Why?
One of my favorite things to eat is steak. I will eat it every week, sometimes twice. I loved a good NY strip steak seasoned to perfection and grilled to a perfect medium rare. If I have any left over, it becomes breakfast tomorrow. My first recipe on here will be about my favorite preparation.
Who doesn't love a tender juicy USDA Prime dry-aged steak?
Dry aging is the process that wildly improves a steaks tenderness and taste. The flavor of the beef is altered during the enzyme breakdown and oxidation, and becomes much more intense due to the water loss. This process can sometimes be quite expensive, time consuming, and space consuming. Large dedicated refrigerators are meant to hold beef suspended in mid-air for up to 4 weeks or more. During the process the meat shrinks and develops a dark tough bark which must be cut away. a 15 pound strip can easily be reduced to 5 pounds. All that means is that the resulting steak can be $50 a pound or even more at your finest steakhouses, after all the markups and labor charges.
That price might be worth it during special occasions, or when trying to show off on a first date. But what if you can yield the same results at home with relative ease and a much lower cost.
UMAi Dry Aging Bags
I have used the magical little bags at least half a dozen times now and have been impressed with my self every time. UMAi Dry® Ribeye/Striploin Packet
According to UMAI on their website https://umaidry.com/
The material forms a bond with the proteins on the surface of the meat allowing moisture release and oxygen exchange while blocking odors and contamination. With UMAi Dry® you can craft dry aged steak, charcuterie or slow-fermented dry sausage in any well-ventilated cooler or refrigerator without risk of spoilage.
- Go to your local Sams Club, Costco, or restaurant supply store and by your choice of a whole uncut strip of steak or prime rib roast
- take it out of the original packaging and place into the UMAi Dry Bags
- Seal the bag with the included VacMouse adapter sheets in place at the point of seal
- Use your Vacuum sealer to remove all the air from the bag and make sure to seal the bag twice
- Write the date on the bag
- Place in your refrigerator on a wire rack for 5 days fat side down. Flip the steak and age an additional 28 days. after 4 weeks, any extra time dry aging produces very minimal added benefits. With extremely long dry aging you will get very intense nutty/blue cheese like flavors which are not for everyone
- Take it out of the fridge and the bag
- Trim away the dried bark from the outside (this bark can be saved and turned into stock or to add flavor to some dishes) and slice the steaks to your desired thickness. It may be easier to slice the steaks first and trim the edges after in some cases
- Season the steaks. For dry age, I recommend: course salt on both sides, let it sit 20-30 minutes to soak in the salt, then add some freshly cracked pepper on each side
- Turn the grill on high and let it get to about 500 degrees for 5 minutes.
- Cook the steaks 2 minutes, rotate 90 degrees, and cook 2 more minutes. Flip and repeat
- If the fire is getting to big, and you notice the steaks cooking to fast, move them off the grill.
- wrap in foil and let it rest for 10 minutes
There you have it. A perfect and easy dry age steak at home for no more than $10 a pound. Be on the lookout later for my 48 hour method of rapid dry aging.
Links:
https://amzn.to/2IOE2yN