Dry-Aging Steak at Home
Dry-Aging steak at home means that a superior steak does not have to be confined to a fancy steak house or a special occasion.
Dry-aged steak is touted as having a far more tender texture and a richer, beefier flavor than unaged beef. Its price—40 to 100 percent more than unaged meat—would certainly suggest a superior product. But first, let’s break down what's really going on when beef is dry-aged.
How It Works
Dry aging is basically controlled decomposition. It typically starts with large cuts with bones and fat caps left fully intact. These are held in humidity-controlled refrigerated rooms where air can circulate around the beef, pulling moisture from its exposed surfaces. As the beef ages, water evaporates out of it, which concentrates its flavor. Meanwhile, enzymes slowly break down collagen and muscle protein, enhancing tenderness, and desirable molds grow on the meat's surface, creating additional protein-snipping enzymes. The breakdown of protein and fat also generates a slew of new nutty, savory, and even desirably cheesy flavors and aromas that deepen and transform the beef's taste. At the end of aging, a thin pellicle of dried, hardened flesh will have formed on the meat's exterior; this, along with the molds and oxidized fat, are trimmed away, and the beef is then cut into individual steaks.
Consider Buying Dry-Aged Beef
Dry-aged beef is expensive; between moisture evaporation and the trimming away of dried, moldy parts, a dry-aged cut can lose more than 30 percent of its original weight. This, along with the time spent in dedicated refrigerators, contribute to this beef's premium price. Unsurprisingly, the more aged it is, the more expensive it will be and beef can be aged for as long as 120 days. If you are going to buy it, we think the sweet spot (and economical choice) for dry aging is four to six weeks.
Now Try Dry-Aging Steak at Home
We tried replicating these results at home on a smaller scale. We bought rib-eye and strip steaks and stored them in the back of the refrigerator, where the temperature is coldest. Since home refrigerators are less humid, we wrapped the steaks in cheesecloth and put them on a wire rack to allow air to pass through while also preventing excessive dehydration, and checked them after four days (the longest length of time we felt comfortable storing raw beef in a home fridge). Their edges looked appropriately dried out, so we pan-seared the home-aged steaks and tasted them alongside a batch of the same commercially dry-aged cuts. Our findings? Sure enough, four days of dry-aging in a home fridge gave the steaks a comparably smoky flavor and dense, tender texture—and at a much lower price tag.
