Dry Aging at Home

[tekobo]

Yesterday was Day 198.  Here is the whole sirloin rack when it arrived back in September of last year. 

I coated three ribs in fat and the rack has been sitting at the bottom of my dry ager for months.  I invited friends round last night.  The fore rib, one shelf up, was the back up in case the long aging experiment had gone wrong.  The fore rib had only been in for about 50 days.  

Sense of trepidation.  I thought I could see some dark mould underneath the fat on the end face of the meat. 

I need not have worried. It was an amazing revelation to see such clean, beautiful meat on the inside.

We did have to trim off the ends.

Cooking pictures to make you drool. No plated pictures.  We were too busy eating.  Salad, sweet potato fries and bearnaise made for a lovely meal.  The meat wasn't too funky, just a slight blue cheese flavour. Very very enjoyable.  

 

[MacKenzie]

198 days, amazing and it certainly sounds delicious.   

[Troble]

@tekoboi have purposefully resisted this thread until now because I did not want another rabbit hole of gadgets that  I “had to have”. Finally read the entire thread. WOW! Thank you for all the info. I’ve never even ordered a dry aged steak before so I will likely pick one up at my butcher to taste the difference but once again you have taken things to the next level. Well done!

Edited April 10, 2021 by Troble

[jonj]

... and well aged!

[Basher]

Nicely done Tekobo.
You remain the only person I know with a hacksaw as part of their kitchen utensils.


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[Syzygies]

4 hours ago, Basher said:

You remain the only person I know with a hacksaw as part of their kitchen utensils.

Ha! I'd like to think tekobo and I are kindred spirits, though my conversation with Laurie about getting my own dry ager didn't go so well. But I do have a food hacksaw!

[MacKenzie]

I'd like to join this group, seems they like to saw up body parts.   

[Bruine]

Haven’t been able to convince my wife yet to get a meat ager or Macgiver version of it. So all I do is aging in Umai dry bag. Just started a full loin of boneless sirloin. Will try to wait 60 to 90 days. Second attempt. First one was good.


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[tekobo]

The good news for me is that I am The wife and so didn't have to seek a wife's permission in order to get a dry ager.  I did have to give up a standing freezer to make room for the dry ager but that was The Husband's only condition of purchase.  Maybe you guys will need to figure out something you can "give up" in exchange for getting an ager.  I tell you, it is worth it!  Now that the long aging piece of beef is out of the ager I might change the temp and humidity to cure some salamis for a few weeks.  

@S and @M - glad to count you as members of the hacksaw club.  Absolutely essential for meat butchery and it is all about preserving your quality knives.  Arrive at a bit of bone?  Swap out for a saw so as not to damage your knife.  Others will catch up to this eventually.  🤪

[Bruine]

The good news for me is that I am The wife and so didn't have to seek a wife's permission in order to get a dry ager.  I did have to give up a standing freezer to make room for the dry ager but that was The Husband's only condition of purchase.  Maybe you guys will need to figure out something you can "give up" in exchange for getting an ager.  I tell you, it is worth it!  Now that the long aging piece of beef is out of the ager I might change the temp and humidity to cure some salamis for a few weeks.  
@S and @M - glad to count you as members of the hacksaw club.  Absolutely essential for meat butchery and it is all about preserving your quality knives.  Arrive at a bit of bone?  Swap out for a saw so as not to damage your knife.  Others will catch up to this eventually.  

Would need to let’s you talk to my wife! Unfortunately, I used a lot or my bartering points lately. Will need to wait a bit


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[Syzygies]

2 hours ago, tekobo said:

The good news for me is that I am The wife and so didn't have to seek a wife's permission in order to get a dry ager.

There's a great SF Bay Area butcher (Golden Gate Meat Company) that will dry age for us on request. I've tried dry aging brisket before traditional low & slow. Too far and one can eat the brisket with a spoon, but a few days is wonderful.

What I'd use a dry ager for would be sausage. I have perhaps the largest Kaffir lime tree of any of Kasma Loha-unchit's students, and periodically I share leaves and limes. Perhaps the best sausage I've ever tasted was a Thai-inflected sausage offered me in gratitude by one of her students. I can't buy sausage like that.

[jeffshoaf]

My first bone-in dry age is a short loin that's in the SteakAger now; the meat market where I got it will slice it for free when it's ready. Some folks on the SteakAger FaceBook page are using a Sawz-all with a stainless steel blade - I bought a Dewalt with a battery operated drill and their version of a Sawz-all a while back so I may try this since my back issues may it painful and numbing to do much hack saw work.

[tekobo]

5 hours ago, Syzygies said:

What I'd use a dry ager for would be sausage. I have perhaps the largest Kaffir lime tree of any of Kasma Loha-unchit's students, and periodically I share leaves and limes. Perhaps the best sausage I've ever tasted was a Thai-inflected sausage offered me in gratitude by one of her students. I can't buy sausage like that.

Oooh.  I think I would be interested in your classmate’s Thai sausage.  I have some kaffir lime leaves too although my plant has never produced fruit and is less than 4’ tall.

Here our favourite sausages are very simple.  Pork and sage wins hands down for fresh sausage and I like to make a semi cured sausage that is half way between fresh sausage and fully cured salami.  Will hunt out the recipe.  We tasted it once in a bar in italy and could not find it to buy.  That’s the sort of thing that is worth making, in my opinion.  

[tekobo]

So, here is the recipe that I used to make crumbly semi cured sausage: https://www.thespruceeats.com/finocchiona-tuscan-fennel-salami-2018497.  Well, it was a combination of that recipe and this method: https://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?t=7265 with curing lasting about 4 weeks instead of 4 months.  A different texture and taste experience.  

[Basher]

So now I know 3 people with hacksaws in their kitchen!...... I shouldn’t be surprised.
I’m feeling the pressure to join this privileged club.
Especially after finding this delivered onto my front verandah today.



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[tekobo]

Woo hoo!  I just looked up the Stag @Basher. Great choice.  Are you able to set it up now or do you have to wait for some reno to be completed?

[Basher]

I have both options Tekobo. There is a 10m hose that I can run to a garden tap if I want to set it up now. The Reno starts in July.
I’m a Batchelor this week and although this has been discussed with family, agreement/ approval has not obtained.
Forgiveness or divorce are a certainty from here.
Maybe I send this photo to my wife while she is enjoying Noosa?

In saying that, the cabinet looks pretty slick in person- better than this photo suggests.


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[tekobo]

Really beautiful piece of kit @Basher.  Good luck with your mission to convince your wife that you were fine to go shopping without the final OK from her. I like the words on your wall.  Prepare for a bit of "we do REALLY LOUD".

[Basher]

Really beautiful piece of kit [mention=3378]Basher[/mention].  Good luck with your mission to convince your wife that you were fine to go shopping without the final OK from her. I like the words on your wall.  Prepare for a bit of "we do REALLY LOUD".

Haha Tekobo, I was reading the rest of that- forgive, love, hug, etc. Not the really loud, but you may be right........
no, I’ll find a place for the dry aging cabinet.
A few good steaks later and the fun will come through.


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[tony b]

Oh, you were talking about the Cleaver showing up on the veranda - I thought you were talking about the pooch! 😄