Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Youtube | Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.
Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch
Dry Age Write Up
Options
WeberWho
Posts: 11,030
JGambome asked how I dry aged my steak and I wrote this up for him. Thought I might also post it as a thread.
I believe in Stikes method on dry aging. Keep it simple. Throw it in your fridge and forget about it.
I start out by picking up a whole NY Strip at either Costco/Sams. Once at home I take it out of the cryo pack and trim away any hard fat and saving as much fat as possible for dry aging. Wash the whole strip under cold water and pat dry. I then grab a cookie sheet and line the bottom of the cookie sheet with paper towels. After I line the cookie sheet with paper towels I place a cooling rack or something that will keep the steak elevated and off the paper towels when dry aging. You want air to circulate under the steak as it dry ages.
I use my spare beer fridge for the dry aging process. Whatever refrigerator you use make sure it's clean. I recommend washing and cleaning it prior. Don't use any cleaning chemicals that give off an odor and only use what is safe around food. I use soap and water. Cleaning will help reduce any bad mold the steak might pick up and help reduce any funky odors the steak could absorb into it. Also keep food/leftovers sealed tight as it can give off an aroma. So you pretty much want an odorless refrigerator. So my spare fridge works best as it only has beer, bbq sauce, and spare milk most of the time. You want a fridge that you can keep stable in temperature. Your main fridge fluctuates in temp constantly as it is opened many times throughout the day. So a spare fridge makes it a better option. Plus the wife probably doesn't want to see a big chunk of rotting dead meat every time she opens the fridge.
You NEED to have the fridge temp between 32 and 38 degrees. Anything under 32 begins to freeze and stops the process of dry aging and anything over 38 you start to run the risk of bad bacteria growth. The day before I start dry aging I place a stand up thermometer in the fridge so I can get a reading on how the cold the refrigerator is running. From there you can play around with the refrigerator thermostat until you find the temp you're happy with between 32 and 38 degrees. Keep this thermometer in the fridge so you can check and see you are within temp during the aging process. Put steak into fridge and begin!
After the first couple days the steak might begin to lose some moisture and leak onto the paper towels. After the 2nd or 3rd day of dry aging you want to remove and discard the paper towels on the cookie sheet. The steak hardens up after a few days in refrigerator and will stop leaking. So no need for any new paper towels. Once the paper towels are removed you can place everything back in the fridge. From here you have the green light. Keep dry aging until your desired length of time. Most say 40 day is the magic number for dry aging. 100% up to you. You should get a light almost like pine scent while it dry ages. You don't want a foul smell as if it's going bad. (obviously) Just check the temp gauge every 3-4-5 days and make sure you are in tolerance for temp.
I pulled the steak out after 40 days. The steak will get a hard outer bark. Some will trim the outer bark while other's wont. Personal preference. I usually cut each steak to a minimum of 1". After cutting into steaks I will vacuum seal and freeze. I typically get 10-12 steaks out of a whole NY Strip. Probably would retail for $200-$250 if purchased dry aged from the butcher. But for $80 and very little work you can do it yourself on the cheap!
I'm far from professional but have had a couple successful dry aged attempts. I followed Stikes write ups and pretty much rewording everything he has said but with much less intelligence and fancy science words he uses. It's pretty simple and straight forward procedure. I'm still around drinkin booze and kickin but can understand why it might scare some people away from trying it.
I believe in Stikes method on dry aging. Keep it simple. Throw it in your fridge and forget about it.
I start out by picking up a whole NY Strip at either Costco/Sams. Once at home I take it out of the cryo pack and trim away any hard fat and saving as much fat as possible for dry aging. Wash the whole strip under cold water and pat dry. I then grab a cookie sheet and line the bottom of the cookie sheet with paper towels. After I line the cookie sheet with paper towels I place a cooling rack or something that will keep the steak elevated and off the paper towels when dry aging. You want air to circulate under the steak as it dry ages.
I use my spare beer fridge for the dry aging process. Whatever refrigerator you use make sure it's clean. I recommend washing and cleaning it prior. Don't use any cleaning chemicals that give off an odor and only use what is safe around food. I use soap and water. Cleaning will help reduce any bad mold the steak might pick up and help reduce any funky odors the steak could absorb into it. Also keep food/leftovers sealed tight as it can give off an aroma. So you pretty much want an odorless refrigerator. So my spare fridge works best as it only has beer, bbq sauce, and spare milk most of the time. You want a fridge that you can keep stable in temperature. Your main fridge fluctuates in temp constantly as it is opened many times throughout the day. So a spare fridge makes it a better option. Plus the wife probably doesn't want to see a big chunk of rotting dead meat every time she opens the fridge.
You NEED to have the fridge temp between 32 and 38 degrees. Anything under 32 begins to freeze and stops the process of dry aging and anything over 38 you start to run the risk of bad bacteria growth. The day before I start dry aging I place a stand up thermometer in the fridge so I can get a reading on how the cold the refrigerator is running. From there you can play around with the refrigerator thermostat until you find the temp you're happy with between 32 and 38 degrees. Keep this thermometer in the fridge so you can check and see you are within temp during the aging process. Put steak into fridge and begin!
