Dry Aging at Home

[tekobo]

P.S.  A little German gets you a long way.  Or at least to some meat porn on the Schwabishe Hall website: https://shop.besh.de/unsere-spezialitaeten/fuer-den-grill/vom-schwein/P23/C387/O418

 

 

[David Chang]

12 hours ago, tekobo said:

Really interesting @David Chang.  I have never dry aged pork for very long, just a couple of days at the most to dry the skin out.  That said, I do buy pork that has been hung by the farmer for 55 days before it gets to me.  What breed of pork was that?  Do you have access to Middle White pork?  I understand that the Japanese value it too so you might be able to get hold of some where you are.  It is simply the best pork I have ever eaten.  That said, I haven't tried many other breeds since I found Middle White.  I will try aging in the dry ager next time I have a suitable piece.  

this was australian pork. i got it because it was the only chilled pork rack i can find. i think if i cooked it without ageing, it would taste very pedestrian. i've never had middle white pork. i don't think i can get this in hk..

[tekobo]

By coincidence I just received a regular mail shot from my friend Richard Vaughan with a video about his farm and the Middle White pork he supplies.  We have been buying from him for about 20 years now and have visited his farm a couple of times over the years.  One was a birthday treat for me but he wouldn't go for the challenge  of picking out a piglet that was born on my birthday and sending it to me when it was old enough.  In spite of  not indulging me I will still give him 5 stars for customer service and an awesome product.  

 

[tony b]

Very nice video. It's the way true artisans approach everything they do. 

[Tyrus]

I liked the vid also, it's what everyone should do, simply make it better for all.  He certainly didn't fit the sterotype of your common pig farmer, nicely dressed and well spoken with vintage whiskey bottles as a backdrop. All I can say is, he must have really happy guests, well up to check out time that is.

[Basher]

How very British.
Ross on Wye in the beautiful Wye Valley. I’ve played cricket there…..almost Welsh.


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[tekobo]

On 1/26/2023 at 1:38 PM, Tyrus said:

All I can say is, he must have really happy guests, well up to check out time that is.

When I first read this I thought, "but Richard doesn't have any paying guests".  And then I worked out @Tyrus' sense of humour.  Yes, the piggies do have to check out to make it over to my plate.  Tee hee.

13 hours ago, Basher said:

How very British.
Ross on Wye in the beautiful Wye Valley. I’ve played cricket there…..almost Welsh.

I thought, "I've played cricket there", how very Australian to denote a place by the fact that you had played cricket there!

I did a quick search for Pig in my photo album and found that my birthday visit to the farm was in Feb 2012.  Picture of sleepy mama pig to follow.

[Basher]

Tekobo are they on the England side or Wales side of Ross on Wye?


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[tekobo]

@Basher they live on the English side.  Goodrich.  The last time we visited was en route from Wales to home in England.  

[Basher]

I now have my dry aging fridge set up and will post a photo tonight.
Starting with a 5kg beef rib eye.


I have preset the temp between 1 deg C and 3 deg C and 75% humidity.
Would you change this or does it sound about right?



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[Basher]

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[jonj]

Kitchen is looking good, @Basher!

[tekobo]

Great looking kitchen @Basher.  I hope it has been worth the wait.  The meat is sure to be worth the wait.  Looks soooo good.  

12 hours ago, Basher said:

I have preset the temp between 1 deg C and 3 deg C and 75% humidity.
Would you change this or does it sound about right?

The recommended settings on my dry ager for aging meat are Temp 1.5C and 82% humidity.  When I cure sausages I change that to 12-15C and 70% humidity.  

[tekobo]

On 10/10/2022 at 12:00 PM, tekobo said:

Congratulations @David Chang.  What a find!  I hope you got it for a good price.  I checked mine and the UV light does not show when the main light is off.  I would write to the manufacturer and ask how you check on UV light and filters.  I have not done anything with mine since I bought them and would be interested in what you find out.

