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

spray

This thread convinced me I definitely need to try this.  I love dry aged ribeyes, but I'm tired of paying up to $29/lb for them at my local butcher shop.  Publix has choice rib roasts on sale this week for $6.99/lb, so yesterday I went to my local Publix and had the butcher cut a five-bone roast, which weighed just over 17 lbs.  Five bones was the max that would fit into the dedicated beer fridge I have in the backyard tiki hut.  Onto a rack and it is now residing on the bottom shelf of the fridge.  Looking forward to early February now! 

EggMcMic

I too have followed this thread and stepped up to the plate yesterday. A 19# choice rib roast went into my fridge yesterday. Full 7 ribs. Rinsed, dried, put on a rack over a cookie sheet. Now just waiting 45 days...

CMH88

Well, I'm in a bit of a pickle here. Costco only carries boneless prime grade PR, but they carry bone-in choice. Not sure if i should give up prime to get bone-in, any suggestions?

bgebrent

CMH88 said:

Well, I'm in a bit of a pickle here. Costco only carries boneless prime grade PR, but they carry bone-in choice. Not sure if i should give up prime to get bone-in, any suggestions?

Get the prime without the bone.  You'll be very happy.  The bone here really doesn't add much if dry aging.

Sea2Ski

CMH88 said:

Well, I'm in a bit of a pickle here. Costco only carries boneless prime grade PR, but they carry bone-in choice. Not sure if i should give up prime to get bone-in, any suggestions?

You could get the bone in choice, debone, and dry age the roast and have a separate rib cook.
Based on the same question to others, once it is dry aged, there is supposedly not a lot of difference between prime and choice once cooked.  Again - that is based on what others have told me.  I have not compared it myself personally.

EggMcMic

I had the same dilemma but based on what I read here from @JustineCaseyFeldown I went with the bone-in Choice cut.

bgebrent

Bone in choice is a fine roast, especially if this is a first dry age event for you.  Once you are comfortable with it, the prime creates, IMO, a better steak/roast.

Hans61

Sliver off the ends after the cook I'm guessing?

KiterTodd

Question, which I'm sure has been asked but I didn't find it...

How come the beef doesn't go bad?  Most meat I leave in the fridge after a few days starts to smell ripe.  If I told my wife I was going to leave a hunk of beef in the fridge for a couple months and then cook it, she'd definitely look at me like I was trying to poison the family.

JustineCaseyFeldown

KiterTodd said:

Question, which I'm sure has been asked but I didn't find it...

How come the beef doesn't go bad?  Most meat I leave in the fridge after a few days starts to smell ripe.  If I told my wife I was going to leave a hunk of beef in the fridge for a couple months and then cook it, she'd definitely look at me like I was trying to poison the family.

Not being a dinkus here, but you need to define what you mean by 'bad'

because no meat you have ever bought could possibly have gone bad in just a few days by my  definitio

realize too that aging (dry or wet) is essentially controlled decomposition

So 'bad'? Only technically

cheese is essentially nothing more than milk gone bad, after all. 

No joke. It isn't possible for meat to go bad in three days if your fridge is in order. 

Does it change color maybe? Smell (slightly) different than the day you bought it. It might. 

Why is that 'bad'?

keep in mind that your meat is already a couple weeks old. It isn't as fresh as prople think. And it can be stored for weeks beyond the sell by date

step one: realize there is literally no such thing as an expiration date for any food

Say that over and over, live it. and then we can move to step two

Hans61

This was tender juicy flavorful delicious glad I took the plunge! Next time bigger roast and more days!

JustineCaseyFeldown

Nice!

Little Steven

JustineCaseyFeldown said:

Nice!

You gonna set up some candles and post a pic?

JustineCaseyFeldown

Little Steven said:

JustineCaseyFeldown said:

Nice!

You gonna set up some candles and post a pic?

Depends. Do you want your face to show in the picture?

KiterTodd

JustineCaseyFeldown said:

KiterTodd said:

Question, which I'm sure has been asked but I didn't find it...

