Thank you! We don't typically open the fridge even once a day, but that's because it's a dedicated fridge for aging, curing & brining. No need to go in there all the time.
Thank you! Opening the fridge door a few times a day is not a problem. Fridges are designed to take moisture out of the air any way. The sea salt assisted method increases the effectiveness of that process.
Yes to both. 1) Keep in mind that without the fat cap the total moisture content of the beef will be reduced more quickly. 2) The less marbling, the more gamey the flavor will be if the the beef is grass-fed. This will be especially true if you extend aging times beyond 14-21 days. The aging process will still provide a more tender beef as a result, but the amount of "shrinkage" will increase and the flavor profile will be affected.
If you have an old fridge like me, you might want to put a small container of water at the bottom next to your beef and if it freezes, adjust the temperture because the dry aging process stops at freezing temps. I learned that the hard way.
Cesar that is absolutely correct! Aside for the enzymatic breakdown, autoxidation of the oleate (breakdown of the fat) is necessary to produce really tasty beef. The more lean the beef, the more difficult it is to produce a palatable product.
Thanks for the love! Yes, this will work on ANY beef. More marbling = better tasting, so keep that in mind. Also grass fed should not be aged as long as grain fed. Higher ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) content in grass fed beef means gamier flavor if you age for longer than 14-21 days depending on the grasses fed on.
Thank you! We sourced the spray coating online, but have since found that the coating does not adhere well to the stainless steel racks that we are sourcing. None of our kits have included the coated racks as a result of this finding. We sourced the stainless steel racks because they will hold up well to the salt exposure. Even titanium will eventually oxidize with exposure to salt, so expect some eventual oxidation of the stainless.
"Go Lb Salt." I like it. This was actually a great video and made much more sense than others I've viewed. It really is a very cool process. My guess is that rib roast you used was somewhere north of $100, so I would have been nervous for the outcome. The difference between a high quality cut of meat from the butcher and a high quality cut of meat that's been dry aged really is significant and I look forward to trying this myself. Thanks for the vid!
Thanks! I did read on, and my reply here had the answer in a different format. Rock salt has the ability to dehumidify, and so far I can observe the physical change in weight of the steaks. Thanks again for your reply.
1. We use a specially milled himalayan pink sea salt that has a specific surface to mass ratio. This is important because it affects how the salt micro-aerosolizes as it absorbs moisture from the air. 2. Always carve the rind before cooking. It can be saved to be reconstituted later for aus ju or beef stock.
every time i buy a ribeye roast, i get it deboned, then have the bone tied back on, i unwrap it, rub it with olive oil, add a but of salt & pepper, & set it in the fridge , loosely covered with butcher paper or wax paper , & leave them for about 5 or 6 days. they never grow mold, or anything. i dont use any fancy dead sea scroll salt, or anything, i just rest it on a rack, in a non stick roast pan. comes out great every time.
if it is a large walk-in cooler and the relative humidity is too high, the salt is likely absorbing way more moisture than intended. we do use a large walk-in cooler at the facility where we teach dry aging classes, but we are in Phoenix and the RH is much lower than your part of the country. you are probably best suited to place the beef in a small stand alone fridge in the future or add a dehumidifier to the walk-in. you may also be risking other flavor contamination with that cooler.
you can use frozen beef. it may not actually age, depending on how long it had been aged before it was frozen. if it was partially wet aged before freezing, you can complete the aging process after thawing and the result will also be more tender because the ice crystals created in the meat during freezing will tear muscle and aid in the tenderizing the meat. if all enzymatic breakdown had already occurred prior to freezing, you will still be able to reduce moisture and intensify flavor.
Graham, other hydroscopic materials could be used if you were simply trying to dessicate the air. But the "idea" is to do more than simplly decrease the relative humidity in the air. Our salt is not proprietary. We have fully disclosed that it is a specially milled Himalayan Pink that offers the ideal surface to mass ratio for this application.
I like videos that say, the center is so tender you could pull pieces off with your hand, and there is a hand right there but no pulling. Cook sous-vide in a leaky bag overnight.
We use a specially milled sea salt that has a surface area to mass ratio that helps absorb moisture AND properly micro-aerosolize to help prevent bad bacteria growth on the surface of your meat. Not all salts will respond this way when absorbing moisture.
My dry age rib eye steak was awesome, so tender and tasty, will try to always dry age my steaks from now on, so easy, just need to plan ahead, Thank you so much for this information, very pleased.
