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bryan

2 Day Aged Steak

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I think Cook's Illustrated did a test a few years back and a steak placed on a shallow wire rack in a pan and left uncovered in the fridge for 4 days yielded just as good a result as proper 45-60 day dry aged steaks.  I could be off on the exact numbers here, but something along those lines.  I've done a couple of days with good results, but living in a condo with a small fridge and kids to feed leaves fridge space at a premium.  We are about to move to a house and will have a much larger fridge, and a second fridge, so I plan to run the 4 day thing to ground before the end of summer.

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OK, so here's the koji rice steak aging experiment results.

Here's the setup - a Trader Joe's strip steak (moderately tender cut) and the koji rice.

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Ground up some of the rice and rubbed all over the steak.

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Into the fridge on the rack. Here's what it looked like after one day.

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Things are starting to happen. Here's the result after 2 days.

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The grid marks are from turning the steak over after the first day. 

Rinsed, dried, and simple rub of Trader Joe's Steak rub (coffee based) and some Sucklebuster's SPG (salt, pepper, garlic).

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Onto the KK, direct @ 325F, bourbon barrel chunk, with some corn. 5 minutes on each side. (Note: corn had been on for 30 minutes already)

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Finished on the sear grate. 2 minutes on each side. 

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Plated with some parsley potatoes w/black truffle oil, cooked SV @ 183F for 35 minutes. Some sauteed mushrooms on the side. And, don't forget that corn on the cob!

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So, what was the outcome? Will definitely try this again to see if first impressions hold. Steak was slightly more tender, but not dramatically so. I chose this rub combo, as I have used it on the same steak cut before, so I knew what it should taste like. There was a slightly noticeable taste difference this time - slightly sweet/malty, especially on the fatty outer layer. Not a bad thing, but different. Maybe next time, I'll keep it super simple and just use the SPG alone, to see if I still notice this sweetness. I might also go 3 days in the fridge, to see if that further improves the texture/aging.

All in all, fun with food! My favorite hobby!

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@CeramicChef - corn was tasty, but not the good local stuff yet. Won't start seeing that until late July. Driving out in the countryside yesterday, corn is only about 2 ft tall right now. Remember the old saying - knee high by the 4th of July. 

@bryan - no, it didn't. Hence, thinking it might have needed an extra day. 

@ckreef - I toyed with an actual side-by-side cook, but I've cooked these TJ steaks a few times now and have a pretty good feel for what they taste like and their texture. One of the reasons I chose this steak for the trial, is that they are a bit on the chewy side, but have great flavor. What would be fun to do is a sirloin, cut it half, do one half with the koji for 3 days and second half just plain, dry aged for 3 days. Cooked side-by-side. I've done bigger steaks in the fridge for up to a week and like the way they turn out. Been meaning to try the UMAi bags, but haven't broken down and ordered any yet. So many things to try, so few meals!

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OK, so I did another experiment with the koji rice. Like I said before, this time I did some sirloin (fortunately on sale at the local market). Two similar sized pieces - one rubbed with the koji rice and the other with flaked Kosher salt. Air dried/aged in the fridge for 3 days. Here they are right out of the fridge after the 3rd day. Koji rice on the left and salt rubbed on the right.

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The salt rubbed steak is quite dry/firm on the surface, but pliable. Washed off the koji rice and dried with a paper towel. You'll notice the similarity now in surface textures. Rub mix is Dizzy Pig Raising the Steaks and Cow Lick. I oiled the steaks lightly and then applied the rub.

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Onto the KK on the sear grate. Dome temp at 500F, with a small chunk of mesquite. Toothpick is in the salted one.

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After a couple of flips (about 30 seconds per)

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Done.

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Rested and sliced open. You can see that there's some textural differences between them. Koji on the left, Salted on the right.

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Plated, with a nice ear of corn and a twice baked potato, and some sauteed mushrooms for the steaks.

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OK, for the results. There were very noticeable differences between the two steaks. The salted one was drier (less moist), but had a more intense beefy flavor. A tad salty too. (Note: I didn't rinse it before applying the rub.) The koji steak was softer and had a hint of that malty flavor I picked up the first time. This time I made sure to rinse the steak thoroughly and rubbed it well with a paper towel to remove as much of the rice as I could before applying the rub. Both were very tasty steaks, just different. I leaned toward the salted one, as I liked the more intense beefy flavor. Next time, I'll rinse it before applying the rub and may only go 2 days of air drying in the fridge. 

So, in conclusion, I didn't find that the koji rice rub accelerated the aging process any more than just a good Kosher salt rub. It was a tad moister and a bit softer than the salted one. I think if the salted one had only be dried for 2 days, that they would be more similar in texture. I did prefer the beefier taste of the salted one. 

I still have about 1/2 a bag of the koji rice left, so I might try it again with a tougher cut, like a flank steak. 

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