ThreeDJ16 Posted December 3, 2006 Report Share Posted December 3, 2006 Just a tip for a happy medium (literally) from someone who likes a medium steak, but the wife likes well done. Someone a long time ago gave me this tip on aging beef from a flavor point of view. And then I found out it helps in other ways as I end up with a medium steak, that is not bloody in the least, so my wife will eat it too. Anyway, you take the steaks and lay them on a bed of paper towels, several layers thick and place this all in a sealed container in the fridge (must be sealed or the blood will dry out on the surface and stop the process). Every day, you change the paper towels, carefully noting the side the steak were laying so you can place them back the same way. After 3-4 days the steak will be thoroughly drained of all the blood and ready to marinade. But now instead of needing a overnight marinade, you only need about an hour as the steak will suck up the marinade. You will be able to cook it medium, taste medium and look more like med-well as there is no blood. It also give the steak a better flavor getting all the blood out before it is cooked. I later found it works great for thick pork chops too; they just do not need nearly as long - usually a day will do. -=Jasen=- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulR Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 Hi Deej, I'll try this since my wife like her steaks medium but really doesn't like any blood.. I on the under hand like my steak still mooing! Doesn't the flavor of the meat change by keeping it in the fridge for an additional 3-4 days? I usually buy my steaks from the butcher and eat it the same day? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemonkey Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 DJ- how is this different from bying cut steaks from the store, which have likely been sitting on one of those adsobent pads for a couple of days already. Are you saying to let them sit a few more days? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmer John Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 Dry Aging What DJ is doing, in effect, is dry aging the product. You finest steak houses have employed this type of aging for eons. Cryovac has changed the way we get product but dry aging gives us some flavor back. We will buy a Prime Rib, wrap it in a "flour Sack" (clean cotton) and put in the fridge. Daily we change the sack for a clean one and do this for up to 7 days. You can loose up to 10% of the weight of the meat but the flavors are more concentrated. Sometimes you may have to trim off a small piece of dried meat but it is fun experimenting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeDJ16 Posted January 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 DJ- how is this different from bying cut steaks from the store, which have likely been sitting on one of those adsobent pads for a couple of days already. Are you saying to let them sit a few more days? Those absorbent pads only get a small amount of the blood out. Not sure how they are designed, but it is like they do not pull any of it out, only absorb the loose blood in the packaging. The paper towel pulls it out. It usually takes 3 more days for a 1 1/2 steak. Also, I change the paper towels everyday, never flipping the steak (as then the blood would have to travel back through to the other side). -=Jasen=- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeDJ16 Posted January 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 Re: Dry Aging What DJ is doing' date=' in effect, is dry aging the product. You finest steak houses have employed this type of aging for eons. Cryovac has changed the way we get product but dry aging gives us some flavor back. We will buy a Prime Rib, wrap it in a "flour Sack" (clean cotton) and put in the fridge. Daily we change the sack for a clean one and do this for up to 7 days. You can loose up to 10% of the weight of the meat but the flavors are more concentrated. Sometimes you may have to trim off a small piece of dried meat but it is fun experimenting![/quote'] Yup, dry aging (with a bit of a twist). This is so funny this came up today. I have steaks in my frig right now aging. I will go take some pics in a few. Today will be the second towel change, I wish I had known so I could take a pic of the towels yesterday - they were drenched. Now, one big difference for me verses Farmer John (dry aging). He is leaving his exposed to air which slows the draining process and causes some of those dried pieces he is referring too. When you leave it exposed to air, the blood will dry on the outside and form a crust (maybe that cotton helps keep that down some). I place mine in a Tupperware container to keep the air movement / exposure to a minimum to prevent excess drying or the blood from crusting on the surface. A huge benefit to this draining, once it is finished, your marinade will literally suck back into the steak. You will be amazed what one hour (you will not need longer) of marinading will do. -=Jasen=- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeDJ16 Posted January 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 Hi Deej, I'll try this since my wife like her steaks medium but really doesn't like any blood.. I on the under hand like my steak still mooing! Doesn't the flavor of the meat change by keeping it in the fridge for an additional 3-4 days? I usually buy my steaks from the butcher and eat it the same day? Yes it changes the flavor of the meat. I think the steak tastes much better without the blood in it. I mean the slaughter houses drain them to what is an economical standard - basically enough so the customer will not complain, but not so long it is costing them. While I realize it is not gamy tasting like the blood of a deer, it still is not generally a desired taste, which is why everyone makes an attempt to get rid of it. I just take the extra time to go a little beyond; I mean why not with the price of a good steak now - jeez - $15 for two rib-eye (and I caught these on sale - but they were the bone-in for half price). -=Jasen=- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeDJ16 Posted January 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 Steak Pics! Here are some pics of the steaks I have draining. This is day 3 and the second set of paper towels, so there is much less blood in them. Trust me, yesterdays towels were completely soaked through. Also notice, they are still very pink and colorful, not brown or dark. This is due to keeping them closed up in the Tupperware container (as close to the size of the steaks as possible - this container is actually a marinade container my Mom gave me about 15 years ago or