Things To Know About Dry
If you have never tried a dry-aged steak before, there are a few things you need to know about them.
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It isnt individual cuts of steak that are aged, but a whole part that is aged and the steaks cut from that whole.
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The longer a piece of beef is aged the more depth of flavor it will develop.
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The aging process uses the natural enzymes within the meat to break down the connective tissues in the meat itself which will make it more tender.
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This same process removes moisture from the meat and allows the lipids within the muscle to break down.
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A dry-aged steak will be a deep burgundy, nearly purple color.
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Cuts that have been properly dry-aged for 30 to 42 days will be less tender than a steak dry-aged longer, however, they will be at peak beef flavor, providing a buttery and roast-beefy taste when properly cooked.
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Any beef that has been aged for 45 days and up will begin to develop a gamey-nutty flavor with the supercharged beef.
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Beef that has been aged for 90 days or longer will develop a crust that is very similar to the rind on a cheese. This is a good thing. It will also establish a flavor similar to bleu cheese thanks to the same types of bacteria used in the production of said cheese.
If you have never experienced a dry-aged steak before, it can be better to start slow. Try a steak that has been aged between 30 and 42 days. That way you can enjoy maximum beef flavor before things get too funky.
The Flavor Of The Steaks
When looking for a place to buy mail order steak, how they handle their products could change their final flavor when cooked. Consider researching for online steak retailers using flash freezing methods for their meats.
Flash freezing is one of the best industry practices to contain the product within a short period. The temperature will affect quality and safety, resulting in better-tasting steaks.
How do you know if the steak is flash-frozen?
When delivered, you will see tiny ice crystals on the cuts. Cooking these means less moisture will leave the meat, making the steak have better flavor. If it has been sitting out before freezing, the water will instead pool or evaporate.
How To Buy A Dry
You are investing in yourself and a meal. Dry aging a steak is a lengthy process that requires great care, which is why this will be a more expensive bite than you would normally experience. Here is what you should know about purchasing your dry-aged steak.
When purchasing a dry-aged steak, you should do so on the day that you are going to cook it. Never freeze that meat unless absolutely necessary, and if frozen, allow it to thaw slowly in the refrigerator. The only issue with this is that you dont want to continue to age your steak in an environment that isnt ideal for doing so ie: your fridge. A great relationship with your butcher can help with this. They can cut the steak to the exact thickness you want right then and there. Buying online, unseen can be tricky as you may not get what you are actually asking for.
As discussed in our article about the grades of steaks available, it is imperative that you purchase a Prime or AAA graded beef. You should also select a good steak to cook. New York Strips are usually available all of the time, you may also consider a ribeye bone in or out, T-Bones or the similar-looking porterhouse are also commonly dry-aged selections. You can discuss with the butcher how long the meat has been aging as well. This will give you the ability to select a flavor profile that would be more suited to your tastes. Remember, the longer it has been dry aging, the more intense and unique the flavor will be.
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We Are Proud To Supply Premium Dry Aged Beef To Our Customers
Dry aged beef is beef that has been hung to dry for several weeks. Either an entire half will be hung, or primal cuts will be placed in a cooler. This process involves considerable expense as the beef must be stored at or near freezing temperatures. Also, only the higher grades of meat can be dry aged as the process requires meat with a large, evenly distributed fat content. For these reasons one seldom sees dry aged beef outside of steak restaurants and upscale butcher shops.
The key effect of dry aging is the concentration of the flavor. It’s generally accepted that the taste of dry-aged beef is almost incomparable to that of wet-aged with four weeks being a recommended minimum.
Snake River Farms Top Pick
Snake River Farms is a family-owned business out of Idaho whose meat is used by Michelin-star restaurants.
Luckily for us, they also sell directly to the public via their website.
Their claim to fame is their American Wagyu beef, which comes from crossbreeding imported Wagyu cattle with American Angus.
Their beef is rated higher than USDA Prime .
You can choose from a huge variety of cuts but you cant go wrong with ordering the American Wagyu Gold Grade Ribeye, the bone-in new york strip or the filet mignon.
They guys arent just a mail-order steak company. Porter Road is a full online butcher, selling a large range of beef, pork, chicken, and lamb.
Their meat is sourced from small family farms in Kentucky and Tennessee before it is cut and dry-aged for a minimum of 14 days at their facilities in Kentucky.
All beef is pasture-raised and hormone and antibiotic-free.
Their meat is also quite a bit more affordable than Snake River Farms, making Porter Road a great choice if you want to treat yourself without breaking the bank.
You can shop from over 50 different cuts of beef, but you cant go wrong with the bone-in ribeye.
One of the things I love about Porter Road is the selection of more interesting cuts like Flank Steak, Tri-Tip, Bavette, and beef neck roast.
You can also let Porter Road do the meat shopping for you with one of their curated meat boxes.
