Can’t get a seal.

[Anuj]

Hey Guys,

First time using an Umai Dry Age bag. Purchased a NAMP 109 Ribeye. Weighs approximately 29lb. I attempted to vacuum seal it this afternoon but for whatever reason couldn’t really get a proper seal. Seemed like i got a good one and then about 5 min later it was loose. I’m going to try again with another bag, perhaps the rib roast punctured the bag, but wanted to know if you guys had any suggestions. Probably worth mentioning that I didn’t get this cryovacced. Came pretty much dry from the whole saler i.e. no meat juice (sacroplasm) that you typically get from the cryo-vacced pieces. There’s also a huge fat cap. Can the bag bond to the fat?

Appreciate any help.

[Ron Pratt]

Hi – several things come to mind. But first off instead of wasting all your bags please use that first one and practice sealing it repeatedly in new spots so you can get the hang of it! I just have created 6 or 7 new seals on my first bag. Then the next issue deals with the size of the meat you are trying. You said it is 29 pounds, but the UMAi Dry bag you are using is only designed to hold 12 to 16 pounds so there’s a chance you ripped the bag already. Yes you can and should leave a fat cap on, but if it is excessive you will probably trim it off after aging anyway so what not cut it down now? At least that is what I would do. And lastly you might want the cut that size meat into 2 pieces and age them separately and for two different lengths of time. What a better way for a side by side test to see the length of time you and your family likes! One last thing…welcome to the forum! Ron

[Anuj]

Wish I’d seen you’re reply a little sooner. I just had another go at it and seem to have had more luck this time. I tried mucking about with the existing bag but because the piece of meat was so huge there wasn’t a whole lot of left over plastic left over.

So my understanding for more fat is
1) Better yield. Fat weights about 1/2 as much as muscle so if thats going to get thrown away better that you’re paying less per pound.
2) Slows the rate at which moisture is lost thereby allowing you to cry age for a little longer. There’s a technique where you actually coat the primal in rendered fat so that it can age longer. Less moisture lost + longer aging time = more tender, higher yield.

If it fails this time round, i’m going to cut it in 2. The thing is it ain’t that long, its just really wide. I’m trying to learn more about how the bonding actually works, wonder if there’s a way i can fabricate the sacroplasm you get from a typical cryovacced bag.

Anyway cheers for the reply.

Big Un’

[Ron Pratt]

Yes – I’m sorry you didn’t read this before “probably wasting” yet another UMAi Dry bag. I know this may be hard to do, but your best bet is to forget all the “information” you have read/learned/believed about dry aging beef off the internet! There is so much misinformation on the net about dry aging! Using a UMAi Dry bag simplifies the process! In simple terms “bag it, seal it, and wait until it is done!” Ron

[Anuj]

Got a pretty bum seal on the primal. Completely disconnected from the back ribs and kinda loose still after a day on the fat cap. I’d say about 40-50% bonding. Going to just call it and hope for the best. Think the bags was just way too small for my rib.

[Brendan Gross]

I tried this for the first time two weeks ago with a 19 lb. bone-in ribeye purchased at Restaurant Depot. I had an awful time getting a good seal on it and used all three bags. That being said, the third and final bag did have some air in it, but it adhered to a good portion of the meat. I was so upset over how difficult it was that I reached out to UMAI about my experience. They assured me that a little air in the bag was not an issue as long as the meat was adhering. They also kindly replaced my bags for me. I am now two weeks in, and the meat is looking great. It has changed to a very dark red and looks to be heading towards the dark brown bark. I plan on letting it go for a total of 28-35 days depending on how it looks.

[Ron Pratt]

Good! You know the next time you want to dry such a large sub-primal you might want to forgo a sealer altogether. What I mean is bag the meat and then with your hands press the bag against the meat pushing out the excess air. then insert a straw or piece of small tubing in the end and gather the bag tightly around the straw/tubing. Using good ol’ lung power suck the rest of the air out, withdraw the straw/tubing and then quickly close the bag with a strong bread twisty! Seriously…this method works fine! Ron

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