Requesting advice from @RRP and other dry-age vets!

yzzi

I acquired a fridge from a coworker that I rigged up temp/humidity controllers as well as a fan so that I could do some curing and dry-aging in. I wanted it's virgin ride to be dry aging, and I wanted to get some opinions on what you vets use for cuts. I understand that the ideal cuts are bone-in with the fat caps to protect the meat (from my potentially flawed research), and I understand those types of cuts are near impossible to find at supermarkets these days. I don't really have many good butchers near me, so I was wondering the following:

1) Are boneless cuts okay to use? I'm guessing maybe a little more trimming is required if you're into the trimming part.

2) Are cuts from Costco/Sams okay to use

3) Does grade make a difference for being able to dry-age something? I'm sure prime is best, but that's a big chunk of money for a primal/sub-primal so I'd like to stick with choice for now.

4) What's the minimum size you would use? Is a 3-bone rib roast too small to test out on?

I think that's all my questions for now, and I appreciate your help and advice.

fishlessman

have eaten plenty but havent gone the distance
) from what ive eaten i would get the biggest choice ribeye from costco and cut a piece off at 21 days, 28 days, 35 days, 45 days.  the ones ive had at 45 days were perfect. dont worry about trimming, ive eaten it raw right of the steak and lived just fine
the reason for the ribeye is you want that dry aged fat, the other cuts are usually over trimmed

RRP

Boneless are fine, just keep in mind not to get trim-happy when you cut off the hard outer surface, whereas with a bone in then the meat underneath the bone will be dry aged, but no trim loss.

I buy sub-primals from Sam's all the time. If you time it right - Monday's work best for me - they have restocked from the weekend and I'll have a couple dozen to choose from. If you look carefully at the ends - especially the large end of say a rib eye you can get a feel for the amount of marbling that probably exists throughout the sub-primal. Our Sam's carries meat from Excel and is always choice. Some people belong to Costco and say they can buy prime.

Personally due to the trimming loss even though I try to shave and NEVER trim back to "grocery store red" I just don't recommend aging anything under 10 pounds and normally I shoot for 16 pounders. While you might gag at paying $100 for a sub-primal just think about that expenditure in the per steak cost and really it makes it easier to accept!

Good luck! BTW once you become hooked on dry aged beef you'll understand why good steak houses can charge what they do for their steaks, but you can have the same at home a lot cheaper plus have the satisfaction of knowing and crowing that you did it yourself! This Saturday night I'm egging some 45 day dry aged steak!

Good LUCK!

yzzi

So it's perfectly fine to cut off a few steaks and leave it in the fridge to keep aging? Seeing as I don't have a vacuum sealer yet that's a good thing, plus I'd love to be able to get a feel for how many days I like best.

Thatgrimguy

@rrp, what is the name of those dry aged bags that you use? And can you offer any tips for success using them?

RRP

Thatgrimguy said:

@rrp, what is the name of those dry aged bags that you use? And can you offer any tips for success using them?

UMAi Dry. Here's a link

http://www.drybagsteak.com

fishlessman

yzzi said:

So it's perfectly fine to cut off a few steaks and leave it in the fridge to keep aging? Seeing as I don't have a vacuum sealer yet that's a good thing, plus I'd love to be able to get a feel for how many days I like best.

thats what they do at the butcher shop, you do lose about a 1/4 inch heal on the recut and i think stike mentioned that he tried wax paper after the cut but dont remember if it kept the front fresher. google stike and dry aging on the forum , he had lots of info but his pics are all gone

yzzi

I just picked up a 16 pound prime grade ribeye to dry age. Do is it recommended to put a pan underneath until the meat dries some and after it dries just put it on a rack? I'm setting the humidity to 85 percent. That sounds about right? I'm just a bit nervous with a $200 piece of meat.

DMW

I set a rack on top of a pan, then the meat on the rack. That way as it drips, it goes in the pan. I also lined the pan with paper towels and changed them after they seemed fairly soaked, I think about 3 days in if I recall. I never needed to change the towels again after that.

yzzi

A 16 pound prime grade ribeye set at 2 degrees Celsius, 75-80% humidity. I don't think I'll be able make it last over 28 days.

yzzi

Thanks @DMW‌ and @RRP‌, and @fishlessman‌!

RRP

yzzi said:

A 16 pound prime grade ribeye set at 2 degrees Celsius, 75-80% humidity. I don't think I'll be able make it last over 28 days.

only 28 days? Where I come from we say why even bother!

yzzi

Well, I do plan to go 28 for when some friends are in town, then save some for 35 and then slice some for 45. We'll see what I like.

yzzi

@rrp, how much of a crust do you end up building? I went and felt the meat to see how hard it was as I'm concerned my fan inside is too big. It felt hard though there was some give, and the entire piece of meat is stiff. I'm concerned I'll lose a lot of meat from trimming especially since it's rather flat for a ribeye. I'm thinking at this point with a dry crust it's safe to turn the fan off

yzzi

By the way this was taken a couple days ago, and I'm currently on day 13.

fishlessman

yzzi said:

By the way this was taken a couple days ago, and I'm currently on day 13.

i dont think you need the fan in there but more importantly dont trim it, that crust will soften right up when you cook it, its the best part

yzzi

Will do @fishlessman‌. I'll probably turn the fan off at this point.

RRP

The bark will continue to get harder and darker. For instance here is a sirloin after 45 days. Key is most people will want to trim off at least the outermost layer even though that is the good stuff LOL! So just don't get carried away and trim back to "grocery store red" as I call it!

Raymont

Awesome. I have same cut of beef from costco going on same set up as YZZI. I agree with RRP, go 45 days! I like the humidity engineering! I'm just using a pan of water so don't have accuracy. Has always turned out fantastic!

yzzi

@Raymont‌ the humidity setup is works really well and keeps it within the range I set pretty well. Only suggestion I have for change is to get the largest capacity humidifier you can so you don't have to change it often. Mine is a gallon or a gallon and a half and I refill about every 6 days or so.