Dry Aged Beef

This next post is definitely NOT for the vegetarians, vege-quariums, or those who do feathers and fins. This post is about meat – more specifically beef. And not just any beef – dry aged beef.

I have seen this on the menu at restaurants a number of times (along with a hefty price tag) but had never ordered it.  The first time that I actually had the privilege of eating this was a number of months ago, when our neighbours, who enjoy experimenting with food, dry aged a roast. And it was so tender with concentrated beef flavour that I decided that I must also give this a whirl!

I have done my re-con and googled this to death.  I am a little worried about spending a bundle on meat only to have it ruined or, worse, send someone to hospital due to my “culinary adventure”.  Dry aging beef is a pretty simple process with amazing results.  It is a technique done by butchers and chef, where they hang beef or wrap in cheesecloth for anywhere from 8-45 days in a temperature controlled (about 37F) environment. The reason for doing this is that it breaks down the meat making it tenderer; it dehydrates the meat thereby concentrating the flavour.  While in the Napa Valley, we were at the Oxbow Market and happened by the Five Dot Ranch (www.fivedotranch.com) booth.  They happened to have some dry-aged meat there so I took the opportunity to chat about technique and what to look for. The guy at the booth was wonderful and gave me several hints of what to watch for and things to consider. An important thing to think about is the smell as an indicator of spoiling – so he let me smell his meat! (LOL) Really, the older the meat gets it should begin to smell like prosciutto and not sulphur or lemons.

So here is what I have done so far....

1.       Wash and dry the meat

2.       Wrap in cheesecloth

3.       Place on a wire rack on a cookie sheet

4.       Place in fridge – preferable one that you can leave closed for the majority of the time otherwise the temperature will not be as constant as necessary.  We happen to have a bar fridge that can be used for this purpose, but the moment we open it we lose all the coldness

5.       Wait

Meat washed and ready to be wrapped

I will rewrap the meat every couple of days just to make sure the cheesecloth is not sticking but otherwise I am waiting it out.



Meat wrapped and placed in the fridge for 2 weeks



I had a very large piece of meat that I have split in two pieces. I am planning to cook the first one in 14-15 days and if everything goes well the other piece after 30 days. When I pull them out, I will need to trim the meat of dry outside layer before cooking.

Seems easy enough, although the waiting is going to kill me!  I am used to being able to fuss with stuff and to not be able to watch it change and monitor every minute is a little nerve racking! 

I think self explainatory!