NYC Wine & Food Festival: Tour de Beef
Posted by bellastraniera - 13/10/09 at 04:10 pm You can taste the difference between an aged cut of beef and a supermarket steak, but what exactly goes into the aging process? DeBragga and Spitler, one of the few remaining butchers in the Meatpacking District with a facility that ages millions of dollars of beef, let a few of the curious in to witness the process, and Marie Fromage was one of them.
photo via Marie Fromage
Turns out that aging beef is a lot like aging cheese, with elements like temperature, humidity, and bacteria working over a specific period of time to yield the desired results. As you might have guessed, the main difference between wet aged beef, the sort you find in supermarkets, and dry aged beef, the sort you find in a steakhouse, is the expense: Up to 50 percent of the dry aged beef product can be lost due to water loss and trimming of the less attractive aged bits. Mary Connolly a.k.a. Marie Fromage gives some details on the aging process, after the jump.
Wet Aging
- Wet aging of beef is the industry norm. It means meat that has been aged in a vacuum bag/Cryovac for about 14 – 28 days at about 34 degrees.
- It is an economical way to age because there is less loss of the product due to shrinkage and trimming, not to mention the space for an aging room and labor. However, this is not the method used by the higher-end steakhouses and restaurants (like Craft Steak) because the flavor of dry aged beef is superior.
Dry Aging
- Quality of the product is key; well marbled beef is used for dry aging. Debragga uses naturally raised, hormone and antibiotic free beef that is grain “finished” before slaughter.
- Meat is aged in the open air, hung or on a shelf, no rubs or salt used, in a 34-38 degree controlled environment with beneficial bacteria (similar to a cheese cave). A crust forms on the meat as the liquid in the meat evaporates, concentrating the flavor.
- Meat can be dry aged for up to 75 days (most expensive, most intense flavor & tenderness).
- This is an expensive process because up to 15% of the product is lost due to pure water loss, and up to 50% of the product is lost total due to water loss and trimming of the more unsavory “aged” bits.
- A special aging room is required for this process, and most restaurants can’t afford this luxury. Debragga does this for many restaurants.
- Dry aged beef delivers more of a beefy/gamey flavor and tenderness. Wet aged quality meat is good, but the flavor has more depth, is more concentrated and intense if its dry aged, which is why top chefs prefer it.
~Mary Connolly
Marie Fromage: New York City Wine & Food Festival
DeBragga.com: Beef a la Mode
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bellastraniera
a.k.a. Marcy Swingle - obsessed with food and fashion.
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