How come the beef doesn't go bad?  Most meat I leave in the fridge after a few days starts to smell ripe.  If I told my wife I was going to leave a hunk of beef in the fridge for a couple months and then cook it, she'd definitely look at me like I was trying to poison the family.

...no meat you have ever bought could possibly have gone bad in just a few days by my  definitio

realize too that aging (dry or wet) is essentially controlled decomposition

...

No joke. It isn't possible for meat to go bad in three days if your fridge is in order. 

...

keep in mind that your meat is already a couple weeks old. It isn't as fresh as prople think. And it can be stored for weeks beyond the sell by date

step one: realize there is literally no such thing as an expiration date for any food

Say that over and over, live it. and then we can move to step two

Hmmmm, well, it obviously works for the dry aged beef, I'm just trying to figure out why.

I have definitely had fresh chicken or pork go bad in an awful way in a working fridge.  I can't say I've noticed it with beef (maybe ground?) but also usually don't forget about a fresh steak like I might a chicken breast.

I hear what you are saying. The FDA says in this chart that just about all fresh cuts should be tossed after 3-4 days.   I know that doesn't apply here, but there is a disconnect that I'm not connecting...

You may have helped explain with the "controlled decomposition" reference, though.  So, the meat needs no particular cleaning or salt rub prior to the aging?

To be clear, I'm not saying aging is a bad thing, I'm trying to understand why it works.    Thanks! 

nolaegghead

Bacteria/mold etc are on the outside of the meat.

In the cryovac, you have plenty of moisture but no oxygen. So you won't get much aerobic bacteriological activity.

In a dry age, the outside quickly dries and forms a scab that inhibits aerobic bacteria. 

If you opened a cyrovac and poured all the liquid into a pan and refrigerated it, you would increase the rate of purification bacteria.

It's a lot more complicated than this, but this is some of the basic info you need to know.

And most importantly, temperature.

JustineCaseyFeldown

People actually dry age pork too. 

And chickens benefit hugely from a week or so 

part of what we call "going bad" is some color and smell that we aren't used to. We've been sold the idea that fresh meat is best, and bright red and odorless

whether that's best for flavor or not is debatable. 

Like nola said, a quick drying exterior helps a lot with controlling bacteria. As does the cold. But you can wet age too. 

But wet aging in cryovac is what works. If you wrap in saran wrap, not so much 

discussion of the how and why is a long one. But it comes down to essentially, control bacteria, and let the meat eat itself. Enzymes in the meat break down flavorless protein into amino acids. Those have flavors. 

And drying condenses. Not only the beef flavor of the aged meat but also the fat, which is the only thing that really contributes flavor to fresh grain fed beef

JustineCaseyFeldown

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. 

blind99

Couldn't you have used a better knife? Geez. 

Jk, beautiful wellingtons.

Btw I used some of your advice to run my tenderloin cook last night. thanks and merry Christmas!

JustineCaseyFeldown

Damn. Looks great!

blind99

Thanks - butcher had put nice thin pieces of fat on top. It got a quick sear to start the crust, then indirect until done. No reverse sear, no sous vide, no controller.... not sure how I avoided making it more complex than needed. 

Focker

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.

Mattman3969

@JustineCaseyFeldown - thanks for all the words of wisdom on the prime rib cook. 

I dryed for 3 days, seasoned with a dab of olive oil, S&P and garlic powder.Cooked at 225ish for 4hrs.  Pulled at 130°, rested 30 mins, FTCd and sliced 1hr later.   Perfect color edge to edge.    No slice pic but this is right before slicing.  


Awesome cook you posted above.  

Hans61

Love oysters, what a great dinner!

JustineCaseyFeldown

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

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

That wooshing sound.....

nolaegghead

HAHAHAHAHAHA

nolaegghead

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.

I dunno about the lobster app, but I agree with you that this is in the running for the post of the year!

Phatchris

225 all the way