Dry Ager – How does a dry aging cabinet work? (2024)

FAQs

Dry Ager – How does a dry aging cabinet work? ›

A good dry-aging cabinet will have a great ventilation system with advanced temperature control that keeps the meat from spoiling, aging it to perfection. When looking for a dry ager/dry-aging cabinet, those systems should create a cold and humid climate to ensure optimal drying and ripening process.

During Dry Aging in the DRY AGER Cabinet, the meat, fish, ham, sausage, or cheese age for a certain period of time at controlled temperature, humidity, air movement, and air quality. It is allowed to dry age gradually and instead of lying in an airtight plastic bag, it can do, what food loves to do most: breathe.

Creating the Right Climate

In order for beef to dry-age properly, it needs to stay at a specific temperature. In the chamber, the beef will be chilled between 34.7 and 35.6 degrees Fahrenheit. This small window is why it's important to have a good chamber with advanced technology that can maintain this temperature.

How does dry-aged beef not rot? Three words: temperature, humidity, airflow. Dry-aging beef is about control. The dry-aging chamber is kept at a temperature of 32 to 39.2°F, which prevents bad bacteria growth, while the proper airflow and humidity control moisture loss and crust.

Yes, dry aging can help tenderness, but it's mainly undertaken to intensify flavor. After about 28 days of aging, the meat is about as tender as its going to become.

The best performance of the dry cabinet is achieved under the ambient condition of temperature below 30℃ and relative humidity below 60%RH.

Add salt to significantly increase the dry-aging effect

I always sprinkle sea salt generously on meat before aging it.

Because of the controlled environment, how long you want to dry-age steak is entirely up to what type of experience you want to offer customers. While a typical time frame for dry-aging meat is about 30 days, high-end restaurants may dry-age their meat up to 240 days. The longer you age beef, the stronger the flavor.

However, in a dry-aging fridge like the DRYAGER™ cabinet you can produce your own sausage, ham and cured meat products any time of the year. These homemade products are a great gift for family and friends and the satisfaction and confidence in quality of doing it yourself are bar none. Curing meat at home is possible!

A relative humidity of 61 % to 85 % is recommended and actual RH should be recorded daily for the duration of the aging process [24; 21]. There are limited published studies that have compared the effects of different RH levels on dry aged beef.

Can you dry age in a fridge? ›

Indeed, subsequent testing showed that even an overnight 8- to 12-hour rest on a rack in the fridge is sufficient to create a dry enough surface on the meat for optimized browning.

You may be able to dry age beef in a wine fridge depending on the type of fridge you have. The optimal temperature for wine storage is considered to be about 55 degrees Fahrenheit which is too warm for dry-aging beef and will cause spoilage.

The dry aging process also promotes the growth of a fungal mold species on the surface of the meat, called Thamnidium. This gives the appearance of a pale gray color that will form patches, called whiskers, on the fatty parts of each cut of beef.

Most butchers typically age full or sub-primals for the best effect. Some of the commonly dry aged cuts include strip loin (New York Strip), boneless ribeye (ribeye) and top butt (sirloin). These are steak cuts that age well and improve significantly in flavor and texture with dry aging.

If you appreciate the flavor associated with dry aged beef but don't want the taste to be too overpowering we recommend dry aging your beef for a maximum of 45 days.

Dry aging is the process where beef carcasses or primal cuts are hanged and aged for 28 to 55 d under controlling environment conditions in a refrigerated room with 0° to 4 °C and with relative humidity of 75 to 80 %.

All you need to dry-age at home is your refrigerator, a wire rack, and a sheet pan. Refrigerators have an air circulation system to ensure freshness. By aging meat on an elevated wire rack, uncovered and near your refrigerator's fan, air will circulate all around the meat, keeping it dry and cool.

Vacuum packed dry aged meat can be refrigerated for three to seven days. But just be careful not to leave it longer, as there is a distinct line between tasting perfection and tasting dissatisfaction. If you decide you'd rather reward yourself and others months down the track, this is when a freezer comes in handy.

Because dry aging reduces the original weight of the muscle due to humidity/moisture loss – and the fact that the dried out exterior must be trimmed off – dry aged beef is generally 20-50% more expensive than wet aged beef.