Are any subscribers actual butchers? -- PART II.


 
C

C. Moore

TVWBB Member
Thanks to all who have goaded me into going ahead and asking my question.

I have a six pound short end boneless whole ribeye that was purchased and frozen 18 months ago. After reading a lot about dry-aging beef, I placed it in a 33 degree refrigerator, uncovered and on a grate to allow air flow, ten days ago. There is a small amount of odor to it, but it seems to jive with what I read I would experience with this sort of aging operation. It also LOOKS like what I have seen in photos and videos about the dry aging process.

My question is this: If I do the standard trimming of all surface areas, can I anticipate that this thing will be good to eat and will not kill those to whom I serve it? I am ready to carve this sucker into some substantial steaks. Thanks for your input.

Charlie
 
See if this sounds like what you did.

From Aging Beef At Home?

A nationally known butcher named Merle Ellis discovered a technique for dry aging beef at home. Here are the complete directions he offered some years ago for this technique.

Be sure to follow each step carefully, for safety's sake.

1. Only the top grades of beef can be dry aged successfully. Use USDA Prime or USDA Choice - Yield Grade 1 or 2 (the highest quality of Choice) only. These have a thick layer of fat on the outside to protect the meat from spoiling during the aging process.

2. Buy a whole rib-eye or loin strip. [You cannot age individual steaks.] Unwrap it, rinse it well with cold water, and allow it to drain; then pat it very dry with paper towels.

3. Wrap the meat in immaculately clean, large, plain white cotton dish towels and place it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator - which is the coldest spot.

4. Change the towels each day, replacing the moisture-soiled towels with fresh. Continue to change towels as needed for 10 days, to 2 weeks. (See Step #7 for cleaning towels.)

5. After the desired aging time, you're ready to cut off steaks from each end, trim as desired, and allow the rest to continue to age in the refrigerator.

6. If, after 21 days, you have not eaten all the meat, cut the remaining piece into steaks, wrap each steak in freezer-proof, heavy-duty plastic wrap, and freeze. The steaks will keep for several months in the freezer.

7. To clean the towels for re-use, soak the soiled towels, immediately upon removing them from the meat, in cold water overnight. Next, soak them in cold, salted water for 2-3 hours to remove any blood stains. Then launder as usual. [In olden days, butchers used to cover sides of beef with cotton "shrouds" during the aging process - this is essentially the same thing.]
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">If I do the standard trimming of all surface areas, can I anticipate that this thing will be good to eat </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yes.

Other than Listeria (not a likely pathogen on the meat's surface unless cross contaminated), the pathogens of concern do not experience outgrowth at that temp. Neither do these pathogens produce any odor.

Trim then cut into steaks not long before cooking. (You can allow them to get toward room temp before cooking if you'd like but keep this period on the shorter side.
 
Whew! I'm glad you chimed in there Kevin. I showed this thread to my wife prior to you posting and she had me second guessing myself!
 
You were correct.

A note on odor: As stated above, the pathogens we associate with food borne neither possess nor produce odor at all. Foods contaminated by these pathogens are not detectable by smell.

Dry aging is essentially controlled rotting. Some odor is expected if properly aged - it should be somewhat game-y. Humidity should not be so high and airflow should be sufficient enough that surface evaporation occurs. The roast should develop a dry crusty surface that needs to be trimmed off before cutting and cooking.

If the meat is in humidity that is too high and/or airflow is insufficient spoilage bacteria can take hold. Though consumption in typical quantities rarely poses a cause for concern (we all eat spoilage bacteria regularly), with time their outgrowth can lead to what we typically identify as spoiled food: offensive odors, slimy texture, and/or odd colors. We (humans) have, evolutionarily speaking, learned to avoid most spoiled foods, probably for good reason.
 
Just curious, as stated in the above instructions ... wouldn't covering the meat with cloth towels inhibit the airflow and evaporation process? Or do the towels create a soak effect of sorts, soaking up the surface moisture? Maybe the towels are used to keep any excess humidity off of the meat? I would think the open air version would work better. But what do I know?
icon_rolleyes.gif
 
Good airflow keeps the evap process working. In the case of toweled meat the moisture is drawn in by the towel at the surface of the meat, as you note, and evaporates at the fridge-exposed surface of the towel. Frequent towel changes lessens the chance of the meat's surface wallowing in its own moisture.

Open air can work but tighter control of ambient variables is often required.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> purchased and frozen 18 months ago. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That sounds like a really long time!

Was it vacuum packed? How cold was the freezer?

JimT
 
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