They are also focused on sustainability and ensure all meat is humanely raised.
Recommended Reading: What Is The Best Steak
Where To Buy Dry Aged Beef
Steaks are great. Beef in general is great. But do you want to take a great steak and make it outstanding? That is where dry aged beef comes in.
I will get into a bit more detail in a bit but if you just want the short explanation and want to know where to buy dry aged beef here you go:
Dry aged beef is beef that has been stored in a temperature and humidity controlled environment that allows the natural enzymes in the beef to change the texture and flavor of the beef. There is more to it than that but that is the simple explanation.
You can dry age your own beef at home but here are 4 great sources to buy dry aged beef. They are all different and have their strengths and weaknesses but if you just want to buy some dry aged beef:
Disclosure: This post is monetized with affiliate links. If you buy something through them I earn a commission which helps support this site and lets me buy more meat so I can write about it.
OK, the introductions are out of the way. Still reading? Great, lets dig into dry aged beef a bit more.
Chophouse Steaks Online Butcher Shop
When you bite into a dry aged steak that you have cooked yourself, you want it to be perfectly succulent, tender and of restaurant quality. We make it easy for you to order prime steaks online and enjoy them at home. Its that simple. Why it is so important to source your steaks from a trusted supplier, like us here at Chophouse Steaks? Located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, we are an online butcher shop that strives to provide our customers with premium meat products that they love and trust. Our guarantee? Weve got almost 50 years of sourcing and cutting premium beef from the best beef regions in the world. When you buy from us, you always get steakhouse quality. No ifs, ands or buts about it!
All beef selected from the top 2% of the herd or better. We dry-age USDA prime beef in-house and were the exclusive local purveyor of Brant Lake Canadian Wagyu. We also carry 100% authentic Japanese Wagyu.
Youll love the quality. Guaranteed.
Also Check: How To Cook New York Steak On Grill
Choosing The Right Cut Of Steak
Cuts of steak can be broken down into three sections. Startingon the upper back and moving down to the mid-back are the ribs, theshort loin and the sirloin.
- The rib area contains cuts such as the Rib-eye Steak, the RibRoast, and the back ribs. This is the least tender section of thethree.
- The short loin area produces the T-bone, Top Loin Steak, Tenderloin and the Porterhouse.
- The Sirloin gives the Sirloin Steak, and the Top Sirloin.
- Other steaks like the chuck, round, and flank come from those areas and tend to be tougher cuts of meat.
- Strips steaks, such as New York Steak are cut from the T-bone area.
If you are looking for the most tender cut of beef, it is thetenderloin. Other cuts from this area are filet mignon,chateaubriand and tournedos. Though these are the most tenderthey are also less flavorful.
The rib-eye, or rib steak can be a little less tender but far moreflavorful. Small streaks of fat throughout the meat mean moreflavor. So with more marbling you get less tenderness but moreflavor.
Finding a balance between the two, gives you the best steak. Top loin and sirloin are slightly less tender but have more flavor thantenderloin. With cooking cuts of meat such as these there is noneed to marinate or even cook past medium rare.
Some of the most flavorful but least tender cuts of beef aretri-tip or flank steaks. These are also favorites on thebarbeque. Your best bet is to marinate these cuts beforecooking. Also, leave the fat on until after the meat is cooked.
Where To Buy Dry Aged Steak
Until recently, if I wanted dry-aged beef, I would have to source it from a specialty butcher or visit my favorite steak house. Imagine my surprise when my local Safeway added a dry ager to their premium offerings! Not only did they add a selection of dry aged sub-primal cuts, the entire butcher department now has an expansive selection of meats and prepared options from which to choose!
I opted for dry-aged ribeye, my favorite cut thanks to its even and rich marbling, resulting in a tender, flavorful, and juicy steak. The boneless ribeye steaks are perfectly trimmed and ready for the grill! Safeway also has dry aged top loin New York strip steaks, which look equally beautiful!
The butcher always include notes on when the piece of meat has been processed, and for how long it is available. How convenient that they now age beef in-house so I can find the perfect steak close to home!
And of course, now that my neighborhood Safeway was upgraded with premium shopping experiences, everything I need to make a steak dinner special is just footsteps away! Fresh herbs and produce round out the meal, appetizers from the deli make things convenient, and dont forget wine from the wine department and dessert from the new patisserie!
Also Check: Best Steak For Meal Prep
What Makes Our Products So Special
Where we get it
You are probably wondering how we manage to be so confident about the quality and taste that we are able to provide you with. The secret lies in how we select our beef. All of our beef is selected from the top 2% of the herd, or better. Furthermore, we dry-age our USDA prime beef in-house. So, we know the effort that goes into it in order to ensure that it tastes incredible and that every mouthful is a memorable experience.
How we cut it
Weve spent almost 50 years sourcing premium beef and carving it. Our butchers are the best in the business and hand-cut and trim every steak. Its an eye for detail that makes a huge difference.
