The start of my first effort using the Drybags

[Tony Erne]

[Ron Pratt]

Good Morning, Tony! You are an early riser! BTW when I ran tabs on my humidity in my frig I found it fluctuated considerably, but as long as the unit is working that is the nature of the beast. Ron

[Tony Erne]

[Tony Erne]

Working a night shift (Alaska) at the moment, and trying to post photo’s,,,still learning this site.

Ron, have you tried dry aging without the bag? I do see the benefits of protection using a Dry bag.

[Ron Pratt]

No, I never tried it without the bag…a big raw piece of meat sitting in my frig would not play well with me nor my wife. I like the secure feeling of the bag protection.

[Adam]

On the topic of the no bag dry age; I talked to the chef at a local steak house that has a good sized walk in refridgerator just for aging steaks and he told me to just put my strip loin in the fridge at home with no bag. I couldn’t make myself do it. It wouldn’t be something I would want to try and my girlfriend would probably freak out to with a 13 lb piece of raw meat in the fridge for 28 days.

[Ron Pratt]

Yup…let alone for 45 days like is my preference! Ron

[Tony Erne]

I’ve watched a few different you tube video’s showing folks dry aging in home size refridgerators. It works, but I think I would use a Dry age only fridge with additional fan for the time being. Got to make sure I like the taste. :woohoo:

[Ron Pratt]

Tony, if you have all weekend and probably more then spend all the time you can to watch videos, read blogs and more posted on the Internet about dry aging beef. There are thousands of them! Once I even found one where someone in Mexico swore the best dry aged beef he ever had was from a raw beef carcass left hanging in the sun in an open air market for 3 weeks! What has always bothered me and my wife is the thought of what “other bacteria” is brought home from the grocery stores on other packages…sneezed on, filthy hands, dirty carts, and other sloppy handling! YUP I really want some raw meat in there…NOT!
Ron

[Tony Erne]

Never know, but I do see some video’s having spots of mold on the open air drying process, and some bagged with mold. I think if its done right both are going to work. I will do a full compairson using dry bag vs. open air and if I like the taste, I’ll drive on testing both for sure. The only hold up is time, so knowing or getting to the end state of both may take me a years effort. If all goes well I will rotate primals in and out every 8-10 days,,,now that sound like good eats to me. What a dream

[Tony Erne]

Here’s an updated picture on my first dry age ribeye. I had a tough time getting the temp stablized in the refrig. I figured out if I add items to refrig it would help keep the inside colder. It also would help the up and down of the the temp gage. It has worked pretty good so far.

[Ron Pratt]

Lookin good, Tony! BTW even if you just store several milk jugs of water in your empty frig will help stabilize the temperature. It used to sound like a joke, but that trick even works better in a freezer. Dead air space is not kind to household refrigeration equipment. Ron

[Tony Erne]

I added a few cases of sode for the bulk to help retain the cold. Also added a new primal (NY) as well and placing the ribeye on the lower shelf.

With the cost of meat I’m hope’in everything turns out aged as I read and seen on the website. I’m thinking 33-36 days.

[Ron Pratt]

Tony…that will help a lot! OTOH seeing that heat rises and cold settles then iffin I were you I would switch that set up and place my meat at the bottom and those heat absorbing sodas on top! Ron

[Tony Erne]

I do have the thermo gage sitting on the top showing a temp of 35-37 degs. I was having a problem stablizing the temps, kept getting 30 degs and worrying about freezing, now I have a more stable eviro. I will move the gage and get a read on the lower level and see what gives. Thanks Ron

by the way what does OTOH stand for?

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