Many years ago when I was an apprentice meat cutter, three times a year we would have a "Patron" come into the shop at the invite of the senior market manager. The manager had spotted a select side of beef, 500 to 700lbs and would present it to the patron for approval. He never turned the offering down. I would put the side on a hook back in the chiller and it would stay there for 2 to 3 months. All the cuts were done by hand no saws. The meat was tender beyond belief. Lots of $ was given for it
typical prices for dry aged beef in the US are between $28 - $32/ lb. you can purchase a subprimal (NYS or rib roast) for around $5- $7/ lb. including the cost of the kit, it's much more cost effective to dry age your own!
we are only familiar with the use of Himalayan Pink with this process. It's been used by some well known steakhouses in the US. You might try other unrefined sea salts, but part of the benefit of Himalayan is how 'dry' it is to begin with. Solar evaporated sea salts will have much more moisture to start.
Very informative video! I truly appreciate this. I have aged my steaks differently, using paper towels, but I will be trying this method very soon. Thanks a lot!
There is one other critical function to take into consideration. The specially sized Himalayan will micro-aerosolize as it absorbs moisture. Those tiny salt particles will actually bond to the surface of the meat and help prevent unwanted bacterial growth. Rock salt contains too many impurities, including heavy metals and other potentially toxic elements. It is not for consumption, yet that is exactly what you would be doing if you used rock salt as a drying medium.
They can be cooked immediately after cutting, our usually are. You can also freeze them (w/o any vac packing) for 1-3 months. Flavor will not be affected. Dry aging is a two part process - first, tenderization, second moisture reduction/ flavor intensification. Once fully aged (maximum of 34 days) they reach full tenderness as a result of enzymatic breakdown. Anything beyond that is simply reducing moisture w/o any add'l affect on tenderness.
YES, the salt can be re-used many, many times. We have over 400 lbs. of beef through our kit so far with no appreciable loss of salt. We have no idea how many times you can use it, but expect the salt to last for at least 1000-1500 lbs. of beef.
Indeed. As a follow up, if you keep your meat at the correct temperature and humidity, bad bacteria and mold can't grow, so the meat simply shrinks from water loss and the inside gets tender from good bacteria softening it up. Similar processes happen for cheese when they put it in a nice cool cave and let it age.
Part of the reason we recommend 140-145 is because of the thickness of the steak. The thicker the steak the less carryover because they contain so much less moisture.
you can freeze a dry aged steak. i would cut away the rind after defrosting. (the rind makes excellent beef stew and rehydrates well when boiled! - no need to throw it away!) freezing won't have much affect on taste, but it will on texture. even the affect on texture will be minimized because of the reduction of moisture. moisture content creates ice crystals when freezing. these crystals will tear the muscle a bit. less moisture means smaller crystals = less tearing. enjoy!
You are correct. We should have said Medium, not Medium Rare for that temperature. One of the down sides to one off videos. We can't go back and re-cut the audio.
This video is a prime example of the power of the human brain. I had no beef aging in my small 1000 sf condo, yet when you mention the nutty smell of beef aging I smelled it as if I were right there in your kitchen. amazing isnt it?
I have a "Dorm" size fridge in the Garage. Once I deplete the Beer supply I will try this...Still remember the $20 Aged Beast that I thoroughly enjoyed a week or two ago....
@tyrantenvoy no bad smell "sticks" to it because salt is anti-bacterial. that's one of the reasons for using it in this process. this particular sea salt is chosen because of its inherently low moisture content as well as mass to surface area ratio of the grain size we have chosen. additionally, this particular sea salt "blooms" when it absorbs moisture...some don't
we believe this to be correct and plan on trying a carpaccio style beef tenderloin in the future! that having been said, we NEVER recommend eating raw meat.
not all refrigerators have the same relative humidity. yes, the salt is helping to extract moisture. there is approximately 1% moisture loss in the meat per day of aging. there will be no illness if you consume the rind. we actually save and freeze the rind and reconstitute it later for either beef stew or aus jus. eating the rind when using the sea salt assisted dry aging method will not send you to the ER or taste nasty, just very chewy. we won't be adding any of the requested videos.
The salt primarily provides antibacterial properties and some flavor profile but moisture absorbtion, though it happens, is actually negligible. The moisture loss comes primarily from the air circulation and controlled humidity. If the salt was absorbing all the salt would soften, melt and turn to goo. Check out the You Tube video about the facility in Ireland. Their entire room is Lind with 16 tons of it. The blocks would melt and run. They give the best information about it.
first let's be clear that this is not decayed or rotten. it's kept in a controlled environment to prevent that very thing from happening. enzymatic breakdown without decay is the goal, and that's what we've achieved!
