Beef Aging Process Info...

[Hines57]

Kroger meat is Tyson meat

[Randy]

I want to make sure you understand, you seem confused. When you get it from Hines, it will be less than a week old. He will mark the packages so you know exactly how old it is. If it is 5 days old when you get it, you will want to let it age for a MINIMUM of another 16 days, in the cryovac. 5+16= 21 days. Remember, 21 is the minimum. You could let it go for 4 weeks, 5 weeks, 6 weeks. The longer you let it age, the more tender it will be. Just dont let it go over 6 weeks. Make sense?


No problem, man. Food is my passion and I love talking about this stuff. I was VERY happy with my last haul, and will be getting more in the future. I'm trying to get my hands on some additional refrigerators so I can get much more at a time, age longer, etc.

Not confused, i thought i read that Hines' meats were 21 days old.... he clarified that, I must have read your post on it maybe and assumed it was him.(hope that makes sense). I love cooking and grilling, but ive never dealt with the aging process and honestly to me it's really interesting Im thinking of finding a fridge to age some myself.... BUT if youre willing to age it for me for the 21 day min. I would be happy to compensate you .

Also, Hines I know the meat will be perfectly fine, but I'm a grill nut and want to look more into this aging process. I will be in contact with you for some meats. Once I arm bar Bcoop into showing me the way, I will order even more to try it out on my own.


On a different note, I was at Kroger looking at the butchers cuts a while back and noticed a "clearance" section of meats, there was this guy there buying them all up. He then proceeded to tell me that the slight brownish tint to the meat is not a bad thing and it's actually better..... is this a round about way of getting "aged" meat?

[bcoop]

cccrrrrraaaaaaaaaappppppppp

Ok, so. Bcoop when are you and hines going to get together to sell some aged beef ?

I want to make sure you understand, you seem confused. When you get it from Hines, it will be less than a week old. He will mark the packages so you know exactly how old it is. If it is 5 days old when you get it, you will want to let it age for a MINIMUM of another 16 days, in the cryovac. 5+16= 21 days. Remember, 21 is the minimum. You could let it go for 4 weeks, 5 weeks, 6 weeks. The longer you let it age, the more tender it will be. Just dont let it go over 6 weeks. Make sense?


No problem, man. Food is my passion and I love talking about this stuff. I was VERY happy with my last haul, and will be getting more in the future. I'm trying to get my hands on some additional refrigerators so I can get much more at a time, age longer, etc.

[Hines57]

Randy you can cut the meat when you want . You don't have to age it . I have cut some 8 days old and were just fine

[Rafa]

Look at that B, I helped you to get a better hookup...LOL


But for real.....thanks to both of you for the info and the hookup Hines

[bcoop]

So..... 21 days when the come from you hines right??

At the very least, is my opinion. But the next round of primals I get, will go for 6 weeks.


Hey Hines - I know you usually delete these when they sell. If you don't mind, leave this thread up, and I will have a mod change the title and make it a sticky at the top. I don't want to have to re type it all every time someone asks, and I put a lot of good info in here.


Just to be clear - I am NOT a USDA professional, and not liable for anything. . This is all knowledge I've gained from the industry I'm in. My father used to work for a butcher (50+ year ago), and a good friend/former coworker of mine runs the plant that supplies several large, national, chain steakhouses.

[Randy]

No u will get it from me roughly 3-5 days old. If I sold you meat age 21 days it would be ridiculous prices .

cccrrrrraaaaaaaaaappppppppp

Ok, so. Bcoop when are you and hines going to get together to sell some aged beef ?

[Hines57]

Bcoop thanks for all the help explaining this. I'll set you up good next time we do business

[mstng86]

Humidity is also a factor . And you need to make sure the air is moving around. Our coolers are like wind tunnels sometimes .

So how do you simulate that at home?

I guess I need to read your link.

[Hines57]

So, I am just assuming, any dedicated refrigerator will work. As long as it stays between 29-35 degrees and stays closed 99% of the time.

Humidity is also a factor . And you need to make sure the air is moving around. Our coolers are like wind tunnels sometimes .

[Hines57]

So..... 21 days when the come from you hines right??

No u will get it from me roughly 3-5 days old. If I sold you meat age 21 days it would be ridiculous prices .

[mstng86]

So, I am just assuming, any dedicated refrigerator will work. As long as it stays between 29-35 degrees and stays closed 99% of the time.

[bcoop]

Didn't know that. I was actually thinking wet aging was soaking them in a brine and dry aging was coating them in salt as a curing process or something.

Not exactly, but you're not far off on either. The salt cure, as mentioned in the "how to cook a perfect steak thread" on here, kind of mimics the dry aging process. Kind of. It's a cheaper, quicker way to do it for your average home cooking. That said, it's not exactly the same. With the salt cure, you do pull moisture out of the steak. But, because of that, some of the enzymes and flavor leave the steak with the moisture. When you age, most moisture is lost through evaporation (you get some drip too). When you lose moisture through evaporation, the flavor is left behind in the meat, hence why you age, to concentrate that flavor. The salt cure method is just more convenient and practical for someone who doesn't have a dedicated fridge. You don't lose all flavor with a salt cure, but someone with a good palate can tell the difference in flavor.

[Randy]

So..... 21 days when the come from you hines right??

[bcoop]

This is refrigerated right? not frozen

Yes. You don't have to go down to 29 degrees, but you absolutely can't let it get above 35. This is why you want a dedicated fridge. Every time you open the door, it fucks up the temp swing, and gets out of range. The more time it is out of the desired temp range, the quicker it will spoil. Exponentially.

Same goes for humidity. Keep in mind, humidity is relative, so Every time you open that door, it fucks it up. The target for relative humidity is 85%.


There is also a way to speed age, but, I'm not sold on it. I've never knowingly had a steak that was speed aged, and it makes sense in theory, I just have no experience with it.