The local butcher carved us a nice lean Choice grade fresh Delmonico/rib roast. I may carve the cap away after aging to make it a true rib-eye, not sure. Basement was my first choice. But, it was too dry at 50% humidity and too warm at 58F. We keep our fridge around 35F. Now we wait and wait.

No idea what is wrong you all!

Kill it.

Skin it.

Cook it.

That's what I do too. But I like to coat it in coarse salt and ground black pepper to hasten moisture removal and retard bacterial growth.

Bobster,

We salt our chicken for 4 hours before we put it in the rotiserie oven to help get the skin crisp.

Saeed. Isn't that post the pot calling the kettle black? I got hooked on some done right at a restaurant in Harrisburg named Mangia Qui. The process adds a nutty flavor to beef. I'm not sure if it would improve the flavor of venison or wild game.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
No idea what is wrong you all!

Kill it.

Skin it.

Cook it.

You might also consider wet aging next time.

Doesn't aging in the fridge tend to add some ... unusual ... odors/flavors to the meat?

Best meat cooked on an open fire I have had was in Africa.

Chop a piece of meat of your liking, I like heart too, sprinkle some salt and black pepper, put on a stick on open fire.

Eat when ready.

Nothing beats it.

From an animal just shot.

quote:

Originally posted by crbutler:
Doesn't aging in the fridge tend to add some ... unusual ... odors/flavors to the meat?

Not if you wet age. The way CB is doing it though probably will.

No odors were noted previously from aging pork in our fridge.
Ann, wet aging seems to be redundant to me since the loss of moisture concentrates the flavors in my opinion. But, to each his or her own. How's the mushroom hunting? It's been so dry around here, the shrooms are nonexistant.
But, I did manage to find a few ripe teaberries. Delicious!

Following. The longest I have aged anything recently was a salted, spatchcocked chicken -- for 48 hours.

quote:

Originally posted by custombolt:
No odors were noted previously from aging pork in our fridge.
Ann, wet aging seems to be redundant to me since the loss of moisture concentrates the flavors in my opinion. But, to each his or her own. How's the mushroom hunting? It's been so dry around here, the shrooms are nonexistant.
But, I did manage to find a few ripe teaberries. Delicious!

Nothing in my woods so far for 'shrooms. Did not have much rain for spring and now pushing into summer which are notoriously dry here. Ticks are at an all time high though.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
Following. The longest I have aged anything recently was a salted, spatchcocked chicken -- for 48 hours.

I brine a whole chicken for 48 hours. Pull it out and pat dry the skin and sit in fridge uncovered for 4 hours to dry/toughen the skin a bit. Spatchcock and season the inside. Baste the outside with butter and then coat outside in same seasoning. Then smoke/cook for 4 hours.

Best dang chicken you'll ever eat.

Agree with Saeed here. The best meat is over an open fire somewhere in Africa. Organ meat included. But not those little sundried fishes. They are bloody awful.

Man! This dry aging wait is a tough job. Sure hope there is something left after 5 weeks or so. I already stole a couple steaks from it after only 8-9 days.

All gone.

quote:

Originally posted by custombolt:
Man! This dry aging wait is a tough job. Sure hope there is something left after 5 weeks or so. I already stole a couple steaks from it after only 8-9 days.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
No idea what is wrong you all!

Kill it.

Skin it.

Cook it.

I am with you. I like my meat fresh not aged.

I use dry aging bags for this purpose.

Not expensive one (3 for 20 bucks or so), but food industry one for about 0,2 USD each. Works well.

Jiri

I would also try to cold smoke beef in the winter and let it cure in the bag.

Pork and wild boar meat. In Black forest ham spice.

Now I'm hungry again for some fresh boar backstraps. Been a while.
jiri Looks like a wet age process there. At least I think food saver bags are air tight. No?

quote:

Originally posted by custombolt:
Now I'm hungry again for some fresh boar backstraps. Been a while.
jiri Looks like a wet age process there. At least I think food saver bags are air tight. No?

You are right. It is wrong photo. Above is seasoning process in air tight bags. Here is the right photo, sealed in breathable bags:



But here is the drawback:
You need chamber vacuum sealer for those food industry breathable bags. After meat is sealed, it must be submerged for few seconds in water 80-90 C (176-194 F) and the bag shrinks around the meat.

Jiri

I'm with Saeed here. Best meat I ever had was cooked over an open fire in Africa. Eland, if the stars are aligned.

That said, I love a good beef steak Stateside and know that my African friends really like a fat beef steak. Don't know much about aging.

Do remember watching a buffalo tail ride in the back of the gari for a day or two before it became Ox Tail soup!

Meat must be processed right after slaughter, best if meat is still warm. After some time, rigor mortis will begin and meat will become stiffer and stiffer. And it takes time for some microbes and enzymes to make meat tender again, breaking down connective tissues.


Dry aging is best, bust most complicated. It concentrates also flavor in the meat, but you have high losses. Takes more time.

Wet aging is much easier, but meat can get little metallic unpleasant flavor from iron released from myoglobin or so. No losses at all. Takes less time.

It is of course much more complicated, but I hope it is enough for ordinary hunter ;-)

Jiri

Jiri - I find the essentially shrink wrapped breathable bags interesting for sure. So, thanks for the follow up. As for the dry-aged steaks I ate at 28 days, the slightly improved flavor was not worth the hassle. We saved the trimmings and cooked them overnight on LOW in a crock pot with our favorite italian sauce with a splash of Mexican hot sauce and again, not worth the time & effort. I gave both dishes a 7.8 out of 10.
On to another experiment.

Liberally coat a thick cut (1-1/2 or 2” thick) ribeye or NY strip steak on both sides with Kosher salt. Place on china plate and cover loosely with cheesecloth or a tea towel. Put in back of lower shelf in fridge. Leave it there for 7-10 days. Brush off excess salt and cook over charcoal or in a smoking hot cast iron skillet. If using a skillet, add a big chunk of real butter when you flip it. Baste with melted pan butter until done to your liking. Sipping some bourbon while cooking enhances the flavor…

Expensive, but if you like aging meat the only way to go is with a Dry Ager cabinet. We have the commercial unit for our restaurant and it controls are set at 34 degrees and 85% humidity. Have aged up to 60 days with excellent results,35 days seems to be the sweet spot.

https://www.dryagerusa.com/

Thanks ozark. Good to know. Thanks all. Keep 'em coming.

Im not into ageing prior to cooking, I like meat and so many recipes cover up the taste of meat..

I let a carcase hang at `32 degrees sometimes but overnigt o 15 minutes works well enough..

Ageing is the process called rotting!

I don't feel rotten. But I'm only 69 years old.