Pro Tip: If you wanted to serve a 45-day dry aged roast for christmas dinner, it's too late. But...

fishlessman · January 2017

gmac said:

And does freezing matter? I assume that enzymatic activity stops although drying would continue. It's gonna be below freezing at night for the foreseeable future.

do they have craigs list up there, free fridges

most new ones dont work when its that cold though, basement?

nolaegghead · January 2017

You don't want it to freeze...would take a lot to freeze the whole thing. I'm not sure if freezer burn would be an issue once the crust develops.

JustineCaseyFeldown · January 2017

the warmer it is, the better enzyme activity (this is why prosciutto or country ham is [sometimes] stored at somewhat warmer temps. better aging

but dry aging is two separate things. aging. and drying.

freezing would not be good, especially if it cycled (freeze thaw), or if in general the air were too dry to begin with. drying is good overall (it condenses the flavor, and that's about it), but slower drying is better than fast drying.

if you are dealing with very low humidity, it's not ideal. you might try an umai bag to slow drying if you need to hang it outside (in ambient winter temps, i mean)

just toss it in the bottom of the kitchen fridge and tell the wife to grow up if she winces.

lousubcap · January 2017

You may want to check the temperature in your garage relative to the outside before you start this project. You could find it is several degrees (F*) warmer than the outside air depending on construction.

Sea2Ski · January 2017

As Justine said, there are two things occurring : drying and aging.

Here is a theory I have been pondering...

If I have a whole roast at say 13 lbs that has dry aged for 35 days which for me is the sweet spot (it may/does differ for others) and instead of cutting into portions, could one vacuum seal the roast and let it age longer (say another 15, 20, 30 days) in the vacuum bag to get more enzyme breakdown but prevent further drying? Since it is now sealed in an airtight and waterproof bag, it will not dry anymore, but do you risk or lose anything by doing that? I suppose the crust might suffer a bit since the moisture content would equalize between the inside and dry exposed outside at the time of vacuum sealing, but other than that?

JustineCaseyFeldown · January 2017

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Sea2Ski said:

As Justine said, there are two things occurring : drying and aging.

Here is a theory I have been pondering...

If I have a whole roast at say 13 lbs that has dry aged for 35 days which for me is the sweet spot (it may/does differ for others) and instead of cutting into portions, could one vacuum seal the roast and let it age longer (say another 15, 20, 30 days) in the vacuum bag to get more enzyme breakdown but prevent further drying? Since it is now sealed in an airtight and waterproof bag, it will not dry anymore, but do you risk or lose anything by doing that? I suppose the crust might suffer a bit since the moisture content would equalize between the inside and dry exposed outside at the time of vacuum sealing, but other than that?

better to wet age first then dry age, which is something i have advocated for people who don't want to dry for so long. but you can do what you are saying.

i don't know if the moisture level would equalize, but part of the prize is the crisp exterior. if aging dry aged steaks further were to cause that rind to totally rehydrate, i think you would miss that crispness, especially in the fat

nolaegghead · January 2017

I concur with the above statement.

I have read some various controlled studies through the years on this and the rate the meat tenderizes (by enzymes and such) is more a function of the temperature and time than it is being wet or dry on the outside of the meat.

U_tarded · January 2017

Eggcelsior said:

U_tarded said:

dsrguns said:

Thanks for the inspiration. My wife purchased a 10+ lb. choice rib roast as they were on sale. I unwrapped, rinsed and patted dry. Put in the fridge on the 24th uncovered on top of a wire basket. I was thinking about doing it on New Years eve (7 days). My plan is for a low slow with no searing. Can I expect any results with only a 7 day dry aging? I honestly don't think I've ever had a dry aged steak or roast.

I did 8 days for christmas. Removed bones and tied it as round as possible. 250 until 125 pulled rested while finishing sides up. 2 chunks of oak for a kiss of smoke. NO SEAR herb crust that fell off during untying for the most part but left a nice flavor on the outside.

After egg

Now this is perfect. No overdone areas, no grey spinalis(which makes me shed a tear, every time). Bravo!

Thanks it was one of my showcase meals for sure. Small group and lots of wine makes it easier to not rush it and it's done when it's done. Also I think tying it to as round as possible helps the end product more than one would think.

GlennM · January 2017

gmac said:
Certainly a beer fridge would be better, just don't have enough room in mine.

Why don't you take some of the beer out of the fridge and put it in the garage?

spray · February 2017

Hit 45 days yesterday on my first foray into this home dry aging process, and I cut up five nice bone-in 2 1/2- 3 inch ribeyes yesterday. They look fantastic! Going out of town for a few days, so I won't be able to try one until next week, but I have a feeling they will be tasty.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/7r/ypxehdp5avgg.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/hb/nihdajnev5zo.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/gu/i6kz5ym90jnz.jpg

As you can see, the butcher took a little too much fat off on the top, but the crust looks very nice. Thanks for the advice I received here.