Along with promising premium quality, we also go over and above to ensure that we are able to offer a superior selection of popular beef cuts for our customers to choose from. In other words, whether you are after a tender tenderloin or a tasty tomahawk, you can rest assured that you will find it here.
Why we do it
Need any more reason to buy from Chophouse? Well, here it is. Were the exclusive local purveyor of Brant Lake Canadian Wagyu and also carry 100% authentic Japanese Wagyu. In short, when it comes to Wagyu, we know best! Because world-class steak shouldnt be reserved for steakhouses. And we want people to stop eating mediocre meat. So, we made these premium cuts of beef available online and easily accessible right here. You pick it. We package it and deliver.
Is Online Meat Delivery Safe
If youre looking for an alternative to your traditional local butcher or big chain supermarket , getting meat delivered to your door seems too good to be true.
But is it actually safe to ship high-quality meat?
It turns out it is.
There are a few different methods online butchers use to deliver meat safely.
Most meat is shipped frozen, with insulated boxes and dry ice inside to keep the temperature cold.
Selection of meat ordered from Porter Road
Companies like Porter Road and Snake River Farms use bio-degradable insulation to cut down on waste.
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Dry Age Steak Vs Normal Steak
Dry-aged beef can be highly marbled, and the flavor may be subtler than other cuts because the fat which slowly melts during cooking coats your tongue with lots of flavorful juices.
Dry aging also results in more tender meat due to moisture loss.
The downside is that this process takes a long time sometimes up to 4 weeks, whereas normal beef is typically aged for one or two days.
Dry-aged meat can be pricey and depending on the type of steak you are looking at, it could cost up to $20 more per pound than a regular cut.
However, some people say thats worth every penny.
How To Dry Age Beef
Hanging meat to dry-age is a process of leaving the beef in a cool area for two weeks or more.
The aging is done at 35-40 degrees Fahrenheit and can go up to 60 days, depending on how much time you want to spend with your beef.
This allows enzymes in the meat to break down tough connective tissues, so the beef is more tender, flavorful, and juicy.
After the aging process is complete, you can refrigerate or freeze your fresh meat to preserve it for a longer time if needed.
Drying age beef has been practiced since ancient times because without refrigeration.
This method was an effective way of preserving meat in climates where temperatures were too high to allow for safe food storage.
Read Also: Cooking Steak On Gas Grill
Crowd Cow Dry Aged Steaks
Crowd Cow does offer some dry aged beef from various farms. At the time of this writing they have some different dry aged cuts from Hutterian Farms in Eastern Washington but I have seen other farms offer dry aged beef on Crowd Cow from time to time.
Since their beef comes from a number of different farms I would assume they will all age them differently and for different lengths of time. I have been very please with all the steaks I have received from Crowd Cow so I would add them to your list if you want to try steaks from a number of different sources.
Order dry aged beef from Crowd Cow
What Does Dry Aged Beef Taste Like
When you get to 30 days you will start noticing some funky flavors developing. Most people describe it as nutty or blue cheesey. The longer you go the more intense those flavors will be. Some people really like the flavors that develop, others dont really care for it. To get the full experience of dry aged beef I would look for something in the 45-60 degree range. If you like it seek out something that is aged longer. If you dont like the flavor but still want to experience dry aged beef look for some that has been aged 14-30 days.
The enzymes that are responsible for the tenderness play a part in the flavor changes but there are also bacteria at work . A lot of the flavor change comes from the oxidation of the fat. You start doing things with the fat on a piece of beef and you will notice a lot of flavor change.
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Grilled Dry Aged Steak
by Liren Baker on July 18, 2022 | This post may contain affiliate links. Please see Affiliate Disclosure in my Terms of Service.
Grilled Dry Aged Steak a dry aged steak is so special, simple is best when it comes to cooking! Learn how to grill dry aged rib eye steak to juicy perfection!
Grilled Dry Aged Steak a dry aged steak is so special, simple is best when it comes to cooking! Learn how to grill dry aged steak to juicy perfection!
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Safeway. All opinions are 100% mine.
Steak is considered a special occasion at our house. I dont cook it as often as the meat lovers in my family would like, but when I do, I make sure we are getting the best steak ever! For me, that means splurging on a beautiful rib eye.
The moment that rib eye hits the grill, the aroma greets your nose, and your tastebuds just know that each bite of tender beef will be mouthwateringly satisfying!
Now, what could be better than the perfect rib eye steak? The answer would be dry aged rib eye! The dry aging process allows cuts of beef to age in a temperature and humidity-controlled environment for a period of weeks to months. As moisture is removed from the cut of beef, the result is a more flavorful and tender steak. Dry-aged meat varies in flavor, depending on the cut of the meat and the length of time it has been aged. Similar to aging cheese or wine, more time results in more flavor!
