Whole Ribeye (First time user)

[Will]

I recently learned about Uami Drybags and gave it a try. This is my first attempt and am super pleased with the results (even though I later realized I missed the step of flipping it a week later) I purchased a 20 pound Choice grade whole ribeye and it turned out awesome. It yielded 11 steaks total, not counting small end caps. I placed it on a cheap wire rack in our spare fridge that held 34.6F. I didn’t get the bag as tight as I would have liked but it did fine. I have a top strip loin aging now that has a really good vacuum on it. I took some pictures along the way…

Day 1

Day 11

Day 25

Day 40

Day 42, decided to cut.




I cut each at 1.5″ thick and netted 18-20 ounces a piece.

[Will]

Seared for 2 minutes per side and finished on the grill. Could cut it with a fork and the flavor was intense.

[Ron Pratt]

Great first try, Will!!! BTW the marbling in that meat was extraordinarily beautiful! You say it was a Choice, but it proves once again not all the Prime get spotted and so graded! Thanks for sharing! Ron

[Will]

Yes sir! It was $9.19 per pound at Costco. Last week, the same was $7.99 and the Prime was $11.49 per pound. This time I decided on the Choice cut strip at $6.69 to see how that turns out. I didnt want to spend too much while in the learning process but the first one had a couple of minor mistakes and was awesome. 🙂

[Phil]

Will, those steaks look fantastic. I’m curious why you trimmed after aging rather than before? Personally I trim before thinking that the rub doesn’t penetrate the fat to get to the meat. Maybe our experts will chime in on this and give us their advice.

[Will]

I didn’t preseason it at all, this was my first time so I didn’t want to alter the flavor. I dont think I would trim before anyway and I found on the last one I bagged, it was much easier while the meat still has the juices on the outside, it appears to have a better seal to the meat than the first one did which was a little dryer. I also cut the steaks to width and then trimmed, I believe this is easier than trimming the entire thing and then cutting, but I’m new at it so…

[Ron Pratt]

quote shuswap” post=7094:

Will, those steaks look fantastic. I’m curious why you trimmed after aging rather than before? Personally I trim before thinking that the rub doesn’t penetrate the fat to get to the meat. Maybe our experts will chime in on this and give us their advice.

It’s not advisable to apply a rub or even mere salt and pepper before aging. While you could trim excessive fat before aging that is OK and I have done that myself – but you want to be careful not to trim away too much since once aged the exterior takes on a hard leathery like skin which most people trim off to whatever degree of their liking. Ron

[Ron Pratt]

quote Will” post=7095:

I also cut the steaks to width and then trimmed, I believe this is easier than trimming the entire thing and then cutting…

Will, I agree! Steak it out and then trim individually. Here’s an example of why…a boneless rib eye has a rippled side of hills and valleys. If you were to trim first then you will go deeper to reach to the bottom of the valleys meaning you also lost the tasty hills increasing your trimming loss. Instead by steaking out first you can trim each individually to your liking. Ron

[Phil]

I haven’t done the long term dry aging just the short term such as the herb crusted tenderloin so I hadn’t noticed that there is no ingredients on the long term aging. Now I know.

[Will]

I do have a question about cooking though, first attempt I let them stand to get to room temperature and seared for 2 minutes per side and then finished on the grill at 375F and pulled at 140F, let stand for 10 minutes before cutting. Those were awesome, really tender and juicy, however they were barely pink in the center. The next time, I did the exact same thing except I pulled them at 128F thinking it would be better but they were tougher. Just as juicy as the first but weren’t quite as tender, they had great color in the center.

Now, I’m not concerned with the color at all anymore and I’m wondering if the lower temperature didn’t quite get the fat where it needed to be for tenderness?

BTW, I’ve never cooked a dry aged steak so I’m learning….

[Ron Pratt]

Will, I have several ideas to run by you, but I have to finish mowing my yard before it gets so stinking hot. Catch you later, but ponder these words…reverse sear, hot tubbing and Thermapen. Ron

[Will]

I’ll do the reverse sear next time, I’ve been pondering doing that anyway. I don’t have an actual Thermapen brand but I do have a similar design, cheaper instant read (4 seconds) digital thermometer +/- 1F. that I’ve checked in boiling water and its accurate.

[Ron Pratt]

Will, I have had a few hours in the hot sun to think about this so thanks for being patient. First of all with thick steaks like you cut then the reverse sear is so much better as it gives you greater control over the outcome. Though you said you left them on the counter I am a big fan of hot tubbing large steaks and even large prime ribs. Here’s my method of hot tubbing*.

Also as you probably know aged beef cooks much faster since the cells have given up 20 to 23% go the tasteless water. Consequently I personally don’t see much benefit in letting a steak rest for the 10 minutes like you did. The fact is even off the grill the meat has retained heat and continues to cook raising the internal meat temperature even higher. Couple that with pulling it at 140º you are nearing a well done, dried out steak or at least a high end medium.

I won’t go into the Thermapen discussion but seconds do count – but this isn’t a thesis on cooking to temperature and not cooking to time.

* I prefer to use a type of Sous Vide more commonly called Hot Tubbing. At least 1 hour before you plan to cook the meat submerge it in a sealed plastic bag and place into a container of hot water from the tap. The desired temp of the water should be checked from time to time during the hour and should be over 100 degrees. I find my tap water runs about 130 degrees. I also find that I have to change the water at least 3 to 4 times in that hour. OTOH if I use a small cooler with a tight lid I find I can go over an hour with no need to refill. 

In the meantime fire up your grill and stabilize at 650 to 700 degrees dome. Within the hour the IT of the meat will already be up to at least 100 to 105º and that is a uniform IT! Unwrap the meat and quickly place on the grill for a mere 2 minutes per side or even less and the cooking is done! You are better off using a Thermapen rather than time, but I mention the time for ready reference. This method will give you a nice rare steak and will assure the meat is warm inside, not dark purple and cold common to steaks cooked rare, or go longer for medium rare.

Ron

[Ron Pratt]

Here’s an example of a hot tubbed prime rib that was aged 62 days. Notice the uniformity of the color – not the typically dark blueish-red, cold center.

[Phil]

As I understand this process when the steak hits the very hot grill you are basically searing it both sides and in that time the steak will reach an IT of 130F, correct? Ron, I found your post of 5 years ago which answers my enqury.

[Author]

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