Dry Age Trimming Question

DMW

So I sliced my 28 day strip today. I only trimmed off very thin caps from the end. I'm not planning to trim any of the "rind".

My question is, do I trim the fat cap as I did on the bottom one in the pic? Or leave it like the one on the top? I'm planning to vac seal and freeze the ones I don't eat today.

Thanks,

RRP

Actually I just trim the outermost dark layer of the fat. Aged fat is like butter and it is sooooooooo tasty!

DMW

@RRP Thank you for the quick response!

paqman

RRP said:

Actually I just trim the outermost dark layer of the fat. Aged fat is like butter and it is sooooooooo tasty!

+1

yzzi

Did dry age yourself or purchase dry aged?

DMW

@yzzi

Did it myself.

grey_bri

All I can say is WOW!! I have been thinking of doing that if beef prices ever come down up here.

yzzi

Nice! What cut is that? 103, 107, 109? I'm looking to purchase one soon but haven't stopped around yet

SGH

@DMW‌
Brother you will likely get many opinions on this and none are right or wrong. It's a matter of preference and what one wishes to achieve with the end product. That being said here is my opinion as well. If you are aiming for a "visually appealing" steak, then trim it back. However if you are aiming for a treat for the taste buds then trim very, very little. When cooking steak for personal consumption, taste always takes precedence over appearance. I would rather eat a delicious ugly steak than a beautiful mediocre steak any day of the week. That being said I hope that you perform the very "minimum" amount of trimming necessary to remove the undesired decomposition. The more that you can leave the better it will taste in my opinion. There are parts that must go and I understand this fully. Just don't remove it all my friend. You will be thankful in the end that you didn't.

DMW

@SGH‌ I only trimmed the fat very slightly on most of them. The meat I hardly touched at all, just the end caps thinly sliced off.

SGH

@DMW‌
You did it correct brother. You will reap the benefits when the steaks are served. Wise choice my friend. You won't regret it.

DMW

@yzzi I'm not sure, it was simply labeled as NY Strip.

SGH

@DMW‌
Their nomenclature is 179. If they were boneless their nomenclature would be 180. Note of reference. This is the subprimal reference. It does not necessarily coincide with the primal nomenclature. A number can and sometimes will be added to designate a known property. Letters are sometimes used as well to point out certain properties.

DMW

@SGH This was boneless, but you can see where the bones were attached. But I didn't remove the bones. Not sure if that makes a difference.

SGH

@DMW‌
If it was sold to you boneless then the said designation would be as follows: Beef-Subprimal-#180. It could have a (A or following the number depending on age, hot carcass weight and overall quality of the extraction. Usually the "letter" is of insignificant value to the consumer as it is a industry marker. Looks like some fine eating is in your future!

DMW

@SGH @RRP @paqman Thank you for the tips. It turned out great.

@yzzi You need to try this. I think I'm going to splurge for Prime next time and maybe push from 28 days to 45. The texture is what really jumped out. Slight flavor difference over fresh, everyone liked it.

I seared first on a Weber that was screaming hot, then moved to a 250* LBGE to roast to a finish.

RRP

Looks delicious!!! BTW I too prefer 45 days over just 28. There is a remarkable difference!

SGH

@DMW‌
Your honest evaluation. How did it stack up in your opinion to "off the shelf" meat if you will? I much prefer the aged myself.

DMW

@SGH‌ I would rank this well above off the shelf. Which is why I want to try 45 days next time and see if there is more out there to experience as it were.

yzzi

Sounds good! I'll be searching for a deal on a whole primal. I was under the impression you wanted a bone in primal (at least for ribeyes) but the boneless strip seemed to have been a success! I just got my meat locker all finished so I'm going to start with aging

SGH

@DMW‌
There is brother. That being said around day 49 a lot of folks start saying that the taste is more musty instead of heavily beefy. I myself disagree with this as we all have a different taste perception. I feel that you would concur if you tried it. Glad that yours turned out excellent. Now do the appropriate thing and sit down and eat 3 or 4 of those steaks my friend!! I assure that I would!!

