One reason the steaks at premier steakhouses are so amazingly good is dry-aging. Of course, most high-end steakhouses also use Prime beef, which is more marbled with fat, hence juicier than the Choice grade you get at the supermarket, but beyond the quality of the meat, it's the aging that really makes a memorable steak.This is also why they are so crazy expensive. The strip loins are carefully aged for weeks in a perfectly controlled environment, and as they sit they slowly dehydrate, which intensifies the meaty flavor, and also give the steaks an even more luxurious texture. Natural enzymes have time to break down the fibrous, connective tissue in the muscle, which tenderizes the steak like no other method.
A thick dry-aged steak is the ultimate red-meat eater experience. Unfortunately, there was really no great way to do this at home…until now (I think). I heard about a website, drybagsteak.com who was selling a kit to effectively dry-age steaks at home. They sell a vacuum heat sealer along with specially designed bags which they claim allows moisture to permeate out of the bag, but at the same time blocks oxygen from entering the bag.
I asked them if I supplied the strip loin would they send me the bags and equipment to test this new product on the blog? They agreed, and so the video demo you see here is Part 1 of the process. This video shows how to prepare the beef in the bags using the vacuum sealer, and in 14 days we will unwrap the meat, cut some steaks, and test the results in Part 2. Stay tuned. Enjoy!Aging Steaks Photo (c) JOE M500
