Wet dog smell/taste

[Todd]

I just finished my first attempt to dry age with Umai bags: a 35-day striploin that I posted about in “Poor Bond, loose bag. Stay the course?”

It smelled pretty good in the fridge all the way through the process, but the “valleys” where the ribs were cut continued to be soft. There was a bit of white mold so I rubbed it down with apple cider vinegar and after trimming there was kind of a distinct wet-dog smell here and there on the meat.

I’ve read on the forum that very aged meat is an acquired taste, but would this qualify as a normal flavor for the amount of time or did something possibly go wrong in my process? Maybe the vinegar treatment was too intense? The meat cooked up real nice and I didn’t get the runs or anything from eating it, but I can’t quite shake that flavor and I’m bummed if I have to trim back to “grocery store red.”

Todd

Pics:
Finished product
CookedCooked:

[Ron Pratt]

Wet dog smell is a new one to me. Smell or not the fact the meat tasted fine and that picture did too then that spells success!
As for the white mold that is strictly on the exterior as meat is sterile on the inside.
Ron

[Todd]

Thanks Ron,

Here and there the meat did sort of taste like a wet dog smells, so I just trimmed further into those parts. Yes, overall I do consider it a success. Next time I’ll make sure there’s a better bond at the start of the process.

Todd

[Dave]

I just had a umai bag created 35 day NY strip this weekend…To me, it had a very faint cheese smell (you had to get close to smell it). But taste wise, It just tasted like a concentrated juicy steak. I’ve also tried a 35 day NY mail ordered and it had a very faint salami smell but taste was just steak. (To me I start tasting smelling the dry aged taste 42+ days)

But I’m guessing everybody’s tastes are diffrerent and probably the type of bacteria/fungi that dominate probably impacts it.

[Thea]

Usually dry aged steak is described as earthy, forest-y, blue cheese-y, funky, but never before “wet dog.”
There should be no mold if you use a modern frost free refrigerator in regular use located within a consistently room temperature environment. With charcuterie, some white mold may form and should be wiped off with wine vinegar. But fresh meat should not develop mold in a fridge that is managing humidity effectively. Also, the contact between UMAi Dry® and meat surface is optimized if you start out meat side down on the open wire rack, fat cap up. Gravity will ensure the best contact if you leave it that ways for at least week, before flipping over for the rest of the aging period.
Also, with UMAi Dry® we generally recommend trimming back to “grocery store red,” as you describe it. The “bark” is not recommended for consumption.

[Todd]

Thanks Dil950 and BagLady!

Perhaps my tastebuds weren’t registering “funk” correctly, but it’s a pretty strange and unexpected flavor. That taste was most concentrated around the “valleys” where the ribs were cut out. They never fully developed a good bark and were a little gummy to the touch. Regardless, I’m still eating and still kicking, so I look forward to bleaching out my fridge and trying another dry-aging again.

Todd

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