Just found this on a page I was using for Pepperplate imports: Comments? Worth trying?
Hmmmmmmm interesting. Certainly worth a try, I will have to remember next time I’m in the area of an Asian market to pick Koji up and give this a shot. If anyone else does please report back.
Looks like someone is anxious to get me to try this method out.
I may beat you to it. Grilling steak is about the easiest way to survive with no kitchen.
Very true but won’t “aging” it for two day’s without a fridge be a bit of a problem? (Just thinking ahead for you)
I’m not ditching the fridge until we’re done! It’s going to be moved to another room.
I wondered how such a surface treatment could tenderise the meat and from the article it seems it doesn’t as it says it’s nociably tougher than the genuine article. Is this approach going to produce any different result than using a traditional tenderise like papaya…?
Good question.
I do WET aging in the factory cryovac & DRY aging on a wire rack.
My findings are that dry aging does not make the meat significantly more tender, rather it gives the meat a softer more velvety texture.
I also think that as the fat cap ages it adds a different flavor to the beef. Want an uber burger, add some trimmed aged fat cap to the grind.
All of this takes time. Serious eats has done some pretty extensive work with dry aging beef. Their conclusion is aging individual steaks does not achieve the same results as aging whole subprimals with fat cap intact.
IMHO, all tenderizers, natural or chemical, will break down protein fibers and make an otherwise cheap tough piece of meat tender. Budget restaurants & AYCE joints prove it every day.
This treatment dries the surface and the rice like fish sauce which has also been used gives the funky umami factor of aged beef.
I do wet aging in cryo from 30-60 days. I currently have a strip loin sub primal dry aging in a DryBag in the fridge on a rack. This is better than trying to dry age on a rack alone. Dry bags work!
http://www.drybagsteak.com
I have read many articles on the Dry Bags, many favorable, some unfavorable. Never used them myself.
Placing sub primal on an elevated rack over a sheet pan in a spare fridge where the door stays shut with a bowl of water to maintain humidity works great for me.
What difference did the Dry Bag make?
It’s cleaner and the bags form a nice adhesion to the meat letting moisture out and limiting the amount of oxygen in
Isn’t oxygen what you want for dry aging?
I’m not a food scientist but I know from experience it works better in a DryBag for a 20+ day aging in my garage fridge that doesn’t get opened much. YMMV
Does it discolor and show age on the surface the way dry aged does? Do you find the flavors highly concentrated that way?
My understanding of dry aging is that oxidation is what produces the result, enough so that the outside of the beef needs to be trimmed off prior too cooking.
Yes it starts turning black within 4-5 days and flavors are concentrated and nutty with that funky taste of aged meat. No cheese cloth changes, just need to let it sit
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Vewwy intewesting!
I am not sure what problems oxygen create. My buddy’s place has hundreds of sides, 1/4’s & subprimals on hooks hanging from an overhead track exposed to oxygen 24/7. (Think Rocky 1)
The faster the sub primal’s surface dries and forms a bark the better. The old cheesecloth method reduces direct contact with air flow against the meat surface. Slime & bad bacteria can result.
On a 21 - 28 day age, what is the dry bag doing for you.
- Thinner bark (less waste) ?
- Less moisture loss ?
I guess the bag acts like the cloth reducing direct air flow, not oxygen, reducing the chance of spoilage. At that time frame there is considerable bark and significant moisture loss. Between trimming the bark (should you choose to do it) and moisture loss you can lose 30-40% of weight to dry aging
