Visited a butcher shop in Portland last week and noticed they age their beef differently than I do

I was traveling through Portland and stopped at this small shop called The Meat Block. They had ribeyes hanging in a cooler at like 38 degrees with no bag, just open air. I've always used vacuum bags for my aging at home, but they told me they prefer the dry method for 21 days to get a better crust. Has anyone else tried aging without bags and noticed a big difference in flavor? I'm thinking of giving it a shot but worried about spoilage.

3 comments

3 Comments

blake69123d ago

Funny enough, I notice that same theme in my own cooking gear. The simpler approach usually brings out way more character than all the fancy gadgets.

henderson.vera23d ago

My grandmother's old cast iron skillet is my most used pan, and it's literally just a hunk of metal. Fancy nonstick stuff comes and goes but that thing just keeps getting better.

the_matthew15d ago

Yo honestly I used to think dry aging required all this special equipment but that shop changed my mind too. I was a vacuum bag purist for years because I was terrified of mold or losing too much to trim. Tried open air aging on a prime rib last month after reading stuff like this. The crust was insane, way better than anything I got from bags. I lost maybe 20 percent to trimming but the flavor was like beef concentrated 10x. Just gotta keep air moving and watch the humidity. Now I'm converted, bags are for convenience not quality.