Smokin-It User Forum!
Alternative Cooking Methods to Go With the Smokin-It Smoker => Dry-Aging Meat => Topic started by: barelfly on January 16, 2018, 05:43:14 PM
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And the dry age process has begun. Picked up a boneless whole ribeye to dry age. Starting weight was 15.55lbs. I Will go with a 42 Day aging for the first one. I hope I got a good enough seal around the meat. I should be ok based on the video saying at least 80% against the meat, which I definitely have. I’ll update with pics when it looks like there is some change in the meat. But I’m excited to try this out. I’m definitely going to look into the charcuterie bags once I get the hang of this.
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I have been visiting that site as of late giving this some thought. Not yet committed. I read all of Tony's postings when he did this a couple years back. Got interested then as well and did nothing. Hope all goes well.
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I have a 60-day bone-in prime rib roast going too. It will be ready Feb 28th. Looks like you have pretty good contact. If you are not sure, you can slip the whole thing into the leg of panty hose (wish I had come up with that tip).
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Man, Jeremy, you are in for a treat! Once you dry age some ribeyes, it will ruin you on "plain old" non-aged steaks! I have a USDA Choice bone-in prime rib that I just pulled out of the freezer (11 lbs). I plan to throw it in a Umai bag when it thaws. The Choice cut will definitely benefit from the dry aging process.
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The treat is my hope! Ruining the plain steaks won’t be good! I’m already a snob with food. I don’t enjoy going out to eat much, my expectations are too high! So if I get to that point with my own steak...... ;D
Here’s a few photos from 8 days in. Bag adhesion is great, color has changed and has stiffened up a bit. Here’s to 35 or so more days!
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Coming along nicely! Personally, I don't go over 28 days. I love the flavor that period brings, and it doesn't shrink quite as much. But hey, some go 60 or 70+ days! I'm just not that patient... ???
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After reading around, 42 days will probably be my max. I went long for the first time that way I am not disappointed if I don’t like it. It will be my baseline and if it’s a bit too funky for me, which I think is right at the point where it shouldn’t be funky, just nutty and intense, when I go 28 days I won’t have to wait as long and be mad that I waited longer!
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Tony,
Have you actually gone past 28 yet? Welcome back. I dont waste my time with anything less than 45 days. However, 28 is better than 0.
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This seems like an awesome thing. I read about those bags and had forgotten about them. I can't get a great steak around here anymore, well filet, but not a ribeye. This seems worthwhile if you have the patience (which is questionable if I do or my wife will for the space in the garage fridge)...
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Tony,
Have you actually gone past 28 yet? Welcome back. I dont waste my time with anything less than 45 days. However, 28 is better than 0.
Sadly, no.... :( It's the whole patience thing, cited above. I will, though, just for you Walt! 28 is pretty tasty, though!
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This seems worthwhile if you have the patience (which is questionable if I do or my wife will for the space in the garage fridge)...
It is actually best to put the umai bag/meat in your regular refrigerator. It needs to be in a refrigerator that gets opened regularly, because it needs good ventilation. So a garage or basement overflow fridge is not the best for dry aging.
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SconnieQ, i am planning on dry aging a prime rib this spring. I had thought that a constant temp was really important when dry aging and had assumed that the fridge should be dedicated not be opened frequently to maintain the constant temp. Am I wrong in this assumption? Should the door be opened daily?
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SconnieQ, i am planning on dry aging a prime rib this spring. I had thought that a constant temp was really important when dry aging and had assumed that the fridge should be dedicated not be opened frequently to maintain the constant temp. Am I wrong in this assumption? Should the door be opened daily?
Actually that advice isn't exactly accurate. A fridge that doesn't get opened is okay, if it is a modern refrigerator with a fan/air circulation. Often times people have older refrigerators in their garage or basement that do not have good air circulation, or none at all, and that's a problem. Those small dorm size refrigerators are the worst. If yours has air circulation, then no need to worry. The fridge needs to maintain a temperature between 34-38F. If you are using your main refrigerator, opening the door is okay, as long as you don't stand there with the door open for long periods of time, or open the door with great frequency. If you have a lot of people in the household, a separate fridge would probably be a good idea.
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SconnieQ, i am planning on dry aging a prime rib this spring. I had thought that a constant temp was really important when dry aging and had assumed that the fridge should be dedicated not be opened frequently to maintain the constant temp. Am I wrong in this assumption? Should the door be opened daily?