RRP

Full disclaimer up front, so please don't flame me. OK? I happen to have been in the UMAI Dry camp formally known as DryBagSteak. I believe in that bag product for aging on the bottom shelf of the normal kitchen refrigerator so much that I wrote to the owner and volunteered to be the moderator of her forum if she would start the forum aspect of her website. I proudly serve there gratis and I also praise the BGE when I have the chance as well as on my moniker which is also RRP used there so I am not hiding my identity! With all that revealed/disclosed I will now tell you that I have aged many sub-primals by that method for various periods of time. I keep records of the beginning weight and the aged weight before trimming. Also I keep records evaluating each aging. The obvious results is the thicker the sub-primal the longer it needs to age to notice the weight loss benefit...yet the longer it goes doesn't necessarily mean you will turn beef from a low grade old cow destined to be dog food and a leather purse into Ruth Chris steaks either! The better the grade you start with the better the results! I have found though after 45 days and going to 60 days does not mean that much more weight loss, nor that much more tenderization.

DMW

@SGH

What is your preferred aging time?

@RRP

What is the best in your opinion?

RRP

DMW said:

@SGH

What is your preferred aging time?

@RRP

What is the best in your opinion?

IMHO what I like, but maybe not you, is 35 days for NY strips since that 12 to 14 pounder is thin. For rib eyes and sirloins 45 days works for me. BTW I never added my personal opinion about trimming, but when I cut my aged results I try to limit the trimming and certainly never trim back to what I call grocery store red! Why bother aging,only to trim off the good stuff? Then even with my wife's taste who doesn't necessarily like the more chewy aged part like I doing still leave it on and then she can trim the cooked steak when her tastes tell her she has had enough! Does that part go to waste? HELL NO! Either I eat that part of her's that night or snack on it the next day like delicious cold jerky!

Wolfpack

I have had over 100 days aged and really liked it- but it does get much funkier than normal beef. Up to your own taste buds if you like it that aged. Looks great- need to do one in house at some point

SGH

@DMW‌
Please remember that is just my way of doing it. That being said 45-55 days is ideal in my opinion. I have never been one to concern myself with safety when it comes to food. I don't mean that in a arrogant way. I just never went along with the so called experts when I was getting outstanding results with a temperature or aging time or process that they deemed unsafe or unhealthy. I was eating pork cooked sub-140 degrees back in the 80's with no ill affects. My point? It's only been very recent that they lowered their guidelines to 140. I agree with RRP and I stated this above as well. Trimming should be kept to the bare minimum to truly enjoy the benefits of aging. I only trim what has truly and fully decomposed and in the final stage of rot. Short of this I leave it and eat it. Again I'm just one man sharing his way of doing it, and more often than not I'm very pleased with the end results. I hope this helps my friend.

Nanook

"I only trim what has truly and fully decomposed and in the final stage of rot." Sounds YUMMY!! ) )

SGH

@Nanook‌
Properly aged meat is in a league of its own. It is excellent beyond comprehension if you have never tried it. You should consider trying it. You will be glad that you did.

Nanook

@SGH‌ . I will try it for sure. I bought a whole vac packed boneless rib at Costco this spring, and put in in the fridge for a month. (In the package still). Then I sliced a couple thick steaks and let them sit in the fridge for another four days on a rack. They were excellent. That's the extent of my beef aging. I'll be sure to give y'all's method a whirl though. Thanks for the advice. My last post was just my attempt at humour. Meant no disrespect.

SGH

@Nanook‌
No disrespect was taken my friend. I just try to encourage folks who have not tried it to do so. It is well worth the effort to say the least. I knew you were being humorous. I do the very same myself when the opportunity presents it's self!! Again I do hope you try it in the near future.

NPHuskerFL

@DMW‌ =D> Yes! Awesome!!!