Dry aging of meat at home. There are several approaches to the maturation of meat
Technology rooted in the distant past
The topic of aging meat is on everyone's lips today. Not only professionals and gourmets appreciate unique taste matured meat, even people for whom cooking is only a hobby, and housewives increasingly prefer seasoned steaks cooked according to the rules. In many countries, semi-finished products for barbecue appeared on the shelves of supermarkets marked DRY-AGE("RIPED"). Products that are presented as new and promise to bring new taste sensations, having made real revolution in the field of cooking meat, in fact, it is created according to well-forgotten old recipes.
Why does meat need to mature?
After the slaughter of the animal, biochemical processes begin in the meat. Due to the lack of oxygen in the body, anaerobic glycolysis occurs, which leads to the so-called rigor mortis. As a result, the soft tissues of the muscles harden, the ability to retain water is significantly reduced, the color and smell deteriorate. After this phase, under the influence of enzymes, a process begins, thanks to which, after about 8 days, the meat fibers soften again. The duration of maturation depends on the species, sex, age, breed of the animal.
Meat can mature for another 8 weeks if provided with suitable conditions, after which its inherent taste and characteristic aroma will become even more intense. Not only beef, but also poultry or pork undergo this process, however, the readiness of these types of meat comes faster: two to three days is enough for the muscle tissue to become soft. Poultry and pork may contain dangerous bacteria, such as salmonella, and for hygiene reasons, these products should not be subjected to prolonged maturation.
The new is just an improvement on the old
A look into history reveals that aging is by no means a modern invention. Already in the 17th century, the great Rembrandt captured the scene “Slaughtered Bull” on his canvas. A freshly slaughtered, bloodied carcass is suspended from a beam under the ceiling in a dark butcher's room, red meat is crossed with yellow stripes of fat, in the background - the butcher's wife looks with curiosity at the defeated and crucified giant. At that time, this method was simply called "hanging", because. the meat was attached to the crossbar with hooks. characteristic feature storage even in Rembrandt's time there was a natural change in temperature. Not only in poultry, but even in “safe” beef, harmful bacteria can grow and multiply during the aging process. Only technical progress and the development of engineered cooling helped to minimize the risks, which made it possible to obtain an ideal palatability and texture of a product that is safe for health.
Until the 1970s, meat was aged mostly dry. But with the invention of vacuum technology food industry has changed. The so-called "wet aging" found its way, increased the speed of the process, while reducing weight loss. Thus, today manufacturers have the opportunity to sell more quality product and hence increase profits.
Dry aging versus wet
Compare: weight loss after 4 weeks with standard aging is up to 30%, and with dry (in special cabinet) - only 7-8%. While the meat is maturing on the bone, its unique spicy aroma develops due to the activity of enzymes. Beneath the dry and dark outer layer, which must be cut off after maturation, a nutty-butter aroma and a noble texture develop. The decisive factor is the length of maturation: the longer the meat hangs, the more pronounced its aroma will be.
During wet aging in a vacuum, the moisture retention capacity decreases. While the juices are released and the flesh remains, lactic acid bacteria develop, which give finished product slightly sour-metallic taste. This is not a disadvantage, and for some types of meat it is even desirable.
If your goal is to achieve the delicacy of the meat fibers, both methods are equivalent, in both cases the meat will turn out tender. Those who are looking for pure gastronomic pleasure, choose dry aging, the main trump card of which is an excellent aroma.
Other aging methods
Aqua aging
Continues ~ 4-5 weeks during which the meat is in mineral water. It sounds simple, but it is difficult to execute, because the whole process must be carried out under strict hygienic conditions. The composition of minerals also plays an important role: high content magnesium, calcium, bicarbonates prevents a significant change original taste; however, sulfates and sodium in the water should be contained a little, because. their excess gives bitterness.
Hautgoût is a gourmet product
french word "hautgoyt" Literally translated as "high taste". The term originally referred to the maturation of game in fur or feathers, which imparted a distinctive tart-sweet flavor caused by incipient decomposition processes. protein product. The historical form of aging, however, is no longer accepted by today's meat hygiene laws for sale.
Aging in parchment
The method is actually an advanced form of wet vacuum aging. Before being vacuum packed, the meat is wrapped in parchment paper, this removes the meat juice, thus neutralizing the metallic-sour taste note.
Aging packages
The easiest way, applicable even at home. The piece of meat is placed in a bag with semi-permeable membranes (eg Lava A-Vac) and kept at 2-3°C. Appearing meat juices pass through the membrane envelope to the outside, while the meat remains protected from external influences. Cons of aerobic aging in a dry bag: you have to remove all the bones first. Meat ripening bags in the catalog .
