Newbie to the site!

[Anonymous]

Howdy all,

I have been checking out this product and the forums for a while. I am a member of smokingmeatforum.com and a little while back they had a contest and the Drybag Steak setup was the prize. I was chosen as one of the 5 winners! WooHoo! I haven’t tried it yet, mainly because I have been on the road alot with work and will be for a couple more weeks, but as soon as I get home I’m gonna give it a try.

I’m not new to the dry aging techniques as I have a special fridge setup and currently wrap the meat in what I call “shroud” cloth, place on a rack and flip it and change the cloth every day. This system works great and I usually age meat 21 to 28 days (depending on how badly I want a good steak).

So, I just wanted to introduce myself and I’ll keep wandering around checking out everything!!

[Ron Pratt]

Hello! Glad you got here! Since you travel a lot that is yet ANOTHER advantage of the DrybagSteak product over that method of using diapers/muslin/linen whatever to keep changing in the “Internet” ideas of how to dry age beef…but I digress… :laugh:

[Anonymous]

I think you’ll love the drybag process. I go down and oogle mine about once a week (no touching!!), but thats about it. Put em in and let em go.

Welcome to the forum and have fun!

[Chad Hayden]

Newbie here too !!.. first post !!..got my drybag system in the mail yesterday and have a strip in the fridge.. Can’t wait to see the outcome !!.. It was a bit tricky at first, getting the bag to seal/vacuum correctly, but I think I got it down now..

[Ron Pratt]

Welcome aboard, Podge! Each time you seal one up the process becomes easier and you’ll know what to expect. There are several threads here with helpful hints. Now sit back and let the Drybag work its magic!

Ron

[Chad Hayden]

I like how there is a search feature for this site. I’ll certainly use it a lot I think !!.. I did do a search about losing the seal, but couldn’t find an answer specific to my question. I had sealed my strip late yesterday morning.. I was happy with the outcome, nice tight coverage, and after a few minutes i was confident the seal took, and very very carefully, moved it to the fridge. About 5-6 hours later, all looked good still !.. Got up this morning, just to check the seal again, and seemed the bag was not as tight,a bit lose even and some air pockets. Nothing major (I think). I would expect this could be from shrinkage, but over a 20 hour period I wouldn’t think it’d be hardly any shrinkage. I’ve checked this forum, and seems that it can be expected for the bag to look a tad loose, but only after several days. Y’all reckon I’m still ok ? Or should I re-seal?

[Ron Pratt]

Hopefully you did not trim your bag way back to start with so that you have excess “bag” to allow you to cut off yesterday’s seal and try it again. The other trick I always do is to do a second seal as a back up. You are correct though in less than a day you should not have air pockets – the air just tells you that there is a leak. Now if you didn’t leave excess material you could very closely examine the seals to locate the breech – then by carefully positioning your sealer and doing some close cutting of the bag near the breech use that as a port of entry for the snorkel – assuming you used a Sinbo. If that works then go ahead and do a 2nd seal like I suggested. Good luck!

Ron

[Chad Hayden]

ok. I’ll take a closer look. I actually made a second seal on it yesterday when I did it. The first bag I tried with it, i had issues. Then I read more here, and tried it again with a new bag, double-sealed, and seemed fine.

[Chad Hayden]

For any other newbies that may be on this site, I changed my search terms a bit and found this. This seems to be extremely helpful, potentially.

http://www.drybagsteak.com/forum/17-dry-aging-with-drybags/161-my-inaugural-dry-bag-steak-experience

[Chad Hayden]

Ok, about to give up on it. Been messing with this system since Friday evening..

I have no issues at all with getting a great vacuum from the sealer. The straw trick works like a charm. I can mess with the bag as the suction is going on, and I get an incredibly good adhesion all around the meat. Then, I seal. I wait a few minutes, no issues, I’ve carefully moved the meat into the fridge, wait a few hours, then there’s obvious evidence the seal is gone. I do not have a vacuum problem, I have a seal problem !. I’ve seen advice (which seems to make perfect sense) on this forum, to let go of the bar as soon as it beeps, wait 15-20 seconds before lifting the bar, etc… But why in the heck can I not get a seal with this machine that will stick ?!?!?!. I do not tug on the bag after it’s sealed and I treat it like a fragile package as I move it to the fride.

I’ve read all the directions that came with the sealer, more than once to make sure I wasn’t missing something. Looked at all I could find on this forum, and thru the internet and youtube. Also, burned up thru the bags I have that came with the starter kit, cutting and sealing.. What am I doing wrong or could do better with the actual sealer on the machine? Right now I have 2 halves of a strip in two of the smaller bags rotting since friday night (not in a good way) in the fridge with no spare bags. So, any ideas? I haven’t tried the pantyhose trick yet, that’s about all I’ve not tried, or a separate vacuum bag on the outside.

[Ron Pratt]

hang on – let’s work this thru – I set my Sinbo on 4 – you know what I mean? Then I hold the bar down until it beeps 3 or 4 times – If you release the bar on the first beep then no you’re not sealing. More to come…

[Anonymous]

A tip – I’ve found that if you don’t have the material that is under the sealing bar 100% clean, dry, and FLAT, getting a good seal is almost impossible. When I say FLAT, I mean no creases AT ALL. Not sure if this is the problem you’re having, but it got me several times before I figured it out. Now that I’ve got the process down, I have no problems getting a good vacuum and seal (and I actually prefer to do it without any additional implement such as straw, paper clip, etc…..).

Also, you can play with turning the heat down on the sealer. You want the heat to be just barely enough to get the job done. If you burn through the bag anywhere, even if its just a little pinhole, you’ll lose vacuum like you’re seeing. “Double sealing” won’t help in this instance. Like RRP, I’ve got mine set to “4” and let it beep about 4 times before letting go. Also, its VERY important to push down evenly with both hands at either end…not one hand in the middle.

Finally, in my limited experience, I’ve found that its extreemly important for the meat to be wet when putting it in the bag. Otherwise, good ashesion isn’t achieved. I’m not sure how to re-wet the surface of a piece once you’ve already bagged it…maybe someone else can chime in here.

Don’t give up just quite yet…once you figure out all the little tricks it becomes very easy and repeatable. Hopefully these little hints will help you out..

Also, FYI, there are people that have reported the vacuum as unnecessary…they say just tie the bag off with a twist tie and call it good. The first brisket I did had a bunch of pretty good air pockets develop, and it turned out just fine. The top sirloin I’ve got aging now has air pockets as well, and they look alot like the brisket did so I’m confident it’ll be fine too.

[Ron Pratt]

As for your concern that your meat has been “rotting away” since Friday it isn’t rotting away any more than the raw bacon is in your refrigerator! Some people who dry age beef go commando and just leave it exposed in the refrig with nothing on it – no Drybags, no wet towels, no nothing! Unless your refrig isn’t cooling properly you are fine! More to come…

[Anonymous]

I’ll add to RRP’s comment about “rotting away”. If the meat smells a little musty or slightly funky (but not overtly offensive), its fine. That’s normal. If it smells offensive or rancid, THROW IT AWAY.

[Chad Hayden]

Thanks guys !!.. I feel a bit better about this.. Well, I’m kinda stuck with what I have right now, 2 halves of a strip, with some air in it. So, you think I should just let it be? Check it out in 14 days or so and cut into it?.. Or should I just get some more bags and re-seal? I’m going to cut and paste what you all have suggested and put in a word file so as to have it the next time i get some bags.

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