In Due Time
How to dry age meat, and everything else.
As partakers of life’s fine things, we have been trained to believe that the longer it takes to make something, the better it is. With some exceptions, this mostly holds true. Who doesn’t get excited at the prospect of tasting a decades-old whisky or admiring an objet d’art that was thousands of man-hours in the making? With this principle in mind, a piece of meat that’s been left to age, raw and exposed, for several weeks should be downright thrilling.
Before refrigeration was invented, dry-ageing meat – somewhere constantly cool and dry like a cave or cellar – was one way to preserve it aside from pickling, smoking or curing. But these days, chefs and butchers embark on this time-consuming practice because successfully aged meat explodes with flavour while also being more tender.
This happens because dry ageing breaks down the meat protein and connective tissue whilst also pulling moisture out, giving us softer meat with more concentrated flavours. “Think about it as a reduction. You’re taking away the non-essential elements and allowing the good bits to take the stage. In this case, we are talking about both flavours and texture. This explains why meat pieces that have been dry aged for extended periods tend to be small and expensive,” explains Charmaine Hung of fridge manufacturer Dry Ager.
“Additionally, depending on the diet of the particular cow, some could achieve a blue cheese-like flavour with extended dry ageing of six weeks or more. It’s a hit or miss because this particular enzyme is not present in every single cow, even if they share the same diet. So it’s almost like a lucky draw. But earthy flavours tend to kick in with lengthened dry ageing periods in general.”
Hung advises beginners to try a four-week course and to add a week or two if heavier, nuttier flavours are desired. To stop ageing a piece, trim off the darkened, hardened edges, slice up the pieces and vacuum pack them for storage in a chiller for up to two to three weeks, or in a freezer for up to a year.