Debate: wet aging vs dry aging for home butchers

I was talking to an old timer at the shop last week, Frank with 30 years in the trade. He swears dry aging is the only way for flavor and says wet aging is just a shortcut for lazy butchers. But I've been getting great results wet aging ribeyes for 14 days in my home fridge without losing much meat. Between losing 15-20% to trim on dry aging versus keeping almost everything with wet aging, is the flavor difference really worth it for home guys like us? What's your vote?

2 comments

2 Comments

tessa_rivera5d ago

Gotta say Frank sounds like he's been huffing too much bone dust back in the cooler. Dry aging is great and all but I tried it once with a whole rib primal in my spare fridge and after trimming off the moldy crust I was left with basically a really expensive steak-shaped brick and a lot of regret. Wet aging for 14 days gives me a tender steak without feeling like I'm donating a quarter of my beef to the trash can.

ruby4944d ago

Tessa, I feel your pain. I went through the same thing with a whole strip loin I tried dry aging in my garage fridge. I trimmed off this thick, hard, dark brown shell and ended up with maybe half the meat left. It was tough and salty, not worth the work. But what actually worked for me was getting a smaller piece, like a prime ribeye roast, and using a dry aging bag kit from a place online. You put the bag on, it breathes but keeps mold from growing wild. I left it for 21 days that time and lost way less meat, maybe 15 percent. The flavor was actually beefy and nutty, not like a science experiment gone wrong. So if you ever want to try again, go with a smaller cut and a bag. Way less regret involved.