How to Dry-Age Beef at Home: Tips for Cooking Dry-Aged Beef

Dry-aging is a method of preservation that involves exposing cuts of meat to circulating air in a cool, controlled environment for extended periods. The dry-aging process slowly pulls moisture out of the beef to the surface. This evaporation causes the fatty outer layer to dry up, creating a protective, moisture-locking barrier around the meat, which helps to cultivate an intense and concentrated flavor. As beef ages, the natural enzymes within the beef slowly break down the muscle fibers, resulting in a tender, buttery-soft texture.

A consistent environment with precisely regulated temperature, humidity, and airflow is key to the dry-aging process. For this reason, most butcher shops and meat purveyors perform this delicate process in a designated aging room. However, it is possible to dry-age at home with the proper setup. You can dry-age beef from anywhere between a few days to several months; the longer you age the meat, the more intense the flavor will become.

Wet-aging is a type of aging process during which meat ages without contact with the air. This process involves sealing a piece of meat in a vacuum-sealed plastic bag, which locks in the meat’s moisture while keeping out any outside air or bacteria. The plastic-wrapped meat then ages for anywhere between a few days to a few months.

An enzymatic transformation occurs during the aging process as the collagen in the muscle fibers gets broken down, resulting in tender, slightly metallic-tasting wet-aged beef without any moisture loss.

Dry-aging began as a viable method for preserving fresh meat for more extended periods; Today, this process is primarily popular for its effects on the meat’s overall taste, texture, and aromas. This method of meat preparation is popular among serious steak enthusiasts, as dry-aging can create supremely tender steaks with uniquely concentrated, meaty flavors.

The meat begins to break down during the aging process, releasing moisture and cultivating an environment where bacteria can develop. While harmful bacteria can overtake a piece of meat left to age out in the open in the refrigerator, possibly resulting in food-borne illnesses, the dry-aging process relies on creating an environment in which “good” bacteria can thrive, pushing out the “bad” bacteria.

Dry-aging meat in a carefully controlled environment with consistent temperature, humidity, and airflow invites the desirable bacteria to break down the meat’s chewy muscle fibers, connective tissues, and fats, creating a buttery texture while producing tasty sugars and fatty acids in the process. These bacteria also oxidize the meat’s fatty outer layer, locking in moisture and flavor and creating a barrier that blocks out undesirable bacteria.

When it comes to dry-aging, not all cuts of beef will work. Visit your local butcher and ask for a large, top-grade tenderloin roast or beef rib with a thick fat cap and plenty of marbling. The meat quality is critical, as low-grade cuts of meat will become overly dehydrated during the aging process; organic, USDA Grade Prime quality meat is the best option.

Choose cuts with a substantial outer layer of fat, which serves to both lock in moisture and protect the meat from harmful bacteria.

Always age large, sub-primal or primal cuts of beef rather than pre-cut steaks. The primal cuts include the rib (which you can cut into a prime rib roast or bone-in or boneless ribeye steaks), the sirloin (consisting of the top butt sirloin and bottom butt sirloin), the loin (which breaks down into porterhouse and strip loin steaks such as the New York strip), and the whole brisket.

Cultivating the proper environment for dry-aging at home is imperative to ensure that your meat is both delicious and safe to consume. These tools will help you create a safe and effective at-home dry-aging setup:

• Cheesecloth: Wrapping your piece of beef in cheesecloth will allow air to reach the meat while preventing dehydration. The cheesecloth will also help to absorb excess moisture during the oxidation and aging process.
• Designated refrigerator: If possible, dedicate a separate small fridge to aging meats. Storing the meat alongside other ingredients in your main fridge can cause it to soak up the surrounding odors, imbuing the beef with potentially unappetizing flavors. Plus, it can be hard to maintain a consistent temperature, humidity, and airflow in a fridge that’s in constant use.
• Sharp knife: Once you’ve aged your beef, a sharp kitchen knife is necessary to remove the meat’s hardened outer layer to reveal the tasty, tender inner layer.
• Small fan (optional): Dry-aged meat needs plenty of air circulation throughout the aging process. Moving air around the beef will help to dry it rapidly, fending off harmful bacteria. To promote air circulation, place a small fan inside the refrigerator (at the base) and allow it to run throughout the aging process. To ensure proper sealing, cut a small hole in the rubber gasket that surrounds the door to fit the fan cord through.
• Tray: A tray at the bottom of the refrigerator will collect any drippings from the meat, aiding in cleanup.
• Wire rack: Professional butchers use meat hooks to suspend cuts of beef, exposing every part of the meat to the air. If you don’t have a meat hook at home, use a wire rack to a similar effect. Remove any solid refrigerator shelves and replace them with a rack before beginning the dry-aging process.

Once you’ve set up your dry-aging station and purchased a large cut of beef, it’s time to get started:

1. 1. Prepare the beef. Rinse the outside of your meat and pat it dry with paper towels. Wrap a clean piece of cheesecloth around the beef a few times until the surface is completely covered.
2. 2. Set up the refrigerator. Place a dripping tray at the fridge’s base, a wire rack in the center of the appliance—with room for airflow on all sides of the meat—and a small fan inside (optional).
3. 3. Place the meat inside. Place the wrapped beef on the wire rack, start the fan, and close the door. After the first twenty-four hours of aging, unwrap and rewrap the cheesecloth around the beef to prevent it from clinging to the meat.
4. 4. Let the aging process unfold. Allow your beef to age from anywhere between one week to a month. The longer the beef ages, the more intense the meat flavor will become. Once you’ve built up some dry-aging experience, experiment with longer aging times. For first-time dry-agers, a period of seven to fourteen days is ideal. While around one month of aging is the optimal time frame for creating super-tender cuts with a bold flavor, more extended periods of aging will create unique variations in flavor. Two months of aging or more will result in a funky, intensely gamey tasting meat with a blue cheese-like beef flavor.
5. 5. Keep the fridge closed. Once your meat is inside, open the fridge door as little as possible during the aging process. Although it may be tempting to look, the humidity levels and temperature of the fridge will change each time you open the door, disrupting the aging process and creating an opportunity for harmful bacteria to get in.
6. 6. Prepare the beef for cooking. Once the beef has aged to your liking, remove it from the refrigerator and unwrap it. Using a sharp knife, carefully cut off the hardened outer surface of the meat, removing any dried-up fat. Once you’ve trimmed off these portions, slice the dry-aged beef into steaks or roasts.

Once you’ve aced the dry-aging process, there’s one more important step: cooking the aged beef properly. Overseasoning or overcooking could obscure your meat's carefully (and laboriously) cultivated flavor and texture. Follow these tips to cook your dry-aged beef to perfection:

1. 1. Bring to room temperature: After removing the dry-aged beef from the refrigerator and trimming away the dried portions, slice the beef into individual steaks or roasts and allow the meat to sit at room temperature for thirty to sixty minutes, depending on the size of the cut. Tempering the meat allows for more even cooking.
2. 2. Season minimally: To allow the unique and potent flavors of dry-aged meat to shine, season the steaks very minimally, with salt. Adding too much seasoning—or more intense seasonings—to the meat will obscure the natural flavors.
3. 3. Grill or roast: For individual dry-aged steaks, try grilling over high heat on an open-flame grill or grill pan to get a tasty, caramelized sear on the outer crust and a perfectly cooked interior. Alternatively, pan-roast the meat, searing it on the stovetop and then finishing it in the oven.
4. 4. Cook to medium-rare: Whether you’re roasting or grilling, cook dry-aged beef to medium-rare. Cooking the dry-aged meat beyond medium-rare will prevent the meat’s special, carefully cultivated flavor from shining.

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