If you are using the Umai dry steak bags, this is not nearly as critical as "open air" dry aging. Much more tolerance for the fridge being used as normal.
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I will be using Umai bags in a fridge in the garage. The temp is 37 degrees, but no fan. Thanks for the advice on air circulation!
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I will be using Umai bags in a fridge in the garage. The temp is 37 degrees, but no fan. Thanks for the advice on air circulation!
I would use your regular refrigerator then, and move the beer :P (or other stuff) out to the garage fridge. Air circulation is key to dry-aging.
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I contacted the frididaire folks and they said the the refridgerator has a fan that moves air from the freezer to the fresh food section. Will that be enough air circulation for dry aging?
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I contacted the frididaire folks and they said the the refridgerator has a fan that moves air from the freezer to the fresh food section. Will that be enough air circulation for dry aging?
Rooster
Looks like key is that if the freezer compartment is "frost-free", you are good to go. This modern feature is what removes excess moisture from the air and keeps the meat from just rotting. Here is a really good link:
https://www.drybagsteak.com/blog/ask-maureen/2015/12/06/
And another little tidbit, although the link above is the most thorough information.
MYTH #4 DRY AGING can be done in a dedicated dorm/mini fridge. Dorm and mini fridges are basically electric coolers. They do not circulate air inside which is necessary for removing moisture from the surface of the meat. A modern frost free refrigerator has a fan that circulates the air inside and removes the moisture evaporated by various foods inside. Generally a mini fridge will trap the evaporating moisture inside and create very fertile environment for mold and bacteria.
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Thats a great link! Thanks! the fridge is a 1992 model but the freezer is frost free. I just assumed that there was no fan, but sounds like i am good to go. I did not want to take up the kitchen fridge or ruin a primal prime rib either.
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Thats a great link! Thanks! the fridge is a 1992 model but the freezer is frost free. I just assumed that there was no fan, but sounds like i am good to go. I did not want to take up the kitchen fridge or ruin a primal prime rib either.
Sounds like it will be fine then as long as it's in good working order. You might want to open/close the door every now and then, maybe once a day or so, just to recycle the air.
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Since this post popped up today, i thought I’d post a pic of day 21 of the process. From seeing other photos, the color is doing well. Firmness seems to be good. Also, you can smell the meat, almost a red wine kind of smell. Unless my nose is off. It’s a good smell though, not spoiled smell. I showed a few friends this past weekend and they noticed that as I opened the fridge.
Halfway there!
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Lookin good! A nice mahogany color. Good contact with the bag.
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sorry, did not mean to hijack your post. Looking great!
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No worries. Your posts have helped me learn some. This is my first go at dry aging, so I still have questions and have friends that ask me questions. So, keep posting!
It did remind me to get a photo posted for the weekly update though!
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Day 28 photo from last Tuesday. Flipped it fat cap up. Coming along well. I haven’t been home for the last week, but met up with my wife and kids this weekend and the kids told me the fridge smells funny. My wife confirmed it was a bad smell, just had a different smell to it than normal. I told them that’s the smell of good eats!
Sorry the photo is upside down. I can’t figure out why the photos do that even when I flip them to try and get it correct on the site.
Fixed...just edit them in Paint, or any photo editor on the computer, after rotating.
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What are your cooking plans when this is done? Will you cut all into steaks or leave half for a smoked prime rib?
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I have never gone the dry aging (or wet aging) route. But I have to admit I am getting the urge to give it a shot. Sometime.
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The day has come! 44 days in and I have steaked out and Sous Vide with a cast iron sear my first dry aged ribeye. All I can say is wow! Absolutely wonderful flavor and texture. I have 8 ribeyes left averaging .8lbs each along with a 2.25lb roast that I’ll either smoke or make more steaks out of.
This was outstanding!
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Steaks look great! How would you describe the flavor after 42 days. Beefy? Mushroomy? Cheesy? Gamey? Barnyardy?
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Looks good Jeremy.
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Thanks a David.
Kari, I really don’t know how to explain the flavor but it was definitely different. More concentrated for sure and the red wine aroma that I could smell came out in the flavor as well. It was really good. There was no funkiness, and both my wife and son liked the flavor so next time I may go a little longer just to see what the difference may be. I’m excited to hear how your Rib roast comes out!
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Sounds great! I will be trying one around the 1st of April. Looking forward to trying this out.