Bar Fridge?

[Anonymous]

Hello, I was going to use my little bar fridge to age my loin, and got a email back from drybag saying they didnt think it was a good idea do to fluctuations in the temp, and humidity levels. My little bar fridge keeps a dead on temp of around 36 and for air movement I use a little battery operated RV fridge fan

http://www.rvshop.com/FRIDGECOOL-FAN-WITH-ONOFF-SWITCH-BATTERY-OPERATED-BY-VALTERRA-A10-2606_p_54796.html

Has anybody tried using a bar fridge before. The only reason I would really like to use it is because our fridge is pretty small, and we dont really have the room for it, as well as it gets opened allot, but if I would end up ruining my meat because of it, I will just have to use it anyway.

[Ron Pratt]

I know typically Thea does not recommend one of those small refrigerators due to the lack of air circulation, however you have already addressed that problem. Not sure how long your batteries will last, but if I were you I’d keep a good eye on it and have spares ready. Opening and closing the door to check the fan won’t hurt a thing and probably will even be a good thing to do. Let us know your results!

[Anonymous]

Ive had a pair of D batteries last me 5 years in my RV…….its just a little fan that you keep in the door, as cold air comes off the cooling unit it naturally goes down, and then the fan blows it back up gently, you then get a little circulation…….ill give it a try, what signs should I look for that its working or not……if I get that nice dark color, is that a sign I have the ball rolling?

[Ron Pratt]

I make it a practice to take a picture of the primal right after I seal it so I have a reference to how tight my seal was and the color of the raw un-aged meat. Then I check it from time to time – but I never touch it nor move it during the aging period. Within a week you will notice it has loss the bright red and is starting to darken. BTW I forgot to ask or suggest – be sure that the meat is resting on a wire rack inside that refrig and not laying on a glass shelf or the solid bottom. It needs that air circulation. I posted this picture of one I made.
http://www.drybagsteak.com/forum/17-dry-aging-with-drybags/58-wire-rack-for-better-air-flow

[Ron Pratt]

For those of you who may have read this far on the topic of using a small bar refrig you might want to read on though this other thread where in the end “kinder” reports on his results…it seems that bar refrig must have frozen the meat, which isn’t what you want to have happen.
It starts here:
http://www.drybagsteak.com/forum/18-general-dry-aging-questions/197-oh-the-anticipation

[Anonymous]

Well I got another rib loin today, and didn’t dry it off like in the video……and I have to report, in the words of Borat “GREAT SUCCESS”. I got a nice tight skin on it this time, and put it on a rack in my big fridge, after persuading the wife to let me. We have one of those fridges that are half freezer and half fridge so there isn’t as much room as a regular fridge. Thanks to everybody for the tips……I guess I just had to learn the hard way huh, ah well, it will make the steaks taste better.

[Anonymous]

heres a couple of pictures of the new seal :woohoo:

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[Anonymous]

:woohoo:

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