Welcome aboard, Curt! What you have described is nothing more than the inner layer of the dried meat surface from aging. The degree of trimming is a personal choice, but that layer was safe to eat. I have long been an advocate of not trimming back to “grocery store red”! You go to all the effort of aging and then trim away any signs of it. Perhaps enjoying that brown layer is an acquired taste, but I like it myself, though my wife does not. Once my steak has been grilled I find that layer to be very tasty, though somewhat chewy. As for pictures I have often posted my trimmed steaks, which you’ll see include that layer you described. Here’s some shots of my results over the last couple years.
Ron