better). Mmm, they are looking good and tender already. I think I will give them one more day and go with the Mojo sauce for supper tomorrow night. I will toss them in the vacuum marinader even though it is not necessary after the draining. -=Jasen=- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulR Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 Love the photo's and I'm really picking up some good tips here!!! Now if only I had a KK to cook them on (not yet) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemonkey Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 I see what you mean with the extra absorbancy of the towels. I have oft considered buying a whole loin and trying to dry age it, but I dont have the heart to dry age for 3 weeks or more, trim it and do it right (obsessive about spoilage). So I treat myself on occasion, and pay the +/- $20 pound for nice dry aged steaks from whole foods or similar. Figure I better leave the aging to people who allegedly know what they are doing, and trust the final product. But man, I would NEVER marinate one of those! Why mask all of the great flavor of a dry aged steak with a marinade? I just hit them with light coat of rosemary olive oil, coarse salt and fresh peppercorns before they hit the grill. I might be able to trust 3 days in the fridge, so I will give your technique a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeDJ16 Posted January 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2007 But man, I would NEVER marinate one of those! Why mask all of the great flavor of a dry aged steak with a marinade? I just hit them with light coat of rosemary olive oil, coarse salt and fresh peppercorns before they hit the grill. I might be able to trust 3 days in the fridge, so I will give your technique a try. Sounds pretty close to a marinade to me - hehe? I use Italian dressing sometimes (olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, oregano, garlic) - lightly cover and place in the vacuum marinader for an hour or less while getting the grill ready and drinking the beer! Again though, I do not let mine sit exposed to air flow, nor do I go more than a few days. They will not drain as fast when the blood is allowed to dry on the outside. As you can tell from my pics, the steaks are still tender, soft and not dried out on the exterior. One other note, if you have a vacuum marinder large enough to house the steaks flat with the paper towels, this would drain them even faster (I have to stack them in mine - which is why I just use the Tupperware). -=Jasen=- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemonkey Posted January 26, 2007 Report Share Posted January 26, 2007 Far from a marinade, I just brush it with enough oil for the S/P to stick! I have a foodsaver, but no Marinator bin. I have the 3 canisters that came with the unit, and use those for marinating things that ought to be marinated. There is a foodsaver group on Yahoo, and I while reading through their archived messages I found some clever adaptations and uses for your foodsaver. They showed a technique that should allow you to vaccuum seal your tupperware container. If you have the FS jar sealer, you can make a small hole in the lib of your tupperware using an ice pick or similar. This is a similat to how a pump and seal operates. Then you lay a piece of electrical tape over the hole (dont press into place). Hold the mouth of the jar sealer over the opening and pump the air out. When you remove the jar sealer, the vacuum in the container will suck the tape tight to the hole, and make a seal. There had a bunch of good ideas, such as how to seal jars by just placing them in a FS bag to draw the air out, without sealing the bag (if you didnt have a jar sealer). Sealing original containers that items shipped in, etc. If you want to have a look, there are 2 groups I have seen, a foodsaver and a foodsaver Plus. I was looking at the former, and have not had time to review the latter. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FoodSaver/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FoodSaverPlus/messages Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curly Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 Dry Aged primer Stike from BGE forum recently posted this on his dry aging experiences. http://www.biggreenegg.com/wwwboard/messages/346658.shtml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemonkey Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 I gave this a try on some rib eyes I picked up on Sunday afternoon. It is now Thursday night- time to cook 'em! I placed them on a double layer of paper towels Sunday evening and changed the towels each morning. Four sets of paper towels total. The paper towels were a bit big for the container, so they were doubled over again on the sides. They were all pretty wet and pink, each time I changed them. I have to admit, when I was changing the towels this morning, the steaks did have the same look and feel of the truly dry aged steaks I have cooked. I will edit this with pics shortly, and post my review of the final test - TASTE! Ok, here are the pics of the meat, and todays towel. You can see how the meat surface is dry. Here is the finished product. Incredibly juicy from all that marbling: Made one guy happy, and made the other scream for a bite! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky Posted May 26, 2009 Report Share Posted May 26, 2009 Do you guys think that aging steaks like this in tupperware for 8 days is too long? I got some rib-eyes in the fridge since Saturday and I am planning to grill them on Sunday. Now I'm starting to second guess myself. They are 1.5 in. thick and I would HATE to ruin them. What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryan Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 Drunk J, This system sure does work. Thanks for the reminder. My ref for this is http://www.goodcooking.com/steak/dry_aging.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primeats Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 Just to be clear, their is no blood left in the steaks, these are the natural juices of the muscle tissuethat will leak out of the cell walls as the tissue contracts. You would be hard pressed to find many red corpuscles in those juices. By the way, we still dry age most everything in my shop. As far as wet aging, in the cryo-vac, I don't even consider that aging. In fact I'm not sure the ezymatic action even works in a vacuum. When I do get things in the cryo vac, I usually remove them quickly and let them hang for a couple weeks, especially cuts with the bone. the info about dry aging on the previous post is very true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
