I compared dry aging bags vs a dedicated dry aging fridge for beef

I got a dry aging bag from a supplier about 2 months ago because I didn't have the cash for a full fridge setup. Did a 30 day prime rib in that bag and another cut in my buddy's commercial dry ager. The bag did okay but the texture and flavor wasn't as deep or even as the fridge one. The bagged one had some weird spots too where the meat touched the plastic. Anyone else tried bag aging and had similar issues?

2 comments

2 Comments

lisaf3810d ago

OH MAN, your bag experience sounds EXACTLY like what happened to my friend Dave. He got super excited about bag aging a whole strip loin and did a 35 day experiment. The meat came out with these weird hard patches where the bag stuck to the surface, and he said the flavor was kind of sour in some spots but bland in others. Meanwhile, his neighbor's dry aged roast from a proper fridge had this deep, nutty, almost blue cheese like taste that was SO even throughout the cut. Dave was SO disappointed because he really thought the bag would be close enough, but after that he just started saving up for a mini fridge setup. I guess those bags just don't let the meat breathe the same way a real dry ager does.

sage_ramirez4210d ago

Right?! No, you're totally right about the breathing thing. I tried one of those bags with a ribeye roast, did 21 days, and it was a total letdown. Half the crust was just slimy where it touched the bag and the other half was hard and dry, and the flavor was just... beef. No depth at all. Meanwhile my buddy has this $50 used wine fridge he converted and his 45 day stuff tastes like a completely different animal, all funky and nutty. The bags just trap the moisture, they're not really aging the meat, they're just letting it sit in its own juice.