I only age choice grade or better. I wet age for the following reasons.
1. better texture
2. better flavor--not as good as dry aging.
3. so I can grind up the meat and have a rare to med-rare hamburger with no worries. *
4. better pricing. When I get 3 or 4 whole pieces I get a discount over the cut meats.
WARNING If you purchase Black Angus Beef look at the coloring. Some of it is already pretty aged. If there is blood water in the package and it is purple looking I don't suggest aging it more that maybe 10-14 days. Believe me you over age a loin and you will only do it one time.
*cough cough* I've have never over aged a loin...are you kidding me? Momma, the babies (our dogs) are going to eat good this week... LOL!
*I use a combo of a whole chuck and either a whole sirloin or whole top or bottom round. About 50-50 percentage.
Ok anyone out here aging there beef?
Olds
I don't age meat myself as I am lucky to have a "family butcher" at the end of my road.
At the local butcher I get to see the carcass hanging and know exactly how long it has hung for. This meat is dry aged, I never buy beef from the supermarket as it is simply not in the same league IMHO.
Depending on carcass fat content and size the hanging can be anywhere between 3 and 6 weeks, occasionally longer. All his meat is locally produced so we even know the farm it has come from! ;)
His ground/minced beef is all done fresh and he will do specific requirements to order, the ground/minced steak makes wonderful burgers and I have no worries cooking them med-rare, even for my two young boys.
I would rather pay for quality, not quantity. :D
I haven't yet, but reading your previous posts have gotten me interested in this. Also JJC got me interesting in thinking about buying my meat for local farmers. I looked into it, and learned that there is a coop of about eight farms, within a 20 mile radius, that raise and butcher their meat locally. One farm is one mile north of me, and another is 3 miles south. The local company that butchers (fabricates) the meat; ages the beef for up to 3 weeks. This fall I will visit a few of these farms, and may purchase my beef and pork from them.
That sounds like a great idea HS, "farmers markets" are becoming very popular on this side of the pond which in effect are coop's..... good quality local produce at an acceptable price.
Suppliers seem to be squeezed so tightly by supermarkets that more and more are looking for alternative outlets to get a fair price for their produce. And the quality seems to be generally much higher too! ;)
I have never aged meat. It just never seems to be around long enough ;D
QuoteI have never aged meat. It just never seems to be around long enough
Planning Son, Planning is all it takes. ;)
Can anyone tell me how I can tell how old the meat is if I were to buy a cryovaced brisket flat from someone like say Sam's Club. I've been wanting to try it but have been a little leary of it if I don't know the approximate age to begin with.
Thanks
Darrell
you should be able to ask the people from Sam's/Costco to pull the product you want to age from the case it came in. The case will have the packaging date on it. Most of them are glad to help if you tell them about your BBQ'ing .
I was thinking the same about packaging date, but prior to the date of package, would there not be any hanging time? Would the meat dept people have a slaughter date?
"Ok anyone out here aging there beef?"
Olds
*************************
I've dry-aged several tenderloins and a top loin roast (my favorite cut, the "strip") in the basement fridge (which isn't opened often or at all during this time) on racks for ~4 days. Enzymes break down tasteless proteins into tasty peptides and amino acids, and tenderize the meat even further. At the end, the meat has lost some weight and developed a firm slick surface (I think I've seen it referred to as a pellicle on this forum). Then, after letting it sit for several hours with a salt and pepper rub and bourbon splashed onto the surface, I sear the meat on all sides, turning every 15-20 seconds so that I caramelize the outside to develop flavor, but don't cook the meat. Finally, it goes in a low and slow oven, say no higher than ~200 degrees, with a probe in the thickest part. I'll sometimes turn it down to 170 or so if it seems to be cooking too fast. When it reaches about 110 degrees internally, I'll turn the oven off and let it come up to 120-125. What you get with this technique is a tasty outside and an inside that, from edge to edge, is uniformly cooked the way you want it (rare to medium-rare by the above technique). I'm still experimenting with this technique but it seems to have worked well so far. If, as others have suggested, the pellicle is particularly good at picking up a smokey flavor, this should be a great way to prepare, say a top loin, for smoking. I'll let you know if and when I try it.
Low and slow is the way to go!
asa
asa,
Very nice. Here is a link about dry aging at home that you might find of interest.
Dry Aging (http://www.askthemeatman.com/is_it_possible_to_dry_age_beef_at_home.htm)
Olds
Nice link Old's. That's a keeper.
Quote from: Oldman on May 17, 2006, 08:15:36 AM
asa,
Very nice. Here is a link about dry aging at home that you might find of interest.
Dry Aging (http://www.askthemeatman.com/is_it_possible_to_dry_age_beef_at_home.htm)
Olds
Yes, I agree..... good one. :)
Quote from: Oldman on May 17, 2006, 08:15:36 AM
asa,
Very nice. Here is a link about dry aging at home that you might find of interest.
Dry Aging (http://www.askthemeatman.com/is_it_possible_to_dry_age_beef_at_home.htm)
Olds
Thanks, Olds. I've just discovered this site in the past 4 days since I've been an active BSer. (You know they must be authnentic and credible because they use and recommend Forschner knives). In addition to that link, the rest of their stuff on aging is also informative. It seems to me that the use of the towels adds a lot of work for not much return. I'm trying to think of what it does. Probably prevents pellicle formation, which is usually trimmed before roasting but which one might want to keep for smoking (if the claim I recall about pellicles and smoking from this forum is correct). I would guess it probably doesn't prevent microbial contamination and is not done for safety issues. But I've only done it for, as I previously said, about 4 days for tenderloin (which did not form pellicles as I recall) and the top loin roast (which did). I think that on one occasion I didn't even trim the latter with no untoward negative effects since I sliced it thin for party food. Another time I believe I did trim it. What is your take on the superiority of a pellicle for absorbing smoke and flavor?
