Never done this before but after hours of you tube videos I think I got this.
Went to Chef's Store (thanks for the lead, Ted) and bought a 19-pound bone in Rib Eye rack. Had to trim three ribs off to fit it into the Umai Dry Age bag. Those will be dinner tomorrow.
Pretty simple process, getting the meat in the bag was the hardest part. Next was getting as much air out as possible but as the videos said you'll never get it all out even with a vacuum sealer, which I used. The Umai bags breath so that makes sense. I double sealed the bag any way, filled out the label and placed it in the fridge.
The goal is a 2-month age so that means April 5th. I'll take photos every 15 days to document the process.
This is the most expense piece of meat I have ever bought so fingers crossed.
Steve
I have 2 of Sal's recipe Capacola hanging now and will do 2 more next week, a 3 month curing time. I also have a pork shoulder wet curing until Saturday, 1 week, then into the smoker to make "buckboard bacon".
I'm going to look those up Lee.
15-16 hours dry salted, rince, pat dry, roll in black pepper then paprika, put in meat netting, tie off both ends, weigh meat, hang in a cool place for about 3 months.
Wow Steve, Great looking roast you're starting with. Keep us posted
What did you add to the meat when you removed it from the original vacuum package?
What is the oxygen permeability of the Umai bag you are using?
Eugene
Quote from: jigmaster501 on February 06, 2025, 04:15:42 PMWhat did you add to the meat when you removed it from the original vacuum package?
What is the oxygen permeability of the Umai bag you are using?
Eugene
Regarding oxygen permeability, I was looking into more technical information how this product worked, but there doesn't appear to be much on the Umai site. They do reference a scientific paper that used a competing product which does list a bit more data, including oxygen and water vapor transmission:
https://tub-ex.dk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Data-Sheet-Tublin.pdf (https://tub-ex.dk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Data-Sheet-Tublin.pdf)
https://tub-ex.dk/products/tublin/tublin-10/ (https://tub-ex.dk/products/tublin/tublin-10/)
I'd like to hear how the project comes out. I find the idea of aging and curing of meats intriguing, but am not willing to do the study and investment required to turn out a product that I would be comfortable consuming.
-J
Quote from: jigmaster501 on February 06, 2025, 04:15:42 PMWhat did you add to the meat when you removed it from the original vacuum package?
What is the oxygen permeability of the Umai bag you are using?
Eugene
Eugene,
Umai instructions said for bone in roasts to NOT wipe off the meat because the "slime" don't know what else to call it, will bond to the bag eventually.
AS far as the oxygen question, I have no idea. The bags were $10.00 each and come in three packs, they aren't cheap. I bought what Umai called out for. We'll see...
I see, if the slime sticks to the bag, it is almost as if the bag is not there.
Probably allows for a more uniform moisture loss without getting mold and other contamination on the surface.
What is your moisture loss per pound you are looking for?
Looks good.
Eugene
Quote from: jigmaster501 on February 07, 2025, 01:20:16 AMWhat is your moisture loss per pound you are looking for?
I didn't even think about the science of it.
I just want to eat it!
monitoring weight loss over a defined period of time, controlling the other microorganisms in your fridge combined with ambient temperature and average relative humidity will affect flavor tremendously.
I really like aging meats, the flavor is outrageous.
In my next life, I will come back with more money so I can have a separate fridge to do these things....lol
I have done wet aging in a vacuum for 4-6 weeks which is very nice and can select for Carnobacteria to break dowm muscle fibers, then dry age in the fridge for a few days.
These will cook very fast with the reduction in moisture. Be sure to use the fats to brown vegetables because the aging with enhance the flavors in the fats which can impact your veggies. Potatoes and string beans are great in the fat. Also saute fruits in the fat too for dessert.
I am jealous.
Eugene
Day 15.
So far so good.
Day 30, halfway to the target date.
I think I'm on to something...it looks delicious!
Looooking gooooood Steve !!
We've had some family issues:
All I can say is you can pick your friends, but not your family.
"it's our day tomorrow, unless they change it up again,"
I'll show you the end results!
