Tried wet aging vs dry aging for a month straight and dry wins every time

I did a side by side with two rib primal cuts, wet bagged one and dry aged the other for 28 days. The dry aged one had way more flavor and the texture was way better, but I lost almost 20% of the weight to trim. Anyone else notice the yield hit is worth it?

3 comments

3 Comments

finleym436d ago

28% loss on a dry aged rib primal? That's brutal, man. I did a 45 day dry age once and lost almost a quarter of the weight. Felt like I was throwing money in the trash every time I trimmed it. But then I tasted it and remembered why I did it. The wet aged one was basically just a good steak. The dry aged one had that nutty, funky thing that makes you want to keep chewing. I guess you just have to decide if flavor matters more than your wallet.

graydavis6d ago

Man it's funny how that applies to so many things in life though. Like I spent a whole weekend refinishing this old table my grandma gave me, sanding and staining it for like 8 hours. My wife was like "you coulda just bought a new one for what you spent on supplies" and she wasn't wrong. But that first dinner on it, seeing the grain come through and knowing I put the work in... it's that same tradeoff between convenience and something that actually hits different. Sometimes you just gotta pay the cost for the thing that makes your soul feel full, whether it's beef or furniture or whatever.

scott.drew5d ago

lol @graydavis that table analogy hits hard, I did the same thing with my first dry age attempt. I tried a 21 day on a strip loin and trimmed off almost 18%, but the crust that formed was insane. The wet bagged one I did alongside was just a normal steak, no comparison. The texture on the dry aged one got this almost buttery feel once you trimmed the pellicle off, and that nutty funk really comes through in the fat. I'd rather waste a few bucks on trim than eat something that tastes like every other steak out there.