The Original Dry Bag Steak | Make Artisan Dry Age Steak at Home › Forums › Dry Aging Steak › Dry Aging Steak with UMAi Dry® › Need help. Might have gone bad
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Dan.
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September 28, 2018 at 3:49 am #3233
Steven simmons
MemberHello,
First time trying out the bags and I’ll be honest it was pretty tough to get a seal. Went through all three bags. At first I thought it was fine, then a few days later the Bond didn’t hold. As far as I have seen there aren’t any wholes in the bag. Now my question is that it has been in the fridge since 9/6 and there are still parts that are not hard. Sides are still soft. I am worried bc there is a funky smell that is starting to form and it appears to be some white mold on the meat. I read that it should be. Nutty or wine smell and I can smell that, but also some sour smells. My fridge is a normal fridge and works perfectly. Should I even wait the whole 32 days, or toss it?
September 28, 2018 at 2:27 pm #11771Ron Pratt
MemberSorry to hear of your frustration sealing the bags and then going through so many bags. I wish you would have done what I did…I must have used my first bag 6 or 7 times to learn how my sealer was going to work with the UMAi Bag.
On the other hand you don’t even need a sealer as a perfect vacuum is not necessary! In fact what you can do is place the moist meat into the bag and then using your hands press the bag against the meat while forcing out as much air and not leaving any air pockets. Then at the open end insert a drinking straw or a piece of tubing in and then grab the bag tightly around the straw or tubing and finish sucking out as much air as you can. When done quickly remove the straw or tubing and tightly close the end using a bread twisty.
Now about your meat…occasionally people will report small white mold spots. Just as long as your refrigerator is in proper working order it should NOT be any issue! You will trim that mold away after the aging is done.
When you say a funky smell – aging meat will take on an earthy or nutty smell and that is natural. If the meat spoiled which is unlikely then rancid meat would smell horribly.
Ron
September 28, 2018 at 9:50 pm #11772Steven simmons
MemberThanks Ron. Yea the smell sometimes got a little strong. I just don’t possibly see how it could be bad. It was fresh meat and fridge works fine. My only concern is that my wife was saying that when she opens the door it is starting to have a strong smell. I’m planning on going 32 days. Now what should I look for when I cut it open? Like what are the warning signs of spoiling?
September 28, 2018 at 10:39 pm #11773Ron Pratt
MemberIf the meat is bad your nose will let you know! Aged meat has an earthy, nutty smell – rancid, spoiled meat will have a VERY noticeable HORRIBLE rotten smell. Meat does not spoil from inside out, unless it had been JACCARDed or knife tenderized while there was active bacteria on the surface of the meat and thereby being introduced inside. Don’t worry about the exterior why aging it. I wish there would be some way for you and your wife to have smelled aged beef before you started. If either of you saw the dry aging rooms in expensive restaurants where there are various shades of mold growing on the exterior you might be horrified at the appearance of the raw meats just sitting on shelves! Seeing you have just 22 days into this first attempt I hope you let it to continue to age to 32. Then when you cut open the bag the natural instinct will be to trim it back to what I call “grocery store red”. Trouble doing that is you will be trimming away the best part of why you aged the meat in the first place! When grilled that hard exterior – and especially the fat will soften and make your entire aged meat effort well worth your effort! In fact with time you might age longer the next time! Personally I prefer no less than 45 days and often go for 60 days – but then I’ve been aging my beef for years now! Just hang in there!!! Ron
September 29, 2018 at 12:06 am #11774Steven simmons
MemberLet’s say I decide to trim it after 32 days. Should I look for something specific to see if it has gone bad? Will the meat look bad?
September 29, 2018 at 12:59 am #11775Ron Pratt
MemberAs I said before – if the meat was BAD – then you might even gag at the smell of rotted meat even before you reach 32 days!Dry aged beef smells different than “grocery store red” meat which has little to NO smell.
Your NOSE and not your eyes will tell you if the meat has gone bad! Aged beef will look darker and then after you peel the bag off the outer surface it will look like leather. That appearance alone MAY cause a FIRST time aging attempt to look weird to a spouse who already had determined the meat will be bad. Ron
September 29, 2018 at 1:42 am #11776Ron Pratt
MemberI guess it is time once again to explain something…I have absolutely NO financial interest in this company! Several years ago after enjoying the use of the UMAi Dry Bag I wrote to the owner and suggested that a forum on the website might enhance the product by giving a platform for users to ask questions and exchange experiences using the bag. I even went so far as explaining since I was a retired guy and “had time on my hands” I would gladly become a forum moderator and WITHOUT any compensation! The owner excepted my offer and here I STILL am! RRP
October 4, 2018 at 12:25 am #11778Steven simmons
MemberHi Ron. Follow up question. How long should I dry for? My plan was 32, I was maybe thinking I would go 45. Is there a big difference?
October 4, 2018 at 12:44 am #11779Ron Pratt
MemberYes, 45 is better than 32 for say large, thick sub-primals of ribeye and sirloin. OTOH New York strip loins are thinner and therefore unless you become a “no-trim’snob” (LOL) then 32 is ample time for that piece.
Please let me know your outcome and the “family consensus” !
Ron
October 25, 2018 at 1:06 am #11797Steven simmons
MemberSo 45 days past and when I opened the bag it was just awful smell. It appears something went wrong. Not sure how because the fridge works fine, my normal fridge 🙁 went through all three bags too. Thanks for all the help Ron. I won’t give up
October 25, 2018 at 2:06 am #11798Ron Pratt
MemberWhen you say “awful smell” – can you describe it? Aged beef as a nutty, earthy smell. If your meat was rotten then you would have sensed that weeks ago!
Any chance you can post a picture of it?
Have you even tried to slice off some of the “offending dry bark”?
Ron
October 25, 2018 at 4:46 am #11799Steven simmons
MemberThe smell was hard to handle. There was no nutty smell at all. Unfortunately I threw it away. I tried to slice it and get to the meat and tried to get close to smell the inside and it was just too much. I will be sure to try it again. I think what might of happened is that there wasn’t a good seal from the start and the meat couldn’t make contact with the bag. Hopefully the next attempt will be a better experience.
October 30, 2018 at 9:15 am #11806Dan
MemberI had a similar experience with my first try at a ribeye bone-in. My bag failed and it filled with air. I let it ride for 30ish days then i found that the actual seal had opened up and there was a small patch about 10mm on the meat that looked to be slowly rotting! At that point i pulled the pin and removed it from the bag and cut the small rotting part. I removed about 1 inch of the total ribeye to be safe. I then butchered it up and the meat was absolutely gorgeous! Once that hard out pellicle (check spelling) forms i believe the meat is quite well protected provided the meat is in a modern fridge and the humidity is not high.
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