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What’s up with beef that’s aged 28 days? Why are they bragging about that? It sounds so gross!
There are two reasons—flavor and tenderness. In the 6 to 12 hours after a steer is slaughtered, rigor mortis causes its muscles to seize up. During the aging process, enzymes already present in the muscle cells start to break down the connective tissue between them, making the meat tender.
Most supermarket cuts are aged 5 to 7 days, though many upscale steakhouses and specialty grocery stores offer beef aged longer. Meat stops getting tender after 10 to 16 days, but after that it continues to get more flavorful.
Beef is about 70 percent water. Immediately after slaughter, a carcass will lose 2 to 3 percent of its weight due to evaporation, and then another 1 to 1.5 percent each week after that. As it ages and water continues to evaporate, flavors get concentrated. This is the reason why aged beef is more expensive—the same animal produces fewer pounds of meat.
There are two ways to age beef. In the more common wet aging, also called bag aging, beef is cut into primal cuts (the large pieces, like the chuck and loin, from which steaks and roasts are cut) and vacuum sealed. The advantages of this method are that less moisture (and thus weight) is lost, and the beef can be aged while in transit.
In dry-aging, an entire side of beef hangs unwrapped in a cooler at 30°F to 35°F and 85 percent humidity, and may develop a layer of mold that is cut off and discarded before serving or sale. Because more water evaporates out of the meat, the slightly gamy flavor of the beef is more concentrated. Dry-aged beef tends to be very expensive, so usually only high-quality USDA prime or choice beef is dry-aged.
Dry-aged and wet-aged beef taste different. Eaters in a Journal of Food Science study were more satisfied with wet-aged beef. They said it had fewer “off” or unfamiliar odors and flavors.
The study also found that the predominant bacteria in dry-aged beef are members of the aerobic (oxygen-using) pseudomonas genus, while those in wet-aged beef are anaerobic (non-oxygen-using) lactobacilli. While the study didn’t look at how the different bacteria affected flavor, the two bacteria do utilize different chemicals for food and produce different byproducts—for example, lactobacilli break down lactose into lactic acid, while pseudomonas do not.
I know this is an old post but I just wanted to point out that boeuf bourguinionne is not made with aged beef at all.
Beef is never aged in France, it's illegal.
Traditionally, when beef is dry aged, the mold is not allowed to build on the carcass. It is wiped down daily with a sterile cloth wrung out in a water-vinegar mixture that prevents the mold from blooming. The result is rich full flavor with no off taste.
What you are most familiar with is obviusly the determining factor in preferences, and in the case of wet-cured versus dry-cureed, age is...+READ
Traditionally, when beef is dry aged, the mold is not allowed to build on the carcass. It is wiped down daily with a sterile cloth wrung out in a water-vinegar mixture that prevents the mold from blooming. The result is rich full flavor with no off taste.
What you are most familiar with is obviusly the determining factor in preferences, and in the case of wet-cured versus dry-cureed, age is definitely a factor. I grew up with dry aged beef, the family even raising a steer ourselves every once in a while. Otherwise we purchased steers or calves from rancher friends and had them slaughtered and aged at a local packing house. Standing ribs of prime beef with Yorkshire pudding is a Christmas favorite in the family.
For me, wet cured beef just isn't beef. For me, wet cured beef is "red Jell-O." Trying to make a boeuf Burguignon with wet cured beef is the difference between watery broth and a rich stock. The flavor just isn't there.
The very best dry aged beef is free range grass fed. When the cattle is allowed to graze naturally, the meat develops omega 3 fatty acids, just like wild salmon. Introduce the animals to a feed lot and those benefits disappear. But, unless you have a nice large pasture in your back yard where you can raise the animals yourself, this is very costly premium beef. But once in a while, you just gotta splurge!-COLLAPSE