So, I finally looked at the instructions.  Who does that???  I now know that you can see the UV light (when you have worked out how to turn it on!).  I have replaced both the filter and the light now.  They are meant to last a year.  On my list as a maintenance item now although I will likely run them for more than a year given I don't keep the dry ager on continuously these days.  

[Basher]

I finally get to fill the dry ager tomorrow.
With this big boy.

Then I’ll post some more cooks- 330kg dressed.( that’s shy of 700lbs)
I’m going to need some ideas on creative bbqing.


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[David Chang]

@Basher please post pictures because that is an insane amount of cow to put in a home ager. 

i'm tallow ageing an australian westholme M6/7 brisket. i've never tallow aged so i painted on the tallow on the hanger haha... i have no idea what i'm doing..

Edited May 24, 2023 by David Chang

[tekobo]

23 hours ago, Basher said:

I finally get to fill the dry ager tomorrow.

Wow!  Looking forward to seeing how you fit it all in!  Here is hoping for some very tasty meat, coming out of your ager in a few weeks' time. 

[Basher]

Here are my dry aging learnings over the last 12 months.
Firstly David, yes, 300kg of beef is copious. Mostly shared amongst friends, some cuts frozen, and plenty of large prime cuts went into the dry ager.
I do love the meat out of the dry ager, nuttier, more tender, deeper umami flavour.
However, the outside edge of the meat and does need to be trimmed if aged for longer than 1 month. For prime cuts like eye fillets, this can create too much waste.( the dog doesn’t think so).
The solution I’ve found is to dry age in the fridge for about 2-4 weeks, then vac seal, or coat in tallow for about 3- 6 months.

This eye fillet was dry aged for 5 weeks then vac sealed after being coated with truffle infused olive oil for about 5 months in the fridge.

This is starting the tallow coating after dry aging a whole rump for 2 weeks.

This rump can now live in the dry ager for another 6- 12 months. Unlikely it will last this long as I plan to slice steaks off it when required and I have some spare tallow to patch it up after slicing.


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[Basher]

Here are my dry aging learnings over the last 12 months.
Firstly David, yes, 300kg of beef is copious. Mostly shared amongst friends, some cuts frozen, and plenty of large prime cuts went into the dry ager.
I do love the meat out of the dry ager, nuttier, more tender, deeper umami flavour.
However, the outside edge of the meat and does need to be trimmed if aged for longer than 1 month. For prime cuts like eye fillets, this can create too much waste.( the dog doesn’t think so).
The solution I’ve found is to dry age in the fridge for about 2-4 weeks, then vac seal, or coat in tallow for about 3- 6 months.

This eye fillet was dry aged for 5 weeks then vac sealed after being coated with truffle infused olive oil for about 5 months in the fridge.

This is starting the tallow coating after dry aging a whole rump for 2 weeks.

This rump can now live in the dry ager for another 6- 12 months. Unlikely it will last this long as I plan to slice steaks off it when required and I have some spare tallow to patch it up after slicing.


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[Basher]

Here are my dry aging learnings over the last 12 months.
Firstly David, yes, 300kg of beef is copious. Mostly shared amongst friends, some cuts frozen, and plenty of large prime cuts went into the dry ager.
I do love the meat out of the dry ager, nuttier, more tender, deeper umami flavour.
However, the outside edge of the meat and does need to be trimmed if aged for longer than 1 month. For prime cuts like eye fillets, this can create too much waste.( the dog doesn’t think so).
The solution I’ve found is to dry age in the fridge for about 2-4 weeks, then vac seal, or coat in tallow for about 3- 6 months.

This eye fillet was dry aged for 5 weeks then vac sealed after being coated with truffle infused olive oil for about 5 months in the fridge.

This is starting the tallow coating after dry aging a whole rump for 2 weeks.

This rump can now live in the dry ager for another 6- 12 months. Unlikely it will last this long as I plan to slice steaks off it when required and I have some spare tallow to patch it up after slicing.


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