EggMcMic · February 2017

Looking good...and pretty familiar! I hit 45 days a couple days ago and cut mine up as well. Looking forward to grilling one this weekend. Not sure if I will make more than one, only have a family of 4 to feed and they are pretty big!

Stoogie · November 2018

Bumping one of my favorite threads ever since we're about 40 days until Christmas.

JohnInCarolina · November 2018

This is one of the all-time great threads. In addition to having a ton of valuable info on dry-aging, it has the epic fruitcake takedown. Good stuff!

nolaegghead · November 2018

Focker said:

JustineCaseyFeldown said:

Little Steven said:

JustineCaseyFeldown said:

Nice!

You gonna set up some candles and post a pic?

Candles for steven

mini wellingtons and plain fillets for the boys, per their request. Two in bacon, two simply tied.

The older boy ate his steaks before i even made a toast. Then he 'tried' my wellington. Decided he liked it after all. Ate the third wellington (tho it lacked duxelles) and then asked if there was anything else. Then announced that he liked wellingtons after all and "do we have any more?"

Oh to be a teenager again

Definitely over rated.

Also oysters. I ate four in order to fit the rest on a plate (sly of me)

Roasted the wellingtons and steaks at 400 or so. Overshot a bit tbh. Inebriation may have been a factor. Also, dead thermapen

need to remember that as soon as the dough looks done, they are

progress pic

(Edit: bottom pic posted upside down)

Apologies for the overrated protein, the low res iphone photos, the fact that my knives aren't photogenic, and that my stagnation or atrophy means we have this same dinner every seven or eight years or so.

Keep polishing that turd, it will shine one of these years. Such a waste of good pork.

Bonus points for combining overrated filet and oysters, brilliant "smack of pretension". Hahaha

We may have saved your gray matter in the nick of time, always willing to give a hand.

JustineCaseyFeldown said:

Meant to add that we totally forgot to make a fruitcake. But what do you know. one showed up anyway!

No one really likes 'em. But it wouldn't be the same without one.

This one seems little nuttier than I remember.

not sure why fruitcakes like these have such a reputation. They're pretty average when you get down to it. Maybe it is the fancy trappings they are surrounded by that make them seem somewhat appealing. But then you realize they don't really bring anything to the party.

They're usually soaked in alcohol too. and so they spend the holiday forgotten and alone. All dressed up with nowhere to go as they say

Poor fruitcakes. Not their fault.

Focker said:

JustineCaseyFeldown said:

Meant to add that we totally forgot to make a fruitcake. But what do you know. one showed up anyway!

No one really likes 'em. But it wouldn't be the same without one.

This one seems little nuttier than I remember.

not sure why fruitcakes like these have such a reputation. They're pretty average when you get down to it. Maybe it is the fancy trappings they are surrounded by that make them seem somewhat appealing. But then you realize they don't really bring anything to the party.

They're usually soaked in alcohol too. and so they spend the holiday forgotten and alone. All dressed up with nowhere to go as they say

Poor fruitcakes. Not their fault.

MAN, fruitcake for dessert...maybe throw in a lobster app, and you've got post of the year material. There's always next year.

JustineCaseyFeldown said:

That wooshing sound.....

alaskanassasin · November 2018

Awesome thread
furthermore after reading this thread I feel absolutely comfortable tackling a dry age, everything I needed to know was discussed

Legume · November 2018

alaskanassasin said:

Awesome thread
furthermore after reading this thread I feel absolutely comfortable tackling a dry age, everything I needed to know was discussed

They guy doesn’t post anymore. Food poisoning got him. Should’ve dry aged in a bag and cooked to 180 F.

Mattman3969 · November 2018

This guy was a wealth of knowledge to this forum, regardless of other comments.

I miss the post of @little Steven (rip sir) and & @darby_crenshaw. Very informative eggers that knew what that spoke of.

nolaegghead · November 2018

darby is stike, fyi. he is still carving pumpkins and reads the forum for amusement on occasion.

alaskanassasin · November 2018

anyone ever dry age a brisket?

RRP · November 2018

alaskanassasin said:

anyone ever dry age a brisket?

I just sent you a PM.

Stoogie · November 2019

Bumping this again because it's 36 days until Christmas, 43 days until New Year's Eve. So if you want to wow someone with your dinner, this is the best way to do it, in my opinion. Plus, I think this thread is filled with digital gold for information.

Pro Tip: If you wanted to serve a 45-day dry aged roast for christmas dinner, it's too late. But...

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