SUCCESS! At 44.5 days

[Tim Wegner]

I could hardly wait to get home to my ribeye and needed an excuse to carve it up. As it was I decided to do the deed a half day early because I found a light white mold dusting on the outside of the UMAI bag when I arrived home from my 10 day trip the night of the 8th. I pealed the bag off and everything looked good hard dry crusted and it smelled great like a cross between dried biltong, jerky and pepperoni. The good earthy smell of a butcher shop.

I trimmed off the first end and smelled it, then then tasted a raw slice, OMG it was delicious! I finished trimming the bark off and nibbled bits of it as i went along. I then and got the bright idea to kebab some small chunks of the bark…and grill with the first steak samples. I plan to make a broth base with the rest if I can keep from nibbling it all…LOL

I kept the first steaks cut off the ends as they were not uniform, being cut to square the ribeye up. I then cut rest of the center steaks into 2-2 1/2″ beauties. I chose the 2 uneven end cuts to BBQ along with the bark kebabs.

Everything was amazingly even though I slightly over cooked the steaks (They turned out medium rare rather rare) nevertheless they were delicious, huge beef flavor laced with a hint of earthy nuttiness and a very slight hint of bleu cheese. Absolutely DELICIOUS! i’ll try and post pics later!

[Ron Pratt]

Great report, Tim! This is a good place to insert some advice for other readers to follow. That is, dry aged steak cook much faster than non-aged ones. It’s due to the moisture which has been drawn from the meat – and that’s all dry aging is anyway! Also Learning to cook to temperature instead of cooking to time will make you much happier. Purchasing an instant read thermometer such as a Thermapen is such a wise investment..why? after you have been so patient aging your meat then it’s a shame to over cook them based on the old “cooking to time” method. Ron

[Tim Wegner]

[Ron Pratt]

Well played, Tim, as they say in golf, but better yet you really rocked the boat with the pictures of your effort! That series of pictures are visual proof! Ron

[Dr. Frederick Howard]

Well Tim I think I’ll weigh in ever so slightly-Ron was right on with his Thermapen recommendation. They’re expensive, but you get what you pay for. Cooking by temp is the only way to go, especially with well crafted dry aged beef. One suggestion that I might add-with steaks that thick, cooking with a two zone cook will work wonders. Start on the cool side until the steak)s) reach 110F-115F. Remove, put on a plate and cover very lightly. Then crank to hot side up very, very hot. Then place the steak(s) on the hot side and flip after no more than a minute, repeat. Check your temps and flip again until you get the degree of crust you desire. You will turn out steaks) exactly at the temp you want and you don’t have to let it rest-you already did while hearing up the grill. BTW-this cook was off the chain!! Remember, you didn’t rush the aging, don’t rush the cooking.

[Dr. Frederick Howard]

Yeah Ron, its been awhile since I’ve posted, but I do monitor daily. Keep up the good work!!

[Ron Pratt]

Nice to see you surfaced for air, Doc! Yes, it has been a while and I have wondered what ever happened to you. You were one of the early forum members – so don’t stay away so long as I know you have experience to share! Ron

[Ed Falis]

So Ron, for a full rib roast circumference (not the whole subprimal, but a bit longer than the diameter), are you recommending 45 days? We’re doing our first one here, and I didn’t want to shock the wife too much, and tentatively settled on 35. But if you think the extra 10 days makes that much difference, I can be convincing.

– Ed

[Ron Pratt]

Absolutely! and actually with one that big you could let it go for 60 days! 35 days just isn’t enough! Ron

[Ed Falis]

Thanks Boss. I’m not sure I want to push the first one too much, though knowing my own tastes, I’d probably love the 60 day.

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