Firemonkey Posted May 11, 2012 Report Posted May 11, 2012 Since my last post about dry aging beef, I have done 2 other strip loin slabs, without pictures or paying attention to weights. This time, I decided to try and figure out exactly how much of my initial purchase I was losing in the process. So here is what I found with this batch: Starting weight: 13.53 Lbs The end cuts of this slab were not straight, and I have found that while trimming the ends, you will lose any of the pieces that stuck out beyond the lowest point. Thus, I decided to lightly trim the slab in order to have as much of an even surface as possible on the ends. I figured that this would help reduce waste and make it easier to trim. I just shaved the trimmings as thin as possible, and they made a great cheese-steak sub for my teenager. Trim before dry aging: 10.1 oz This slab went into the fridge for 17 days. When I pulled it out, I found that since it has been MUCH hotter here in FL lately, and the fridge I use for aging is in my garage, I had more of a hard skin than I had on previous slabs. I think this is due to the fridge having to run more, and the increased airflow drying the surface more. Trim: 2 LB 3.5 OZ Now, I was fairly aggressive with the trimming, rather than trying to surgically remove only what was necessary. I opted for speed, since it was dinner time and I wanted to eat some of these I also removed more of the exterior fat than most may, as my wife wont eat it (and wants it removed before cooking) and I probably shouldnt be eating it. But I did leave a fair amount on there. What I ended up with are some mighty fine steaks, weighing in at 8 Lbs 1 Oz. There was some question about the thickness of the steaks last time I posted a similar picture, so I included a cork from my dinner beverage for scale. So the numbers are in: (Pounds - ounces) start: 13 - 8 Total of all meat (pre aged trim included): 10 - 14.6 Loss to moisture: 2 - 9.4 Trim loss: 2 - 3.5 Total loss 4 - 12.9 $6.39/LB = roughly $30.35 in loss Final price for Strip steaks, dry aged at home: Roughly $10/lb. (it works out to $9.88 if I include the initial trimming as dry aged meat, $10.80 if I consider it a loss) So there it is...yes, there is significant loss in the aging process. But $10 is still a bunch less than the $20-$25/LB price from whole foods, which is the only place I know of that sells dry aged steaks, and its a 40 minute drive to get there. I will certainly keep dry aging here, and besides, there it makes me smile when I open my fridge and see something like this in there:
DennisLinkletter Posted May 12, 2012 Report Posted May 12, 2012 Re: Dry aging beef - by the numbers Great post,.. I'm going to invest in a small fridge for this purpose.
primeats Posted May 14, 2012 Report Posted May 14, 2012 Re: Dry aging beef - by the numbers Was that a boneless strip loin? It almost looked as if there were trimmings from the vertebrae on the bottom of the plate. Nice work BTW. I'm sure the steaks were wonderful!
Firemonkey Posted May 16, 2012 Author Report Posted May 16, 2012 Re: Dry aging beef - by the numbers Yep. Boneless strip loin. You're probably seeing the lines from where the meat sat on a wire rack while drying.
