Are bags used domestically rather than commercially?
I assume the bag protects the meat in a domestic environment from cross contamination and is in effect the controlled environment but in a commercial operation the ageing room is the controlled environment - humidity, contamination, temperature etc etc.
I just looked at 2 study abstracts on DryBagâs website. The benefits they are claiming include:
Less odor.
Less cross contamination.
Higher product yield (couldnât access full study to see %)
I do know butchers prefer to dry age âbone-inâ subprimals with a nice fat cap. Fat cap protects the top side of the meat & bones protect the lean underside of the meat. Only bark loss is about 1/4 inch on both ends (vs) 1/4 inch bark loss on entire underside plus both ends when dry aging boneless subprimals.
I think trimming the bark is done because of the strong risk of food poisoning from all the biogenic amines formed during aging. A very sickening cause of non bacterial food poisoning. For me, even rinsing fresh raw meat reduces histamine reactions enormously, from poultry as well as other meats.
I cut off the bark, cut it into cubes and simmer in a stock pot with carrots, onions & celery. Reduce down to strong tasting beef broth, strain for future gravy base & the dog gets whats on the straining screen.
Everyone has those issues with enough histamine, at levels commonly occurring in normal meals. Itâs more like unless you get anaphylactic badly enough, you donât connect it to your food intake. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15603203
âWe conclude that 75 mg of pure liquid oral histamineâa dose found in normal mealsâcan provoke immediate as well as delayed symptoms in 50% of healthy females without a history of food intolerance.â
But back on topic; my point was that amines are not removed nor deactivated by cooking, only increased, in the case of histamine and that consuming the bark from long aged meat is not wise.