The Grill and BBQ thread

The membrane (bag) around the meat actually breathes or let’s air out. It’s not a normal bag. This allows it to be safe to let the steak age in any fridge. It also isn’t stored in its own juices like a typical wet age. The results give you tender beef and the “nutty” and “intense” flavors you get with typical dry aged beef.

There’s definitely debate on the process but even then there is very little debate about its effectiveness. Check out some pics and discussion here: Another round with Umai
How is it dry aged if it’s vac sealed in a bag?
See my second post after my original one. On different BBQ forums there’s def some debate on it but the results at the end are prototypical dry aged results. I’ll share my results in 3 weeks. It’s definitely turning colors now though and hardening up like leather on the outside.
Just debated on whether or not to jump in to give $1.02 since its so long, so here goes lol. I have been dry aging my own beef and wild game (venison, goose, swan...) for many years. If you go into a cooler of a steakhouse in Chicago, Calgary, or NY you don't see meat in bags . You see a temp and humidity controlled environment and you can make one in a spare fridge at home. You don't need a special bag to dry age. I will tell you what has worked for me and I have done almost everything under the sun. None were terrible but some better than others.

Pat your meat dry with paper towels after you remove it from the cryo pack. Get a bakers sheet pan 1/2 or full and line it with parchment or wax paper, lay a mesh cooling rack on top it and place your meat on it and place on the top shelf of a fridge (preferably a dedicated beer fridge or similar not opened constantly set to 34-35 degrees). After the meat sets a pedicle for week or so remove the wax paper from under the rack and mop up any blood. I place about 4-5 fist size Himalayan sea salt chunks (golf ball to baseball size) around the rack or on foam plates on top shelf. This actually absorbs a good amount of moisture in the aging process. If you have someone that appreciates the nutty flavor of aged beef you can go 6-8 weeks, but for most folks trying it for the first time you might want to limit to 3-4 weeks.

When you have finished aging to what you like flavor wise, take the meat out of the fridge and drop in an Impeccably clean sink of cold water for 4 hours or so and it helps rehydrate the outside skin of the meat before cooking or freezing. Take it out and leave wet and trim some of your outside fat to about 1/4 inch or so. I portion my Ribeyes or Strip Loins into 1 1/2 inch thick steaks my wife and I will share one but they will be vacuum sealed and fine for up to a year or maybe more. Brining or injecting a half of an aged loin or ribeye is also a great thing for you Christmas roast.

We can have another whole post about the advantages of sous vide of an already tender cut of beef lol.
 
Flatbreads I did using the Roccbox.
1. caramelized onion, mushroom and goat cheese
2. Prosciutto, arugula and shaved parmesian
3. Pepperoni and cheese
4. Margherita
 

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Just debated on whether or not to jump in to give $1.02 since its so long, so here goes lol. I have been dry aging my own beef and wild game (venison, goose, swan...) for many years. If you go into a cooler of a steakhouse in Chicago, Calgary, or NY you don't see meat in bags . You see a temp and humidity controlled environment and you can make one in a spare fridge at home. You don't need a special bag to dry age. I will tell you what has worked for me and I have done almost everything under the sun. None were terrible but some better than others.

Pat your meat dry with paper towels after you remove it from the cryo pack. Get a bakers sheet pan 1/2 or full and line it with parchment or wax paper, lay a mesh cooling rack on top it and place your meat on it and place on the top shelf of a fridge (preferably a dedicated beer fridge or similar not opened constantly set to 34-35 degrees). After the meat sets a pedicle for week or so remove the wax paper from under the rack and mop up any blood. I place about 4-5 fist size Himalayan sea salt chunks (golf ball to baseball size) around the rack or on foam plates on top shelf. This actually absorbs a good amount of moisture in the aging process. If you have someone that appreciates the nutty flavor of aged beef you can go 6-8 weeks, but for most folks trying it for the first time you might want to limit to 3-4 weeks.

