Is my fridge safe to wet-age in?

[Michael_in_TX]

So HEB has had some smaller briskets available for $2.49/lb. I picked one up a few days ago for $35. I planned to do it this weekend, but I'm not going to be able to, so I'll timeshift it to the end of the month (which also happens to be my wife's birthday).

My initial thought was to put it in the chest freezer until a few days before I wanted to start dry-brining it, but then I remembered that several of yall wet-age your briskets.

The brisket is in a typical cyrovac package and seems to be cryovac'ed well with no apparent leaks. It's "use by" date is January 12th. Again, I'm planning to go to January 30th.

I have a refrigerator digital thermometer on the top shelf. It shows me that my fridge oscillates between 34 F and 45 F on a roughly 24 hour cycle. Is this safe for wet-aging?

Also, what should I expect from a 30-day wet aged brisket taste/texture wise? Obviously, I've never done one.

[Huskee]

What does it show on the bottom shelf? Cool air sinks. Fridge fans are supposed to keep the temp somewhat even but not always. Can you turn it down more to oscillate from, say, 28 to 39? I think you'll be ok if you can figure out the average or if it spends more time at 39<.

I wet age mine typically close to 60 days, 50 sometimes, anywhere in there. 30 is the light end of the wet aging time table, but better than none!

You can expect the exact same taste (it's not dry aging so no flavor difference really), but the tenderness will be amped up. How much? Impossible to tell, anecdotal. The only way to tell is to go buy the same brisket completely fresh, that feels the same softness & floppiness the aged one felt when you bought it (same grade, same size), and cook both to see a real time side by side, but that's not practical for most. Oh, and it might have a touch more of a dirty sock smell when you open the bag, that's to be expected. If it smells rotten or the bag swells up, toss it. It is not supposed to do that!

You'll be good, I promise!

[texastweeter]

Short answer yes.

[Smoker_Boy]

For what it's worth, most dorm fridges are way less than $200 and have manual defrost, so no spikes.
The one I use in my shop holds temp very well.

[STEbbq]

Huskee nailed it for wet aging. The biggest problem really is finding space in the fridge so we went the dorm fridge route. If you’re going to invest the time though, why not consider dry aging? Grab some of the right size bags from here and the flavor profile is nicely improved for the same time investment.

https://umaidry.com/ barelfly has done more than me so maybe he can speak to the differences better.

[Johnny Booth]

Or….. a walk-in-cooler and or freezer! 🤓

https://www.littleloveliesbyallison.com/diy-appliance-projects/

[Michael_in_TX]

The bottom vegetable drawer in the fridge is unoccupied and the brisket may fit. I'll move the temp monitor down there to get an accurate assessement.

Also, that's the second time this week yall have had me scanning my house for "where would I put a dorm fridge?"

[Bob K]

Makes a great nightstand 😀

[Huskee]

If you're a guitar or music fan I recommend this dorm fridge: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...ity-bar-fridge

[Michael_in_TX]

Huskee Oh wow that is epic!