beef is something that can be done just by anybody.
You can leave a cut of beef to rest in your home for a few weeks, but it’s hard to guarantee that the right kind of mold will grow on your meat. The correct dry-aging process will cultivate the mold that gives rich flavor to the meat. But without the right temperature, humidity, airflow and environment to grow the desired bacteria, you’ll just be dehydrating your meat without any noticeable difference in taste.
The mold grown in the dry-aging process comes from the environment in which the aging takes place. It’s also influenced by any other meat cuts that are being aged in the same space.
Those who wish to take on the challenge of dry aging their beef at home may use a second refrigerator that is solely dedicated to aging their meat. Using your regular family refrigerator or home refrigerator means that the meat will absorb the smells of the other food items surrounding it, e.g. milk, cheese, other meats. What’s more, the constant opening and closing of the refrigerator will change the temperature and humidity conditions needed for proper dry aging. Don't forget to stock up lots of paper towels to mop up the moisture that will get drawn out in the first couple of days.
If you’re like me and don’t wish to try dry aging your meat at home, then no fear! In Texas, there are countless butcher shops selling beautiful dry-aged beef cuts. And for those living in San Antonio, HEB sells brilliant dry-aged steaks.
Is Dry Aging Worth It?
Yes it is, if done properly with the right equipment and facilities! And personally, I think that a dry aged porterhouse is just, well, for the lack of a better term, heavenly!
P.S. If you are going to venture into buying a dry aged piece of meat, make sure to get something with a bone in it. So if you're going with a ribeye, make sure that it's bone-in. Heck, I'd even go as far as to say to get a whole rack so that you'll have enough for everyone! Although if you have guests, individual steaks can be a bit pricy, but you know what they say, quality is just something you can't skimp on.
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Meathead Goldwyn describes dry aging as “controlled rotting”. This is because a whole host of enzymes, molds and bacteria go to work on the meat.
The evaporating moisture concentrates the flavors within the meat, making it taste super beefy. The water evaporates but the fat content stays the same, so there’s a higher proportion of fat in the meat. This means you get to munch on a super juicy, melt-in-the-mouth cut of beef.
When it comes to cooking a dry-aged steak, it’s best to keep things simple. The meat has been packed with flavor through the aging process, and we want to honor that. Your normal backyard grill – and perhaps a nice reverse searing cooking technique – is all you need. And of course a little bit of salt and pepper. The flavor compounds that the dry-aging process will take care of the rest!
Dry aged meat is also more expensive than your regular wet aged steaks for the reason that they lose a fair percentage of their original weight due to water loss, not to mention the parts that you have to trim off before cooking.
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Should You Try a 500-Day Dry-Aged Beef?
A 500-day dry-aged beef is not for everyone. But there are some Texans who get adventurous and have tried aging primal cut beef for 500 days, instead of the usual 14 to 21 days.
If you wish to try it, make sure that the beef has no mold growth. It must be dry and looks like a "mummy."
Depending on the conditions used to dry the meat, a steak aged has a funky flavor. And if you wish to try a 500-day dry-aged beef, you must appreciate an unusually intense beef taste.
You must also be willing to pay hundreds (to thousands) of dollars to try one.
Whether you’re a steak connoisseur or a casual beef eater, nothing beats a rich, juicy steak. Buying or preparing a cut of dry-aged beef is a worthy endeavor if you’re willing to invest in one hell of a flavor experience. It's pretty much the ultimate beef flavor you can fin out there. The beef's natural enzymes and the good mold amplifies the taste to levels that are, for the lack of a better term, sublime!
It's like blue cheese, some folks might say that it has a funky flavor caused by the good mold, but once you have it in your mouth, the meat just melts and the explosion of beef flavor is divine!
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