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Stike's comments on dry aging?

Hoss's BBQ
Hoss's BBQ Posts: 435
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
I spoke with AZRP this past weekend and he mentioned that stike had posted about not using the dry aging bags. Does anyone know when this thread was started. I have been looking just finding alot about the dry age bags thanks Hoss
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Comments

  • Bobby-Q
    Bobby-Q Posts: 1,994
    The bags are good. If you have the humidity set to the wrong settings in your fridge then spoilage or mold is an issue. The bags are like Gore Tex they let moisture out but not air in so it makes for the perfect humidy level.

    Stike can be afraid of new technology. :)

    Actually I think his fridge has a pretty low humidy level because he has dried several pieces of meat with great results.

    I've used the bags for a few prime ribs that I have been testing for a class this December featuring Dry aged prime rib. I have one going now that is on the low end of choice to see how it works out.
  • Little Chef
    Little Chef Posts: 4,725
    Hoss...I have to admit and be honest, I have not done these at home....but from a professional view, I think the bag is a far safer way to go! Just my two cents!!! :whistle: Dry aging in a professional environment includes anti-bacterial lights and a temp controlled environment....For home applications, Please...use the bag. ;) There have been some wonderful results shown!! :)
  • BobS
    BobS Posts: 2,485
    I have seen some good results, but it seems that some people are still fighting bags a bit.

    What I mean is: Is there a proven way to use something like a food saver or do you have to buy their sealing machine too?

    I am not sure if there is more than one brand of bag and sealer, but I seem to recall that some of the sealing machines were not that good quality.

    I guess what I am looking for is a product/brand recommendation.

    TIA
  • HungryMan
    HungryMan Posts: 3,470
    I used the dryage bags and liked it. But Stike and every restaurant I have seen, does not.
  • Big'un
    Big'un Posts: 5,909
    I had great luck withthe bags. They did whatthey said they would do. I pushed it aging to 6 weeks on the meat below and it was awesome. I used a primal I bought for $3.99/lb.

    DSCI0001-10.jpg

    DSCI0006-25.jpg

    DSCI0010-20.jpg

    DSCI0011-16.jpg
  • HungryMan
    HungryMan Posts: 3,470
    Different bags.
  • Woodbutcher
    Woodbutcher Posts: 1,017
    Hey Todd - Where can I purchase the dry aging bag?
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,668
    what i see with the dry bag posts is that the meat looks a lot wetter than when done with nothing. i have done it just in the fridge with nothing and the meat is a different color at 14 days and posts with the bag at 21 days the meat still looks alot wetter ansd darker. i dont see a problem using them, it probably adds a sense of security, now if its really safer or not, i dont know, people been doing it along time before the bags. wheres stike been, havent seen any posts from him in awhile, maybe the last experiment with dryaging didnt work out for him :whistle:
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • WessB
    WessB Posts: 6,937
    Are any of you guys that are trying these things suckin em down with a regular foodsaver like most of us already own???? or did you also buy their vacuum unit....I might be willing to give these a try..but if I have to buy the vacuum machine just to use the bags that aint gonna happen...
  • i have been dry aging primals for many years...i wrap the meat in old clean towels and or sheets and place it on a cooling rack so air can circulate around.... when i see the cloth becomes soggy i change the material... i wash and dry the "rags" and reuse em.... i generally go for three weeks before cutting it up...it seems to work well for me....ray
  • FrankC
    FrankC Posts: 416
    WessB wrote:
    Are any of you guys that are trying these things suckin em down with a regular foodsaver like most of us already own???? or did you also buy their vacuum unit....I might be willing to give these a try..but if I have to buy the vacuum machine just to use the bags that aint gonna happen...

    I'm with Wess on this one. I want to try the dry bag, but don't want to shell out another $100 or so on their sealer.

    Has anyone here used the dry bag with an ordinary Foodsaver sealer?

    fc
  • Firetruck
    Firetruck Posts: 2,679
    It's just the principle of already having a machine that sucks the air out and seals the bag that prevents me from buying another one. That's why I've got a big naked hunk of meat in the fridge just covered with a towel. :blush:

    However, if I screw up a $100 piece of meat, :pinch: I'll have to rethink this thing.
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,668
    thats what ive done for the first couple days with some cheese cloth and a towel, then after the wetness seemed to be disapearing didnt use the towels or cloth anymore. i think stike just puts in the fridge without anything to get better air circulation. seems to me the bags would actually slow the dry aging process because now the air circulation is stopped.
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • Firetruck
    Firetruck Posts: 2,679
    They claim there is about 18% loss of liquid and they claim that the bag allows the moisture out. I asked someone just last week about it and they said there was no blood or anything in the bag or in the fridge. So I guess it works. :huh:
  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 25,880
    Count me in the Drybag fan club! Here's my first which was a 12# New York strip loin sub primal that I aged for 21 days. BTW the weight loss was 18%.
    IMG_0659.jpg

    Here it is cut into 1.5" steaks. Kinda purdy, huh?
    They were delicious!
    IMG_0663.jpg

    As for where to buy here's the site. If you want to ask questions a lady there named Thea will be very helpful.
    http://www.drybagsteak.com/

    As for the special vacuum they recommend it has a snorkel feature which snaps out of the way when it seals - a trick that won't work with a Food Saver. OTOH I feel the sealer is just another piece of gear I own now and it seals all sorts of plastic not just the expensive Food Saver bags which must be used.
    Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,668
    the big question for me is if its needed, for the price of everything i could buy a small second fridge. i dont dryage often in my fridge because the door is opening too often, with a second fridge i would be good to go
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 25,880
    BTW at stike's recommendation I did not trim the dark edges, only some of the excess fat. That dark is mellow and becomes part of the seared bark and is tasty. Granted if it had mold I would trim.

