Tomorrow is my husbands birthday. Happy birthday, honey.
In celebration, (we have been planning this since my birthday), we are going to have dry aged sirloin steaks for dinner. What are dry aged steaks, you ask? Let me show you.
Disclaimer: this is not for the faint of heart. Some photos may be unpleasant. Viewer discretion is advised.
Ok. You have been told about the photos I am going to post. Let me start by telling you what happens during the dry aging process, and, why we have waited thirty days to eat a steak.
We bought a primal cut of sirloin late last month, after having procured dry aging bags online, probably from Amazon, (where else?). Be assured, you need to get the bags first.
What is a primal cut? Google it, then you will not forget. I can only do so much 😉
Ok. Continuing on- we got the bags, got the meat, used the vacuum sealer to partially seal the end, then, had to use a baggy clip for the rest of the seal. (Oft times one needs improvise). Plenty of videos to watch on how to dry age meat. I like Sous Vide Everything. The guy’s name is Guga, and, he loves steak.
Normally, when one purchases a primal cut, it is taken home, cut into individual steaks, grilled, and, consumed; all within a relatively short amount of time. We, however, brought it home, put it in a wicking bag, sealed it, and, put in the refrigerator, on a cooling rack, to be left there for thirty days.
Here is what we have at day twenty eight. Ready?
When we take it out of the bag day after next, Ivan will trim off, but save, all of the outside of the primal. All of the fat, all of the meat, down about one quarter, to possibly, one half inch; whatever is needed to debride the dried exterior. (Save the cuttings, so when you make your own ground beef, or sausage, you can add some of the savings for better flavor. It does not taste good in this application).
What will be left is still a significant piece of beef that he will cut into one and one half to two inch steaks. We should be able to get at least five, if not six steaks out of this. If you ever get to go out to a nice restaurant again, check the price of a dry aged sirloin steak. An eight ounce steak can easily cost you forty five, or fifty dollars. Doing this ourselves saved us more than half of that cost.
The taste? In a word, amazing. It is completely different than a fresh steak, more nutty, more depth. I know how that sounds, and, many will say why? We say why not? It took a month, but it was worth every day.
We waited, and were rewarded with beautiful steaks. I will be sure to take photos of them throughout the process, all the way to the grill.
Until then, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, protect your loved ones.