If there is a better subreddit for this topic, please let me know!
I’m looking for advice on how often to check on a cut of beef I’m going to be dry aging. I have constructed a “meat locker” from advice and experiences found in the cited web articles I will list below. I’ll be using a 5 cu ft chest freezer that has thermally switched power and humidity. I spoke with a chef and professor at the local culinary school (who trained in part at the meat labs at Iowa State), and he advised a temp of about 34-36F (1-2C) and 50% humidity. I’m shooting for 45 day aging time. My plan is to get a 20lb cut of prime rib, with the fat caps on. Bone-in or not is up in the air depending on supplier and pricing. I may drop to a 10lb for the sake of lowering my risk of trashing a bunch of meat on the first run.
I have been running the locker for about a week at my ideal conditions. Has been fluctuating between 1-3C, and 48-52% humidity. I am very happy with those numbers.
When I open the locker, and the rush of ambient air goes in- the humidity jumps to about 80-90% (apparently a very humid basement). Aside from common sense and not introducing airborne nasties, I don’t want to introduce that kind of humidity very often in combination with the natural rise in temps when opening. I’m wondering how often I should be checking on the meat? My thought is once a week maybe to check for any mold growth, making sure it isn’t sprouting anything black or weird. I would be perfectly fine checking less often. I just don’t want to go 45 days only to discover a gross mess…
As a side question, I’ve been getting different opinions on aging different meats at the same time. I thought about starting some sausages at the same time, so I don’t have to wait another 45 days to start that process. The locker is big enough to do both a 10-20 cut and a decent about of sausage. I didn’t know if there were any ill effects of doing say pork and beef in the same environment.
Thoughts and considerations are appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Resources I have been pulling info and experiences from:
Beef Research discussing other research papers, and the effect of aging on beef.
/u/J_Kenji_Lopez-Alt's write-up as to why you shouldn't dry age steaks at home.
/u/J_Kenji_Lopez-Alt's write-up as to why you should definitely dry age beef cuts at home.
Submitted July 15, 2015 at 02:51AM by fattmann http://ift.tt/1Jg82bp Charcuterie
No comments:
Post a Comment