    BTW I have a 14# rib eye sub primal now at the 9 day mark and I'm planning to go a full 28 days. Here it is lurking at the rear of my frig like a sci/fi picture!
    IMG_0686.jpg
    Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
  • DrZaius
    DrZaius Posts: 1,481
    Whole Foods, if you have one near you, Dry ages their beef in a bag system similar if not the same as drybags. If it works for them then it works for me.
    This is the greatest signature EVAR!
  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 25,880
    It probably is the same Drybags as they have been selling Drybags commercially to stores for some time.
    Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
  • do they make bags for chicken, bobby? hahaha

    we will be joking about that til we're both old men. hahaha

    as for beef... the home fridge can be too dry.. it's basically a cold dehydrator (except the meat drawer). the plus that i think might come from the bags is that it actually slows drying, allowing the meat to age longer before becoming overly dry. i did a strip loin sub-primal for about 21 days (no bag), and that's as long as i'd go without humidity. for a ribeye, 28 days+ is fine.

    some commercial agers go with very high humidity, believe it or not, to extend aging out to 45 days or more (fidel was telling me about a 70 day steak). the home ager can get by with much less time, because after about 28 days, you are pretty much just talking bragging rights.

    drying quickly in a home fridge has its advantages, because the pellicle and dry surface protect against bacteria and spoilage. mold's not an issue really. if it occurs, it can be scraped off, unless it's the even coat of furry white, that's bad. that also rarely ever happens...

    i have been talking to RRP offline and am interested in his results. though i think it would do better to do a side by side. one in the bag, one next to it, in the air.

    i think the bag may slow drying, which would allow you to go longer before the meat dried too much. that's why rib eyes do better for the home ager, because they have less surface area relative to volume than say the strip loin. that's flat and wide, and will get thinner almost by HALF after three weeks or so. sometimes there can be too much drying. if you read the article about beef tatsing, you'll see there's a range of humidity that is used commercially. everyone has their own "feel" for it i guess.

    most of us, chefs excepted :), may not notice a difference in aging beyond 21 days. 21 days is manageable for the home ager. but even a week will produce great benefits for something like a roast.

    i don't deny the probable positives of the bag, but i would maintain that anyone thinking they do anything for you bacterially is using the concept of a safely-ensconced piece of meat as a psychological crutch.

    if you left the meat in the cryo, you'd be far safer than taking it out, handling it, and putting it in a bag. the bag isn't going to stop the bacteria.no more than rewrapping in plastic wrap does. that's unless the bags have been treated with anti-bacterials, which i don't know.

    but one of the very reasons things are dry aged (outside a bag) is because leaving it in the dry and very cold (32-34) air is one of the safest ways to assure bacteria don't get to mix and mingle. the drying creates a pellicle, and the dry surface and cold temps are hostile to bacteria.

    anyway...

    i don't make money whether folks age with or without the bags. i just don't understand the logic of not trying simple home dry aging first. actually, first thing to do is pony up $50 for a dry aged steak to see whether you like it in the first place. :)

    there are folks who have stood on the sidelines for the past three years when talk of dry aging has come up, but now that there's a special vacuum sealer and $5 bag available, they feel safe to try it. when asked WHY it's safer, the answer is invariably "i dunno. it just makes me more comfortable". not a good answer if you don't understand why it can be ok to go 21 days or more in the fridge with meat.
    special training for this.

    i'm glad everyone seems so interested, i just shake my head because we've been talking about aging for years, and nobody has been doing it, 'cept CWM. he's not dead yet. neither am I. despite the wishes of a few people i;m sure...

    if the only difference between why folks haven't been aging and why they want to know is because they can put the meat in a bag, but don't know why the bag is better 9or isn't), then i have to surmise they are doing it just to feel better about leaving meat in their fridge for three weeks. hahaha

    and i'm simply trying to say, try it first without the bag. it is safe when done safely, after all. just as safe as in the bag, actually. the bag isn't there for food safety.
  • no towels... never towels.
    pellicle needs to form early. towels keep the surface of the meat wet lnger, and any bacteria would love it there.

    no one (commercially) uses towles. it's an internet phenomenon started by one post from 1996.
  • HungryMan
    HungryMan Posts: 3,470
    The bags are different. They don't have the bumps that the regular bags have. They are smooth and it will not suck the air out. I used the technique they show on their site. Used the hose from the can sealer of the vac and sealed the bag with a heat strip sealer. In other words, you cant use the traditional vac sealer.
  • HungryMan
    HungryMan Posts: 3,470
    It worked for me and I like the bags. But like Stike says, I don't know why it is different than no bag.
  • Firetruck
    Firetruck Posts: 2,679
    Dang Stike, do you have a pornographic, uh :huh: , photogenic, uh :huh: , photographic memory :laugh: ? I can't remember what I read yesterday much less something in '96.

    Thanks for the info. I feel better about what I'm doing with my meat.
  • For individual thick cut steaks 2-7 days of "drying" (I hesitate to call it dry aging) does a lot to improve the flavor & texture and is a lot simpler.
  • vidalia1
    vidalia1 Posts: 7,092
    Al,

    What brand dry age bag did you use? Thanks
  • WessB
    WessB Posts: 6,937
    Sent you an e mail to your gmail earlier..did ya get it
  • WL,

    Did you just leave the individual steaks out in the open in the frig, or cover they with anything? Sounds like the way I would like to do them since we don't eat steaks on a frequent basis....