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Mar 8, 2022

Aging 101: Why do we age beef? Is dry aged beef better?

Dry Aged

All beef is aged.

Beef aging does not pertain to the age of the cattle but instead refers to the amount of time the meat has been stored and refrigerated after slaughter. We age beef because freshly-slaughtered beef tastes metallic and less “beefy”. Frankly, it does not taste very good. 

The better the aging process, the better the meat usually is. High-end steakhouses and butchers such as us invest significant time and money into properly and consistently aging beef. However, even your average supermarket beef has been aged for at-least a week.

There are two methodologies to age beef: Wet-Aging and Dry-Aging.

WET AGING TENDERIZES MEAT BUT DOES NOT IMPACT FLAVOR

Wet Aging beef is the most common, it is the dominant mode of aging beef in the U.S. and UK today. It is popular with producers, wholesalers and retailers because it takes less time: typically only a few days and there is no moisture loss, so any given piece of meat sold by weight will have a higher value than a dry aged piece where moisture loss is desired for taste at the expense of final weight. 

The process of wet-aging beef involves placing the meat in vacuum-sealed bags. As it sits in the freezer, it ages. 

When you buy fresh beef from Meat N’ Bone and it sits in your refrigerator it continues to wet-age. There is no moisture loss. However, wet-aging only impacts tenderness, it does not affect flavor.

DRY AGING IMPACTS BOTH TENDERNESS AND FLAVOR

Dry aging beef is a much more complex and expensive process. Beef is stored uncovered in a refrigerated room (32°F to 34°F) under controlled humidity and air flow for up to 120 days… but at-least 17 days. Dry aging results in distinctive brown-roasted beefy flavor. It can be described as “nutty”.

It is best to dry age primal cuts (for example, the whole rib-bone, before cutting steaks).  

Inside of Dry-aging rooms or refrigerators, the air is constantly being circulated around to prevent the growth of anything bad, while enzymes in the meat’s cells break down the protein, fats, and glycogen. This breakdown forms loads of amino and fatty acids.

Another important factor to proper dry-aging is MOLD. Yep.. Mold… Molds are the critical element to the dry-aging process because it is what imparts flavors. Beef dry aged in your home will not taste the same as beef dry aged in a professional aging room… heck.. beef dry aged in Miami will not taste the same as beef dry aged in Chicago. Molds bring that funky flavor… 

When beef is dry aged it loses its moisture, so as you age beef you lose up to 30% of its volume, basically you have less meat to sell… which makes it more expensive.

While not scientifically proven, some people believe that as beef ages, and loses water, the flavor is concentrated on the beef. This may explain the much more intense flavor of dry aged beef.

Dry aging impacts both flavor and tenderness. Some people age beef for longer than 90 days. However, the consensus is that the sweet-spot is between 30 and 45 days of aging.

CAN I DRY AGE AT HOME?

Yes and no. You can replicate a dry aging room at home, you can just buy a primal piece and leave it to rest for 45-60 days, there are plenty of products that claim you can use them to dry age at home. We have tested a few with mixed results… to be frank, the problem is that while the at home dry-aging solutions will dehydrate the meat, they fail to give it the same flavor… simply put, they dont have the funk.

The nutty-funky flavor a good dry aged steak is known for is a result of Mold. Yes… Mold… Mold is what brinks the funk. A proper aging process is based on cultivating mold, the right mold to give the steak flavor. The mold comes from the environment and is affected by everything from the location where the aging room sits, to what other cuts have been aged in that same space. Mold is developed and nurtured for months. 

Without the mold, you are just dehydrating meat.

Is Dry Aged beef better?

Aged beef IS better. However, whether dry-aging beef over 30 days is better is subject to taste.

Meat N’ Bone sells many premium cuts of beef that have been aged for 45+ days. They are delicious, much more intense, and significantly more expensive. Whether they are better is a matter of preference. 

 Meat N’ Bone dry-age their beef for 14-30 days. Then vacuum seal it and it will continue to wet age until frozen.

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