Will freezing affect the quality of a dry-aged steak?
I'm used to buying moderately-priced meat from the supermarket, with which I can generally never tell the difference between fresh and frozen - it's maybe a little tougher after freezing but that's about it.
Today I happened to be in the area of a good butcher and decided to splurge on a couple of dry-aged ribeye steaks. The first one was, of course, delicious, but I may not have time for a home-cooked dinner during the next few days, so I'm considering freezing the other steak.
Will freezing do anything to ruin or diminish that unique dry-aged flavour and give it the same taste and texture as the supermarket fare? Since dry-aged steaks are already, well, dry, will the additional water loss from freezing turn it into inedible shoe-leather? Should I be worried about anything else?
Or can I just toss it in the freezer for a week?
Best Answer
Dry-aging primarily breaks down the connective tissues in the muscle, naturally tenderizing it. The concentrated flavor is just a result of the moisture loss that you've already identified.
Neither of these should be affected by freezing in any special way. You'll want to be especially careful about further moisture loss, but as long as you properly package your steak for freezing you should be fine.
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Quick Answer about "Will freezing affect the quality of a dry-aged steak?"
Freezing will not diminish the dry-aged flavor, barring you don't leave it in there for weeks and get freezer burn. However, the texture will be affected. When you freeze meat, the water in the meat becomes ice crystals, naturally, and those crystals do damage the meat a bit.Should you freeze dry aged steak?
Therefore, a dry-aged cut will be less effected by the freezing process than a regular piece of meat. Dry aged beef can be stored in the freezer for around six months. So, if you love dry aged meat as much as we do, keep a constant stash in your freezer for a rainy day.Does freezing steak reduce quality?
If your beef is loosely wrapped and frozen slowly (or frozen marginally), you risk losing the quality of the meat and subject it to freezer burn. When meat is frozen slowly, the water in it turns to ice crystals that grow large and rupture the fibre or muscle cell structure.Does freezing meat change the quality?
However, if you blast freeze the meat and thaw it properly, there isn't any difference in flavour and quality. If it's frozen quickly and effectively, the meat can retain its nutritional value, colour, and taste and retain its nutrients.How long can you keep a dry aged steak?
30 days. This is one of the most commonly selected times of the age process in dry age steaks.Top 5 Dry Age Questions
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Answer 2
Freezing will not diminish the dry-aged flavor, barring you don't leave it in there for weeks and get freezer burn. However, the texture will be affected. When you freeze meat, the water in the meat becomes ice crystals, naturally, and those crystals do damage the meat a bit. The quicker the meat is frozen, the smaller the crystals and the less the damage caused (which is why flash freezing techniques are so important for shrimp, berries, and other delicate foods with lots of moisture).
Now, throwing the steak in the freezer once, although it will affect the texture, won't necessarily affect the texture enough to be objectionable. Repeated freezing will cause more damage each time, though. And, hopefully, the fact that dry-aged steak has lost some moisture means yours will suffer even less damage than normal.
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