Ok, 60'ish days later and I'll have to admit I'm pretty impressed.
I was a bit surprised with all the waste which means if I do this again, I'll be for a special occasion.
Once I trimmed all the nastiness away it came out looking like a normal prime rib but obviously a lot dryer. Like I said there was a lot of waste which explains why these cuts at the butcher are north of $30 per pound.
My yield was just over 7 pounds deboned. I remember seeing on YouTube people do things with the trimmed fat pieces so I'm going to relook that up. The wife, mother-in-law, and I are having prime rib tonight. I'll let you know how it turned out.
Ok so I wasn't impressed. It was delicious but not worth the time, effort, and waste to do again.
Flavor wise none of us could tell the difference between store fresh and aged.
All and all about a $170 experiment which I'm glad I did but won't be doing again.
Steve
Well, I still give you an A+ for your effort.
I only do my prime rib one way....on the rotisserie. A meat thermometer makes it foolproof
How did you cook it??
Quote from: jigmaster501 on April 09, 2025, 12:33:42 AMHow did you cook it??
Baked, basted in it's own rendered fat.
It was wonderful.
:d
Beef, it's what's for dinner. Definitely earn style points, looks so delicious
Quote from: Crab Pot on April 07, 2025, 06:15:21 PMOk so I wasn't impressed. It was delicious but not worth the time, effort, and waste to do again.
Flavor wise none of us could tell the difference between store fresh and aged.
All and all about a $170 experiment which I'm glad I did but won't be doing again.
Steve
thanks for your honest opinion
I've always wondered what was all that buzz about an expensive aged prime rib on the restaurants
I held back from telling the story of my dad's foray into this game because I didn't wanna sound like I was being negative. His results were roughly the same as yours. It was good but not at all worth it. Only it took him about 10 tries to admit that to himself.
If you calculate how much you threw away, you might find you're not that far off from just buying a smaller portion of a better cut of beef. But where's the fun in that? Other than more fridge space for beer.
I'm glad Crab Pot shared. I know there is a place here in SoCal (Sherman Oaks) that specializes dry aging cuts of fish. I haven't been able to make it there to see what it's like. - john
There's a good deal of "Meat Science" to be learned by interested persons. My brother-in-law was way into it. He used to talk about temp., humidity, etc., but I guess he was only scratching the surface. The rest of the science mentioned by Dave, Joel.B, and Eugene was pretty interesting.
Who is satisfied with the results of something as involved as this on the first go-around, Crab Pot?
Don't give up.
I have to ask what was your oven temperature and what was the internal temperature reached and how long did you hold it at temperature for?
The reason I ask is dry aged meat benefits from direct heat contact on the outer surfaces.
If you do a next time and I hope you do, bake the steaks in melted beef fat (fully covered-confit style) at a low temperature until the internal temperature hits 110F, then immediately season and place directly on a preheated hot grill or cast iron pan until you sear both sides. Internal temp at 135F and rest (covered)for 10 minutes. Your internal temp will likely rise to 145F ish but your steak will look rare because you limited oxygen exposure during most of the cooking.
I have wet aged beef with very good results. That is in a vacuum bag in the fridge for 1-2 months.
Cheap London Broils aged this way come out soft and tasty with a bit of tang.
Expensive cuts of meat are even better.
Cook the same way as above for steaks.
Eugene, I never heard of cooking steaks confit style. I have made duck confit and pork shoulder that way. Now I have to source enough tallow to try it. Thanks for the tip. Dominick
Dominick,
If you can't get enough tallow, use butter. The butter is good over the potatoes as it brings the beef flavor to the potatoes.
Eugene
The way to minimize the waste from dry aging it to start by hanging half of a cow.
We had some cheap sirloin tonight,2 steaks leftover.I became a believer in the instant pot for boston butt,charred on the grill 1st for bark call it cheating,its fast 1.5 hours & no complaints.I am curious what the instant pot would do for cheap steak.Some restaurants char then finish in the oven for the perfect temp.I like mine med-rare Ribeyes have all ways been my favorite ,but prime rib,filet mignon are the best.Thank you for sharing your experiment.I bet it was great & a learning experience !