Newibe questions –

[Avraham]

Hi,
I’m waiting for my bags to arrive and in the meantime I am trying to learn and avoid mistakes…

In the FAQ is says – ” We recommend strongly against aging tenderloin for the traditional 14, 21, or 28 days, rather ONLY 4-5 days is suitable, sufficient and the most non-wasteful way to improve upon so valuable a cut of meat.”

I am very limited in the beef pieces I can get (mostly because of Kosher reasons)
The piece my suppler calls a “entrecote” and it looks like that: entrecote
I guess the max size I can get will be no more then 6 lb.
Is this piece worth aging for 28+ days or should I just cut it and dry it for 4-5 days?

Thanks

[Ron Pratt]

Based on this site, I’d say this is more like a ribeye or such than a tenderloin so it should be able to benefit from aging, BUT being as small as it is I’d limit it to say 28 days.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrecôte
Ron

[Avraham]

Question #2:
I intend to build a curing chamber from an old fridge in which I will control the temp to 59-64F like in traditional curing.
Will I still benefit something using the dry bags over regular casting?

[Jim]

If you go through the trouble of building a chamber you probably can use conventional casings, natural, collagen, etc. The UMAi Dry method is designed to be used effortlessly with a regular household refrigerator without any humidity controls, ventilation, etc. There would not be very many advantages of using UMAi Dry if you plan to do this in a climate controlled chamber.

[Ed Falis]

Entrecote is the French name for rib steak. So it is definitely a preferred cut for dry aging.

[Avraham]

From your experience – Does a sausage from a cure chamber tastes better then one that what in the fridge wrapped with UMAI-Dry bag?

[Jim]

That’s a difficult question to answer because the taste depends on so many things. You will likely have less consistent results using the chamber due to mold growth on the sausage, which is part of drying in a chamber. The end taste will be different because the temps are higher and there is mold growth.

[Bob]

The taste in a chamber is more complex, mainly due to the fact enzymes and beneficial bacteria are more active at the lower temps. And mold growth contributes to the taste and is also beneficial in reducing acidity.

Bottom line is that you can make great tasting dry cured meats and sausages using either method.

[Avraham]

Looks like I’d better get experience first with the dry bag and get some hands-on with the basic process before I can handle mold controlling without freaking out 🙂

[Author]

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