Originally posted by Henrik
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Interesting concept. Does the surface dry out so much you need to trim it off, or is it just dry enough to do a great sear and not be jerky? -
The results are in. My experiment ended up costing a little more than I had originally planned. I bought a refrigerator first that wouldn't expel moisture, so I had to purchase another one two and a half weeks into the aging. If I would have been thinking, I would have taken pictures before I trimmed the Ribeye roasts. The results are not all that surprising. The flavor of the two dry aged steaks is considerably superior to the very good steak from the butcher. Both steaks were also much more tender than the fresh one. However, each aging method had its own benefits:
Dry age bags - produced a little more tender steak than the open air sea salt method, I could have cut it with a butter knife. Shrunk a little less than the sea salt method.
Sea salt method (on a rack in a pan full of sea salt - no cover) - Better beef flavor, but not quite as tender as the dry age bag. Shrunk more than the dry age bag.
Conclusion - If you have time - I would recommend dry aging your steaks. I have a vacuum sealer and picked up the extra refrigerator for 100 bucks. It is a cost, but I think these two steaks are as good as any I have ever had at a prime steakhouse. I spent 7.99/pound for the roast, which I thought was a great deal. If you cant dedicate a refrigerator for your dry aging process, I would recommend the bags. They claim that the odors from your fridge will not get into the bags. Im not sure I believe that, but I wouldn't put the sea salt method into a non dedicated refrigerator. As for me - I still have my sirloins roast in the bag. It was a little larger roast than the half ribeye. I am going to leave it in for another week. Then I have one more bag. I will probably use it later this year and then go strictly to the sea salt method since there is no extra cost for the bags and I preferred the flavor a little bit more. I may try a tenderloin next, but I hate to cut all of that good beef off of a tenderloin. with the moisture loss and the trimming, I could end up with some pretty small steaks.
Speaking of the trimmings from the roasts. I have it in the freezer and will probably make an Au Jus for my Dry aged Prime Rib Christmas dinner. I can't wait for that.
Bottom line - the only way my grill will ever see non dry aged steaks again is if a friend brings them over and says lets cook these. I am hooked and easily think the $100 cost for the fridge is well worth it. Who knows - I may end up selling a few of these to offset the cost. I have a whole fridge now that isn't in use.Comment
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Awesome. Looks familiar:Comment
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