weight loss during ripening in the dry aging bag

[Tony Erne]

The air within the cooling unit if to dry will remove moisture from the meat at a faster rate and dry the meat out more than you may want. That’s why most dry agers don’t dry age small cuts of meat. If you did you’d have a piece of dried beef jerky.

If you’re concerned about cooking time, and the effects of less moisture in the meat, the clear answer would be reduce the cooking time.

Frying, baking, grilling and hot water baths can change the internal temps at a different rate during the cooking process.

The biggest adjustment to cooking dry age meats is NOT to over cook the meat regardless of how it’s cooked.

The weight of the product counts too.

Just do the following to get the correct weights. Every time you dry age a primal or other meats check the starting weight, the trimming (bark) weight after drying, the trimming of (excess) fat weight during caving, the water (loss) weight before and after, and finally the steak weight you will eat. Subtract all the weight from your start weight and you will see the difference on the weight loss amounts . A lot of posters claim only water loss regardless if its OZ, Lbs or % it’s a lot more than water.

The weight of all parts of the equation can and will change the weights every single time you dry age. One last comment, it really doesn’t matter how much the weight of the meat changes, it’s how much did I improve the flavor, texture and quality of the meat.

Take everything into account and be happy for a great way to improve the meat you eat.