When you have finished aging to what you like flavor wise, take the meat out of the fridge and drop in an Impeccably clean sink of cold water for 4 hours or so and it helps rehydrate the outside skin of the meat before cooking or freezing. Take it out and leave wet and trim some of your outside fat to about 1/4 inch or so. I portion my Ribeyes or Strip Loins into 1 1/2 inch thick steaks my wife and I will share one but they will be vacuum sealed and fine for up to a year or maybe more. Brining or injecting a half of an aged loin or ribeye is also a great thing for you Christmas roast.

We can have another whole post about the advantages of sous vide of an already tender cut of beef lol.

Some good advice, thanks! I’m planning 4-5 weeks for this one.

As far as the process, I would love to create my own dry aging environment but I don’t have the room for another fridge or mini fridge to do it. The best way to do it is in a humidity controlled room and not in any type of bags ect, but I needed an alternative with less room taken up and that is what these bags give me. These allow you to do it safely in any fridge and still give you typical dry age results.

My brother in law is a whole animal butcher who dry ages in his Shop and he has his doubts about the process as well but he was eager to see the end results. I’m at 17 days right now and the other night I FaceTimed my brother in law to show him how it was looking and he said it looked like a prototypical dry age so far. We will see how they turn out and if the taste lives up to what a dry age should.
 
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Some good advice, thanks! I’m planning 4-5 weeks for this one.

As far as the process, I would love to create my own dry aging environment but I don’t have the room for another fridge or mini fridge to do it. The best way to do it is in a humidity controlled room and not in any type of bags ect, but I needed an alternative with less room taken up and that is what these bags give me. These allow you to do it safely in any fridge and still give you typical dry age results.

My brother in law is a whole animal butcher who dry ages in his Shop and he has his doubts about the process as well but he was eager to see the end results. I’m at 17 days right now and the other night I FaceTimed my brother in law to show him how it was looking and he said it looked like a prototypical dry age so far. We will see how they turn out and if the taste lives up to what a dry age should.
Just dropped this in the aging fridge today. Nice upper choice Bone in Ribeye weighs about 19 lbs. Gonna try to remember to take some picts as things progress.IMG_3682.JPG
 
Some good advice, thanks! I’m planning 4-5 weeks for this one.

As far as the process, I would love to create my own dry aging environment but I don’t have the room for another fridge or mini fridge to do it. The best way to do it is in a humidity controlled room and not in any type of bags ect, but I needed an alternative with less room taken up and that is what these bags give me. These allow you to do it safely in any fridge and still give you typical dry age results.

My brother in law is a whole animal butcher who dry ages in his Shop and he has his doubts about the process as well but he was eager to see the end results. I’m at 17 days right now and the other night I FaceTimed my brother in law to show him how it was looking and he said it looked like a prototypical dry age so far. We will see how they turn out and if the taste lives up to what a dry age should.


Any update? How is it looking?
 
That’s a great idea. Never thought of sous vide brisket. I bet the moisture was fantastic. How was the texture?

The moisture and texture were both fantastic, and 3 hours low-temp smoking gave it a good amount of bark. I was very impressed, will definitely try that method again.
 
I have it, but it can't smoke like the old school smokers. It just can't be kept cool enough. It does exceptional steak and can do some faster smoking, but if you want the slow cooked, it isn't the one.
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Traeger.
 
Well, today was decision day to see how my Strip loin did in the UMAI bags. I was really impressed. Took it 35 days and today I cut it all up and cooked the best looking one.

Results: Lost quite a bit of “weight”, mostly moisture loss. Think it was like 1-2 pounds. Got 8 thick cuts out of the steak and 1 small one that I’ll probably just grind up with some other beef for some burgers.

The one that I grilled up was absolutely delicious. Reversed seared it but only issue of the whole day..slightly over cooked it. More medium well then medium rare 😒. Still even at that it was really, really tender and a strong beef flavor. Slight nutty or cheesy flavor but not overpowering at all. If I went maybe 10 days longer it would have had a strong funky taste so I think 35-40 will be my sweet spot.

2 Questions for anyone else that has dry aged before:

1. Can I use the trimmings for a broth or something like that? I see lots of mixed reviews online about it. Some say do it, others say no.

2. How do y’all trim it? I cut it into steaks then trimmed off the edge because I figured I would lose less good meat that way, but may try it the other way next time.

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