Is it not rather that the fat cap is too thin (or not even there) to prevent the meat from drying? I’m really no expert, but when I see beef aging at a butcher shop, there is always a good layer of fat around, so that’s why I’m asking…
Alain
Hi Alain,
In general, this particular cut was the most “thin” of them all, and also had a small/thin fat cap. No doubt this influenced the overall loss/yield. I am also convinced that the fan didn’t help matters. Cheers!
Here is another photo of me breaking down a NYS, with some ribeye in the foreground. You can clearly see the desiccated portions vs the good stuff.
That looks great
+1, nice pic!
Alain
Final Update from my first pass at dry aged beef. The below is from the ~50 day mark. I would say the flavor of these were less “beefy” and more “funky” than the 42 day. Personally, I liked the 42 the best.
Heres the NYS loin @ 50 days:
Nice shot after “facing”. The costco Prime NYS is good QPR…
Final shot of the steaks cut, pre-trim:
A few lessons learned:
-All you need is a clean refrigerator, a pan of salt, and a fan with a timer to dry age beef successfully. And some patience.
-The more fat cap/covering on the sub-primal, the better yield you will get. With that being said, considering the original cost of the Costco Prime NYS was <$8/LB, and roughly a ~40% loss to trimming, we are still looking at <$15/LB for some VERY tasty beef. I will be on the lookout for deals on bone in ribeye “107” cut for my next round. Also - if NYS goes on sale again, I will buy only the biggest cuts with the most fat caps = success.
I would be happy to edit my first post with some more data on the “how-to” side. Does anyone (hey Landreth!) have the “cut numbers” for bone-in NYS loins? What other cuts should we be looking for? After eating Flannery Filet last week, I might tackle one of those soon, but am worried out loss/total burdened cost.
Thanks!
Screw it, this is MUCH easier:
175?
I have access to a full walk in cooler. Is it as easy as throwing a whole ribeye on a rack in that case ?
I apparently had my mini-fridge set too cold and found the meat frozen when I checked it after a couple of weeks. After adjusting the temp, I just gave it a week longer than planned, and it seemed to turn out fine.
These mini-fridges and wine coolers can have temp sensors and control circuits that are less than optimal for aging and curing. Over a period of 40-60 days, a few degrees of variation can have a significant effect on the flavor of the final product. The cooler I use for aging drifted over a 10 degree range until I bypassed the built-in controls with a PID controller. This can be very easy if your cooler has electric analog controls or a bit more challenging for one with digital controls - but well worth the effort and minimal cost. PM me if I can help.
Round 2 complete, and the results are pretty good. I went to my local butcher, and procured 2 Bone-in ribeye’s - starting at 16.1 and 16.9 LBs. I calculated a 15-16% loss after 43 days due to moisture evaporation, with a final pre-trimmed weight of 13.6 and 14.4 LBs respectively. From there, I cut these into large steaks (can you say reverse sear?!), going between the rib bones. After trimming the desiccated meat off, I ended up with steaks that were anywhere between 16oz - 30oz bone-in. The final total steak weight was 11LBs and 11.75LBs, so roughly a 30-32% loss.
The texture was very tender, and the taste was getting towards funky, but still very beefy. These bone-in Ribeyes could have easily gone another 10 days if you like them really funky.