@TheNospiece - Fridge temp is discussed at 0:45 and again at 1:53. Total quantity of salt sold in our DIY kits is 2 lbs. It is himalayan sea salt milled to a very specific size so that the surface area to mass ratio is sufficient to cause blooming of the salt to the proper degree. Volume of the fridge isn't the question. It's the salt weight to beef weight ratio that makes the difference and then requires factoring aging time accordingly to get your desired result.
Thanks for the kind words! However, this video was produced to document a known process that has already been in use commercially for years. This video was NOT for the purpose of experimenting, but rather for demonstrating that it can be done at home. Regarding the use of an extractor fan, there is no need. As shown in this video, air flow in today's refrigerators is more than sufficient for this method of dry aging. No additional benefit is gained by adding another fan for more "air flow".
typically no. not all salts will 'bloom' in the same way the Himalayan Pink does, and it's the 'bloom' that helps prevent bacterial growth during the aging process.
Wow, I dont know if I have the kind of patience. I've had Dry Aged Beef in New York New york in Las Vegas and was good, but I can live without the hassle.
@bobwatters 125 degrees F would be the perfect temperature to cook it to, but much higher temperatures are required if you want to cook it with the best possible method!
Solid blocks will work, but require using a larger more expensive block to accommodate the same approximate surface area of our specially milled size. Additionally, the surface area to mass ratio will not be the same using a block.
Questions for you golbsalt; why isn't the meat dry after cooking since the aging process pulled out so much moisture? After aging and trimming, what would happen if you brined the meat? Would that restore the moisture lost? This is something I've never understood about dry aging beef.
Grrrr! I wish you had grilled it up for us to see and let us eat vicariously through you! My mouth was watering in anticipation and then....nope! What are the warning signs of a failure during any point? Smell? Moisture on the meat?
This seems cool but isn't humidity a huge factor when aging meats? I see you have your temperature regulated but you have no control of humidity in the fridge. Any thoughts?
I read all the prior comments and was disappointed to hear that the food grade rubberized coating did not work out well. I look forward to this dry aging process, Can the beef roasts be placed on metal roasting racks in place of the rubberized version in this video?
If bacterial contamination is a concern, why not simply put the beef, and the salt, into a sterilized air-tight container first? That way, you don't need a dedicated refrigerator as mentioned, any fridge will do. Also, why not throw a few packets of food-grade desiccant into the bottom of that container too. Seems like a far more efficient, safe, and practical way of achieving the same thing.
Hi there! On what number did u turn the fridge dial to get the right temperature? thank you! awesome video!!!! cant wait to try this!! kabobs!! a great way to feed people on a sat night bbq!!
Hi, I'm now into my first week and the result looks good. My question to you is: Do you think you can freeze a dry aged steak? And if yes, is it better to cut away the crust before freezing or after? And final question would be if it has an effect on the taste after having been defrosted? Thanks for your answers
mark, a few questions - what kind of salt are you using and where are you located? are you using a dedicated fridge? how many times a day do you open the door to the fridge?
I noticed that when you removed the rack and touched the salt it was hard. To get more salt drying power, would it be better to move around the salt a little each time you check the meat? By moving it, it probably would give you a fresh layer of salt on top to absorb the moister.
You can age other products in the refrigerator, but we don't recommend introducing other aged products for the introduction of 'good' bacteria - it's not necessary. It's really about PREVENTING 'bad' bacteria growth. That's the key. When you utilize the salt assisted method for aging the beef, that is what helps prevent bad bacteria growth, not the introduction of 'good' bacteria.
The discussion about airflow seems to be entirely subjective. There are recommendations for airflow ranging from 0.25 - 5.00 mph. We have developed this sea salt assisted method to essentially eliminate the specific airflow requirement.
this process has two specific results. 1) any aging allows muscle to break down. this results in a more tender product. does it make it more tender? ABSOLUTELY! 2) as is shown in the video there is a significant moisture loss (as much as 30-35% in 34 days. this loss of moisture results in an intensification of the beefy flavor. does it make the beef tastier? WE THINK SO!
@TheLoyalOfficer dry aging beef produces a much more tender steak. using salt as part of the dry aging process makes it much safer to accomplish this at home.
@ric sterling we offer our 'Dry Aged Beef Kit'. It includes Himalayan Sea salt that has been specially selected and specifically milled to a certain size to provide a surface area to mass ratio that is ideal for the aging process. The kit also includes the adjustable rack, and most importantly a complete discussion about the what's and why's of dry aging in much greater detail.
