Dry-aging at home
I am dry aging a T-Bone steak in my refrigerator. I have placed wooden BBQ skewer sticks on top of a plastic bowl. My steak is sitting on top of the skewers and covered in a paper towel with a small air inlet opening at one end of the towel.
Most instructions about dry aging at home tell you to remove the paper towel in 24 hrs. But why? I would think I should replace it, rather than remove it, so the moisture can still escape from the meat.
Best Answer
All the dry aging instructions I've encountered (Test Kitchen, Good Eats) have the cook replace the paper towel after the first 24 hours.
I typically dry age my steaks for 4-6 days in the fridge and replace the paper towel after the first 24 hours. The first paper towel is soaked with liquid. The 2nd towels usually have a fraction of the moisture of the first towel. Perhaps the authors of the instructions you've read noticed the lack of moisture in the second towel and decided it was not worth it.
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Can you dry-age at home?
Dry-aged beef has a remarkable depth of flavor, but it can be expensive and hard to come by. The good news is that if you have a refrigerator, you can dry-age beef at home.How can I get wetter age at home?
Wet aging is relatively new. Essentially all you do is vacuum seal your meat and leave in the fridge for 7 to 28 days. The enzymes are still at work breaking down the tissue and the bag seals out air to prevent contamination. This is a much easier process that can be done to frozen meat.How do you dry-age steak in the fridge?
To start my testing, I decided to follow the basic Cook's Illustrated/Alton Brown protocol: take fresh steaks, wrap them in several layers of cheesecloth or paper towels, place them on a rack in the back of the fridge, and let them sit for up to four days.How does dry aged beef not spoil?
For dry-aged beef, the meat is hung in a room kept between 33\u201337 degrees Fahrenheit (1\u20133 degrees Celsius), with relative humidity of around 85%. If the room is too hot, the meat will spoil, and if it is too cold, the meat freezes and dry aging stops. Good ventilation prevents bacteria from developing on the meat.How to DRY AGE BEEF AT HOME Properly - 45 Day Aged Bone in Ribeye
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