Newby wannabe dry-ager here with a couple of questions….

[Tim Wegner]

I have been wanting to try dry aging for a long time and finally just started my first attempt. I have hung game, deer, elk, bison etc… for up to 21 days with great results but have never dry aged beef. I started out with a 20 lb grass fed ribeye. When I got it I intended on getting it in the UMAI bag asap but ran out of time due to an upcoming trade show. The ribeye sat in the wet cryo bag at 35 degrees for about 10 days past sell date.When I opened the cryo bag it smelled a tad bit high so I patted it dry to get the blood and majority of the juices off and the meat itself smelled fine.
I have encountered this before and the meat prime rib or steaks were great and never sour or having a bad flavor
so I went through the process and sealed it in the UMAI bag. Its now been in the temperature controlled frig drawer (meat button pushed) sitting at 33-34 degrees for about 4 days. Looks fine, smells fine.

First question, I just read that grass feed beef was a little trickier and had a narrower dry aging window than grain fed beef…I don’t want to screw this up so do any of you have suggestions or tips i should be aware of for dry aging grass fed beef? as I said this is my first attempt.

Second question, is can I dry age a choice prime rib that had been frozen in its original cryo packaging?

Thanks in advance! Tim

[Ron Pratt]

Welcome aboard, Tim.

That funky first smell off cryovac sealed meat is commonplace and the longer it was sealed (wet aged as it is called) the more noticeable the funk!

As for grass fed vs. grain fed beef being trickier to age – that’s a new one to me! Personally I can’t think of a reason why it would be.

And lastly, yes you can dry age previously frozen sub-primals and I do it all the time!
Ron

[Tim Wegner]

Ron thanks for the quick reply! A followup question, can you re freeze the steaks cut after dry aging a primal that’s been previously frozen..?

[Ron Pratt]

Sure can! And again – I do it all the time! Ron

[Tim Wegner]

Great!

Here is the link i read the part about grass fed…a real interesting read!

http://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/ingredients/article/dry-aged-beef-is-a-new-trend-in-restaurants-around-the-country

[Ron Pratt]

Thanks – Like I said I had never heard that before, but I guess I’ve never had beef that was raised only on grass vs. one only raised on grain. I believe the common practice is to only feed a grain diet late in their life for weight and fat gain. Ron

[Tim Wegner]

Ron

is 33-44 degrees too cold? That is the meat setting in my temp/humidity control drawer, if I put it in produce it bumps temp up to to 35-36 but i’m thinking colder is better….

Do you hunt? If so I have a really sweet knife I call the Pro Hunter. Email me if you wanna see a pic…
tim@blade-tech.com

[Ron Pratt]

Well, like they recommend in the Q & A section:
WHAT ARE THE TEMPERATURE REQUIREMENTS FOR DRY AGING WITH UMAI DRY® TECHNOLOGY?

Dry age at temperature between 34-38F. Typical household refrigerators and restaurant coolers are designed to protect food items like fruits, vegetables, fish and meats from spoilage without freezing them. Please make sure that your refrigerator maintains temperature between 34-38 F to ensure proper aging and prevent spoilage. Ensure that the UMAi Dry® material is in contact with the beef and there are no air pockets inside the bag.

As for being a hunter – no I’m not, but we all love knifes. You can post a picture here in the body of the text using PhotoBucket. Try posting and if need be I may be able to edit it to show all without a further click.
Ron

[Tim Wegner]

Hopefully you can see these pics in the slide show…I’m 17 days in the ageing process. Everything smell’s good and is getting firmer in the bag Pics are front, back and also in temp control fridge tray, plus I opted to add a sea salt tray under the racks to help draw moisture away..Thoughts?

http://s1380.photobucket.com/user/Tim_Wegner/slideshow/

[Ron Pratt]

Your progress sounds good – but you are wasting that salt! There is no need to use it with UMAi Dry Bags when you are using a properly operating refrigerator. That salt and towel method suggested by some following other methods aren’t needed! Ron

[Tim Wegner]

Could you see the pics? Thanks for the heads up on the salt, good thing its cheap….LOL

[Ron Pratt]

Yes I could by clicking on the link. I was going to fix that for you as you need to select the link at PhotoBucket that is labeled IMG, but it appears you have your setting as private so I couldn’t. BTW please don’t think I’m picking on you but every time you pull that meat off the rack to take a picture you are running the risk of tearing a hole in it. I’m a big advocate of bag the meat, place it on the rack and leave it alone. Ron

[Tim Wegner]

Thanks for the sage advice i’ll leave it be….I’ll change my photo bucket setting….I’m kind of a tek tard…LOL

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