The Original Dry Bag Steak | Make Artisan Dry Age Steak at Home › Forums › Dry Aging Steak › Dry Aging Steak with UMAi Dry® › Monday night anticipation. (Tonight!)
- This topic has 7 replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 3 months ago by
Rob Babcock.
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September 17, 2012 at 8:42 pm #1448
Scott Mark
MemberYesterday I pulled four 60-day strip loin steaks (NY strips) and today I pulled another package, to be sure we had enough. We’ve got some friends from the neighborhood coming over and I want to be sure we’ve got enough food to satisfy everyone.
My plan is to make “steak bites” take the NY strips and carve off all the fat strips, then cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Let them rest for a while (or maybe hot tub them) then season and, in batches, sear them in a NASA-hot wok. One luxury I’ve got is a very hot range. I’m looking forward to having a true wok burner outside. You get a true “black and blue” beef without so much blue that might dissuade.
That’ll go with freezer sweet-corn-off-the-cob, steamed broccoli, and fresh cabbage slaw. I kinda wanted to do homemade pasta and homemade alfredo but Dear Wife wanted to keep things simpler.
I’m sitting here with an empty fridge – time to go get some subprimals and start aging!
Toasty
September 18, 2012 at 12:38 pm #6252Rob Babcock
MemberSounds good! I just wanted to chime in that the first time I heard you refer to “hot tubbing” I assumed you meant an immersion circulator. But seeing a few other posts I realized you’re talking “beer cooler sous vide”! While I have two SousVide Supreme units I do occasionally use a bowl of hot water (especially if I want to re-therm food or precook in a location that’s impractical to set up a circulator).
September 18, 2012 at 1:10 pm #6253MemberAs things happened to turn out, no hot tubbing or sous vide took place (Well, actually I used it to reheat the sweet corn, that was in vac-seal bags).
But the beef was trimmed and diced and seasoned and then stir-fried in batches, using rendered duck fat, over very high heat.
I think there’s always that moment-of-truth, finding out if your guests enjoy the taste of aged beef, and you’re wondering if you are going to have some join-ins or if you’re going to have to be a total gorge while they make do on the rice.
Tonight was join-ins. They hit it like a great white hits a seal pup, and about as gracious about it. Well, no, the guests had great manners. It was my son (the hunter one) who just kept reaching for the bowl. Portioning turned out about perfectly, with “there’s about 2 oz left, and it’s not going to be good tomorrow. Let’s all take one last piece?”
This was 60-day strip loin, well-marbled but trimmed of any exterior fat I could trim. (I very much love my new knife). And, at least for strip loin, I’m leaning toward RRP’s “longer is better” philosophy. This stuff was tremendous. I tend to do aged steak on it’s own, to focus on the flavor of the beef. I am pondering if this would have been improved with some sectioned portabellas and diced onion. Next time, maybe.
So I’m very much looking forward to my next trip to Sam’s Wholesale club. I’ve got room for 2-3 subprimals, drybags to match, and a gumption to get things going again. Or maybe a lamb leg. So far, it seems that beef and lamb benefit the most from aging.
Age your beef. Invite your friends.
Toasty
September 18, 2012 at 1:23 pm #6254MemberIf you mentioned what your new knife is I missed it- what did you pick up? I’m a certified knife nut! In addition to working as a chef I moonlight as a pro sharpener. If I had my druthers I’d only sharpen Japanese knives. My personal collection contains knives by: Nubatama, Moritaka, Akifusa, Tojiro, Kagayaki, Kikuoichi, Kenetsune and probably a couple I’m forgetting right now. I also collect stones. My newest addiction is Japanese natural stones.
September 18, 2012 at 1:37 pm #6256MemberOh, wups. I should probably have addressed this earlier.
I’m not sure about “beer cooler” sous vide but I’m more the “rice cooker” sous vide. I mean that there is an active heating element and a controller that supplies an active temperature reader. I’ve got setups ranging from 50-cup rice cookers to Rival Roaster Ovens to Dazey deep-fryers to run-of-the-mill slow-cookers. They all work. But they are all active- so I’m not sure about the “beer cooler” method. What heats the water?
Toasty
September 18, 2012 at 1:42 pm #6257MemberKyocera ceramic knife set. It’s a mixed package, as much of life is. It’s very sharp, impossible to maintain (even if you get their fancy sharpener) and very brittle. Don’t touch bone with it. But cutting through fat and meat, it’s awesome.
Toasty
September 18, 2012 at 1:42 pm #6258MemberYour water heater! :laugh: Or the stove top. You heat water to the desired temp and pour it in an insulated cooler. The Coleman coolers will keep ice for 5 days in 90 F weather, so heat loss in an hour long soak/cook is minimal. It’s a good way to experiment with sous vide for nearly no money, with the caveat being it’s not good for long cooks.
September 18, 2012 at 1:44 pm #6259Memberquote toasty” post=2969:Kyocera ceramic knife set. It’s a mixed package, as much of life is. It’s very sharp, impossible to maintain (even if you get their fancy sharpener) and very brittle. Don’t touch bone with it. But cutting through fat and meat, it’s awesome.Toasty
They are sharp! Actually, I do have “stones” that will cut ceramic knives. DMT makes diamond plates that will work well but the Japanese Atoma diamond plates are top o’ the heap.
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