Dry Ageing Steaks

[boxerboxer]

Does anyone have experience with doing this? I've been wanting to try it for a while but have wondered if there's a safe way to do it at home without special equipment.

[Dave Thompson]

I put mine on a baking rack, very loosely tented in the fridge. Most meat in the US is wet aged for 14 to 21 days or so and need little further aging. Here in Mexico it's only a couple of days from 'farm to table' so the meat has quite a different taste, aging here plays a bigger part than in the States.

[echelon_john]

Dorm fridge works great; a remote meat thermometer hanging inside can help give you peace of mind that the temp is constant 38º. Wire rack, turn every day, but only open the fridge that one time every day. Age for 1 week min; 2 MAX.

If you don't go into your regular fridge much you can do it in there just as well. Just make sure you don't have kids leaving the fridge open!

Costco whole rib roasts are a great candidate for this; age them whole, then slice them into steaks when you're happy with the aging.

[Dave Thompson]

^^perfect directions!!^^ That's how I do my Christmas Prime Rib roast.

[Dmoeny]

Good discussion over at serious eats

The Food Lab's Complete Guide to Dry-Aging Beef at Home | Serious Eats

[slowSSer]

Alton Brown did a thing on this. it involved two Tupperware containers of the same size and one lid. the inside container had holes drilled in it for air circulation. the holed container was nested inside the non-holed and the lid was placed on. i cant recall the time he left it in the fridge though.

im planning on doing this soon to a nice chunk of beef loin.

[slowSSer]

from the link above on Serious Eats:

the tl/dr method:
Step 1: Buy a prime rib. Make sure that it is bone-in, preferably with the chine bone still attached, and the complete fat cap intact. If you are buying from the butcher, ask them not to trim it at all. A decent butcher will not charge you full price, since they are making money off of selling you that extra fat and bone.
Step 2: Place the meat on a rack in a fridge. Preferably a dedicated mini-fridge in which you've stuck a desk fan set to low, with a small notch cut in the door lining to allow the cord to come out. Set the temperature to between 36 and 40°F.
Step 3: Wait. Wait anywhere between 4 weeks and 8 weeks, turning the meat occasionally to promote even aging. It'll start to smell. This is normal.
Step 4: Trim.. For a step-by-step slideshow of the process, check out the slideshow above.
Step 5: Cook. (See below for some recipe links).
Step 6: ???
Step 7: Profit.