Regards,
asa in ch
QuoteI'm trying to think of what it does.
Moisture removal.
Check out this link University of Minnesota (http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/nutrition/DJ5968.html)
This is a link to a sirlion I aged for 30 days or so:My Aged Sirloin
(http://susan.rminor.com/forums/showthread.php?t=118)
QuoteMoisture removal.
Yes, Olds is right. In a domestic refridgerator there is no air flow to assist moisture removal so the towels assist in this process.
If the meat was hung outside in a cool dry area as in days gone by there would be no need for towels, likewise the airflow is better when dry ageing is done in large walk in (fan assisted) fridges for commercial purposes hence no towels required here either. :)
Quote from: Oldman on May 17, 2006, 11:25:44 PM
Quote
Check out this link University of Minnesota (http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/nutrition/DJ5968.html)
This is a link to a sirlion I aged for 30 days or so:My Aged Sirloin
(http://susan.rminor.com/forums/showthread.php?t=118)
Thanks for the links. The U.Minn. site is interesting. And I remember seeing your photos a while back when I was monitoring the forum, before I joined. The beef looked great. So, there is something to what we did years ago as poor students when we'd go out to the grocery store and buy beef on its day of "expiration" to get it at half price and also to get it partially wet-aged. Which raises the question, how do commercial retailers determine a "date of expiration?" ie., how many days after butchering and packaging does that represent?
I think I'll give wet aging a try. So after 30 days in the package it must be looking pretty raunchy, isn't it? The kind of thing you probably shouldn't let the rest of the family see or smell first, if you want them to eat it, I'd guess. And what did it smell like; ie., how do you know when it's fit to eat and when you've let it go too long?
And as far as the towels are concerned in dry-aging, for a small roast in a low humidity fridge, I find it hard to believe that the extra wicking I might get would be worth the hassle of dealing with all of that washing and changing. But I guess it might be worth it in a higher humidity cold room, on a larger slab or side of meat. Anyway, I'll think about that.
Thanks, as always, for your instructive comments and pointers,
Art
An executive chef has told me this little trick of aging but I have yet to try it myself: soak the meat into a container of cooking oil (makes sure it's covered by the oil) and put the container inside the fridge at not more than 4C (38F). This will reduce the weight loss as water can't escape, which is a major reason why dry aged beef is so epensive
Old's you got me hooked on wet aging when you told me how to do the briskets awhile back. After seeing your pictures it's definately going to be time to try dry aging. Thanks for taking the time to post that. ;)
Well I finally got around to wet aging a couple of briskets. I was first going to wet age one, but never got about to smoking the other until now, so I have two aged briskets going in the smoker.
Both briskets were bought from Sam's on the same day, from the same case. I aged them for 21 days. When I took them out of the cryovac packages, I noticed on both that on the thickness edge the meat was dry, and I had to shave off about a 1/4" from those edges. The seals of both cryovac packages were intact until I cut them open. There was no off odor (though I know that is not always a good sign).
Question: Is the drying of the thick edge of the brisket normal when wet aging?
Well after 24 hours of eating the brisket, I am still alive and no signs of illness. I'll probably do this again just to see if there is any significant change in flavor and/or texture. I am not all that sure if I detected any improvement.
Quote from: Habanero Smoker on July 31, 2006, 02:28:51 PM
Well after 24 hours of eating the brisket, I am still alive and no signs of illness. I'll probably do this again just to see if there is any significant change in flavor and/or texture. I am not all that sure if I detected any improvement.
It's good to hear your still with us Hab! :D I wet age my briskets most of the time now. I did do a side by side of aged verses fresh and did notice a difference. I never had the edge turn dry though. I don't know what to tell you there. Olds would probably have an answer for you. I've got 12 briskets aging for the Festival in Talkeetna this weekend. I guess I better get going on them and the pork butts.
I really want to try pastrami soon but keep running out of time. Maybe fall time.
QuoteQuestion: Is the drying of the thick edge of the brisket normal when wet aging?
I have never ever seen that. Two thoughts. One there was a small hole there. Two and this one I would be more inclined to believe. The meat was allowed to dry out on that edge before is was packed.
Wet aging will not improve the flavor like dry aging. The biggest most important thing it does is allow the meat to break down so it is more tender.
Look at how the fat cap on this aged sirlion sags under its own weight. You could almost cut that steak with a butter knife.
Click To Enlarge(http://www.susanminor.org/Rayeimages/aged-beef/beefwhole-0.jpg) (http://www.susanminor.org/Rayeimages/aged-beef/beefwhole.jpg)
Olds
Quote from: Oldman on August 01, 2006, 04:52:10 PM
QuoteQuestion: Is the drying of the thick edge of the brisket normal when wet aging?
I have never ever seen that. Two thoughts. One there was a small hole there. Two and this one I would be more inclined to believe. The meat was allowed to dry out on that edge before is was packed.
Wet aging will not improve the flavor like dry aging. The biggest most important thing it does is allow the meat to break down so it is more tender.
Look at how the fat cap on this aged sirlion sags under its own weight. You could almost cut that steak with a butter knife.
Click To Enlarge
(http://www.susanminor.org/Rayeimages/aged-beef/beefwhole-0.jpg) (http://www.susanminor.org/Rayeimages/aged-beef/beefwhole.jpg)
Olds
I would have to believe the second scenario. The vacuum seal seemed to be intact. Since both briskets came from the same case, you may be right about them being dried out prior to packaging. The next time I buy any meat that is cryovac I will be checking for that. Yesterday I got a chance to taste the second brisket, and that one does seem to be a lot more tender.