After the first couple days the steak might begin to lose some moisture and leak onto the paper towels. After the 2nd or 3rd day of dry aging you want to remove and discard the paper towels on the cookie sheet. The steak hardens up after a few days in refrigerator and will stop leaking. So no need for any new paper towels. Once the paper towels are removed you can place everything back in the fridge. From here you have the green light. Keep dry aging until your desired length of time. Most say 40 day is the magic number for dry aging. 100% up to you. You should get a light almost like pine scent while it dry ages. You don't want a foul smell as if it's going bad. (obviously) Just check the temp gauge every 3-4-5 days and make sure you are in tolerance for temp.
I pulled the steak out after 40 days. The steak will get a hard outer bark. Some will trim the outer bark while other's wont. Personal preference. I usually cut each steak to a minimum of 1". After cutting into steaks I will vacuum seal and freeze. I typically get 10-12 steaks out of a whole NY Strip. Probably would retail for $200-$250 if purchased dry aged from the butcher. But for $80 and very little work you can do it yourself on the cheap!
I'm far from professional but have had a couple successful dry aged attempts. I followed Stikes write ups and pretty much rewording everything he has said but with much less intelligence and fancy science words he uses. It's pretty simple and straight forward procedure. I'm still around drinkin booze and kickin but can understand why it might scare some people away from trying it.
"The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan
Minnesota
Minnesota
Comments
-
Thanks for sharing! I definitely miss Stike around these parts.Just a hack that makes some $hitty BBQ....
-
Awesome, gotta try this!
-
"The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan
Minnesota -
Thanks for the Info … I think I should start dry aging right now because I don't get my (demo) Large BGE until Porkopilos (In Cincinnati) about 6 weeks from now. By the time I actually HAVE my BGE the steaks will be ready to cut and cook!This will be a 1st time for me… what are the pros and cons of cutting off the "bark" created by the dry aging process?
-
I wish I were aging this well!! Off to Costco this weekend.
Tony in Brentwood, TN.
Medium BGE, New Braunfels off-set smoker, 3-burner Charbroiler gasser, mainly used for Eggcessory storage, old electric upright now used for Amaz-N-Smoker.
"I like cooking with wine - sometimes I put it in the food." - W. C. Fields
-
"..".........
-
Some don't like the taste/texture. Other's will tell you that trimming the outside is the ultimate sin! It's all personal preference.Hoosier_Patriot said:Thanks for the Info … I think I should start dry aging right now because I don't get my (demo) Large BGE until Porkopilos (In Cincinnati) about 6 weeks from now. By the time I actually HAVE my BGE the steaks will be ready to cut and cook!
This will be a 1st time for me… what are the pros and cons of cutting off the "bark" created by the dry aging process?
"The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan
Minnesota -
Trimming is for people who want to be able to say they like dry aged beef, but who get the heebie geebies and want to do everything they can to make the steak look 'normal' again
One of the purposes of aging is to create the perfect crusted exterior when grilling or roasting.
It's like saying "oh yes, I love big red Cabernets! But sometimes I thin them with water because they can be too much"
Either you like them, or you don't. Or maybe it's more like, you like the idea of liking them, but are still a little nervous and flinch when it counts.
Trimming is usually a result of wives asking their husbands to do it.
Most of the dried (condensed) beef is closer to the exterior. The interior is not much different than wet aged beef. If you trim dry aged, just suck it up and admit you don't like it, and instead just wet age. Less waste. No loss of man card.
For the record. I don't believe in man cards. But I do believe in being able to admit something ain't for you. If you don't like the drier, aged portion, then maybe you don't like dry aged beef.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copia ciborum subtilitas impeditur
Seneca Falls, NY -
Any cited articles to read up on? I dry aged a steak for 4 days the other day, and America's test kitchen said 4 days is what they recommend for a home refrigerator. However, I realize ATK is great, but not the be all end all for aging beef.
-
You can't dry age a steak in four days
You can dry a steak in four days, but it isn't aged
Dry primals/subprimals.
There is a lot of information out there re: aging. Ignore every one of them that was written by some foodie blogger.
They usually involve all sorts of foolishness that no commercial enterpise does. No towels, no bags, no anything.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copia ciborum subtilitas impeditur
Seneca Falls, NY -
Talk about a subject that I honestly think I have had years of experience doing but am reluctant to wade in and talk about on THIS forum is a matter of dry aging sub-primals at home in the family refrigerator. It is a method that keeps MOST wives happy even with little rug rats who want to reach in, mothers-in-law who ask "what's this spoiled "sh*t" in your refrig and other questions that the un-informed ask when when they see a sub-primal aging. Trust me...whether you are going for a wimpy 28 day, or 45 day or 60 day aging the meat then the outside of the aging meat will gross out the un-informed. The product that I do NOT make any money endorsing is called a DrybagSteak. Now I have to get to bed..., but trust me I'm a believer even though I will get slammed for my response! Good Night!Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
Categories
- All Categories
- 182.7K EggHead Forum
- 15.7K Forum List
- 459 EGGtoberfest
- 1.9K Forum Feedback
- 10.3K Off Topic
- 2.2K EGG Table Forum
- 1 Rules & Disclaimer
- 9K Cookbook
- 12 Valentines Day
- 91 Holiday Recipes
- 223 Appetizers
- 516 Baking
- 2.4K Beef
- 88 Desserts
- 163 Lamb
- 2.4K Pork
- 1.5K Poultry
- 30 Salads and Dressings
- 320 Sauces, Rubs, Marinades
- 543 Seafood
- 175 Sides
- 121 Soups, Stews, Chilis
- 35 Vegetarian
- 100 Vegetables
- 313 Health
- 293 Weight Loss Forum