Dry age whole ribeye -42 days

[6th Borough BBQ]

Wow this looks really interesting... can you use any vacuum sealer or do you have to have their bags and their sealer?

[barelfly]

I think most chamber style vacuum sealers will work. But definitely have to use there bags. UMAI dry bags. Their website has a ton of videos on the process, check them out if you have interest.

[EdF]

Chamber vac works, but they actually recommend and resell Foodsaver models. They include some kind of thingie to make the seal work well with the latter.

[theroc]

Just used my Foodsaver 3920 for a big ribeye and it worked great.

[theroc]

Great thread! I'm going to join the ranks who are now planning to give this a try.
Does anyone know if I dry age a large cut and then trim and slice steaks, is it safe to
freeze the steaks afterwards? Thanks.

[Baltassar]

A really interesting thread to me. Didn't know about Umai bags until now. Maybe something for Amazing Ribs to review with their customary thoroughness?

[theroc]

Thanks EdF! Just placed my first order for the bags.

[EdF]

Good luck! You'll be amazed how easy it is!

[randy.56]

EdF so you have had some past experience, you recommend 35 days instead of 28? What difference are you seeing?

[EdF]

I took that advice from the forum on their site. The guy who does most of the answering recommends 45 or so, and I've been creeping up on it. 35 is pleasant flavor and nice concentration of it. Nothing funky or cheesy yet. So for a first shot, why not - establish a baseline.

[barelfly]

It will be great to hear Ed’s experience, as I’ve had no experience to this point but from reading the first 28 days are all texture related. It’s after that flavors start to develop. I’ve read the flavor becomes much more intense on the beef side, moving towards nutty and even a mushroom type flavor in the longer aged beef. Some have the opinion that 28 days are a minimum and others say 42 days so you can get the flavor change.

That’s why I’m starting with a 42 day age. If it’s to intense I can back it off on the next aging.

[EdF]

My last rib roasts were 42, and still quite mild. Maybe a little nutty.

[realdocBBQ]

I've seen a couple videos where people didn't use the bags - just dry aged on a rack in the fridge, which is essentially how most of the steakhouses do it, in a dry-aging room.

Thoughts on this process without the bags? And I'm anxious to see how the "untrimmed" steaks are compared to the trimmed ones, as well. You lose so much moisture and weight in this process, I think you end up with something like 25% less weight than when you bought it? I hate the idea of trimming off a bunch of it and discarding it. No sausage making setup here.

[barelfly]

lonnie mac uses all the trimmings for ground beef. So, you don’t have to lose anything. I don’t have a grinder, but I do make patties with my food processor. So I may freeze the trimmings and add them to some short rib and sirloin mixture that I use for my patties.

[EdF]

Like I said, I keep as much on as possible. Can always be further trimmed when eating. And what does get trimmed goes to my meat minions. As far as the weight loss, I think it was Kenji who pointed out that it's pretty much water, and you'll lose it cooking anyway.

[EdF]

I have no experience with regular dry-aging. Some claim it's the real thing, and Umai bags are not. But it does take a lot more attention properly controlling airflow, humidity and temps. In this case, I'm fine with the results of "set it and forget it".

[OneEyedJack]

After the dry aging and steaking out the roast, do you dry brine it or is the flavor big enough already?

[EdF]

Already dried, so I don't. And already plenty of flavor concentration.

[barelfly]

Today was the day. 44 days and I have steaked it out. Came out with 9 great ribeyes all about .80lbs along with a 2.25lb roast. I have a 1lb cut in the water bath now that will get hit with a CI sear. Can’t wait!

[lonnie mac]

OOOOOOOHHHHHHHH MAN!! Looks fantastic brotha!!!

[RonB]

They look super.

[barelfly]

Wow. That’s all I can say. These finished pics are horrible, I know but these steaks are outstanding! I’m ruined!

flavor definitely more pronounced. The aroma my fridge was filled with these last few weeks came out in the flavor. I could smell a great red wine type scent. There was more concentration on the beef side as well. Texture was perfect. The little bits of rind were wonderfully chewy, not gristle chewy, but a nice compliment to the tenderness of the aged beef and S/V cook with CI sear.

I dont know if ill if I’ll ever be able to go regular ribeye after this!

[DWCowles]

Thanks for making me hungry. They look beautiful.

[Steve B]

HOLY COW. literally. That is gorgeous..
I just got some UMAI bags. Can't wait to try this..
How much did you have to trim off and what are you going to do with the trimmings?

[barelfly]

I trimmed about 1lb total, some fat cap was included in that. I’ll have to see what my trimming measurement came out to. As for what I’ll do with the trims, I don’t know. I did vac seal and freeze so I have them for something. A few have mentioned grinding them with other meat for burgers. May look into that further.

[Steve B]

Thanks for the info barelfly I also saw that some use the trimmings for burgers.

[Spinaker]

WOW!!!!! Sorry I missed this. That roast looks incredible. I hope you saved some of the dry aged fat, because that stuff makes the best beef love on the pallet.

I still can't get over that color!! Wow!

[barelfly]

Saved all of the trimmings. Vac sealed and will do something with it. When I trimmed the tail from the steaks I thought this is like butter here! Can’t let it go to waste!

[EdF]

Oh Man, look at that! My last was something like 36-7 days. 42 next time!

I tend not to trim off more than I need to. If the minions (dogs) are lucky, they're get a few nibbles. We made a gravy for a SV bottom round roast last week, and threw some of the trimmings in - it was sort of like a special beef condiment. Super!

[barelfly]

Some of the edge that had a little rind left was actually very good. I liked the texture it provided the steak along with the sear. I may not trim quite as much next time and see how it is.