Bags for dry mold (forming) aging
With this method, the meat is inoculated with special fungal cultures that are designed to positively influence the process. Mold is not eaten. Meat ripened in this way has a strong nutty flavor. In Germany, mold aging is prohibited by law.
aging in fat
This technique is hundreds of years old. Meat is covered in abundance beef fat. Packed in this way, it is calmly stored for the allotted time and develops its delicate structure.
Aging in a special cabinet
Specialized cabinets allow dry aging in safe, hygienic conditions. They are used in large workshops, also suitable for small food production, due to its compactness can be used in household. The product laboratory, together with professional butchers, has created and improved a holistic technology that allows you to control the process using software.
Control element DX1000 provides a constant temperature that is adjustable to within 0.1°C.
Humidity is controlled by built-in system DX Humi Control Air Reg and is electronically adjustable from 60 to 90% with an accuracy of 0.1%. Even with significant fluctuations in ambient temperature, an ideal microclimate remains in the cabinet.
Despite the external compactness, even large hams are placed in the cabinet. Glass doors protect products from UV rays, while at the same time allowing you to observe the process and display products. The beef aging cabinet isn't just for flavor, it also looks good in a store or catering company's arsenal.
Tips and Tricks for Perfect Mature Beef
While creating optimal conditions, such as in a special cabinet for aging, you have every chance of getting great steak. To make it the best, we will reveal some secrets to you.
Proper timing is the key to success
Not every cut of meat will take 8 weeks for its flavor to develop and open up. Tender fillet will be ready about 7 days earlier than meat on the bone. On the other hand, ribs need ~28 days to reach their best condition.
Use the meat of happy cattle
Anyone who wants to enjoy a good piece meat, of course, should pay attention to its origin. An important role is played by good maintenance, a favorable psychological mood of the animal, which was not slaughtered in stress, the age and breed of the individual. True steak lovers especially appreciate marbled beef Angus (agnus) and Wagyu (wagyu).
Even well-prepared home steak in terms of richness of taste and juiciness, it loses to meat from steakhouses that has undergone the “dry ripening” procedure. So is it possible to reproduce this process at home?
dry aging technology
Dry aging technology big chunks meat is stored in an insulated, well-ventilated area for three weeks to four months. During this time, almost 30% of moisture evaporates from the meat. The upper layers dry out most of all, which are simply cut off, and a piece of meat can lose up to 50% of the mass. Under the influence of its own enzymes and bacteria, the meat fibers soften, it becomes more tender, the taste is rich, and the aroma is deep.
Experiment
But is " dry maturation» the prerogative of only professionals or can steaks be "aged" at home?
To answer this question, an experiment was conducted with six sliced and pre-frozen steaks from one batch. Following numerous recipes according to the home "ripening" of meat, the steaks were ripened in conventional refrigerator. They were taken in turn from freezer, thawed, wrapped in several layers of gauze (or paper towels) and sent to the refrigerator, where they spent 9, 7, 5, 2 and 1 days.
9 days after the start of the experiment, all the steaks were taken out of the refrigerator and compared. The difference in weight was negligible, with the longest steak losing 7% and the one-day steak losing 3%. At the same time, due to the evaporation of moisture, the more “aged” pieces have become thinner, their crust is denser, and the color is brighter.
Cooking
Not all steaks were allowed to the cooking stage: the piece that had lain in the refrigerator for 9 days simply deteriorated. One fresh steak was added to the remaining 4 steaks. All pieces of meat are fried in a pan. The difference in roasting seven-, five-, two-, one-day and freshly thawed steaks was reduced to the fact that the fresh steak browned worse than the others due to an excess of moisture. The final weighing after frying gave an even more interesting result: all the steaks began to weigh the same, that is, the excess moisture from the less aged steaks simply evaporated during the cooking process.
Tasting
The tasting of cooked steaks showed that there is also no significant difference between at least a little aged and fresh steak. The main difference was that the pieces that “ripened” for more than 5 days were tougher and acquired a specific (but not at all typical for “dry ripening”) musty aftertaste, having absorbed all the smells of the refrigerator at the same time. Such characteristics do not speak in favor of home "dry ripening".
Outcome
It is impossible to achieve the effect of properly ripened meat in your own refrigerator using the “dry ripening” technology. There is not enough ventilation in the refrigerator, the meat absorbs all foreign odors, including the smell of the refrigerator itself. But to give the meat a little "ripen" is still worth it. It is better to use larger pieces, given the future cutting of dried crusts. In a couple of days, the meat will not have time to deteriorate, but it will lose excess moisture and will be perfectly browned when roasted. However, as practice has shown, 8-12 hours may well be enough for this.
Aging or aging of meat - important process culinary training raw meat to further preparation.
The right approach to it allows you to receive high quality product with optimal organoleptic properties, which will become ideal basis for steaks meat stew, boiled pork, broths, etc.
What should you know about the maturation of meat?
First, let's define the concepts. So, ripening is the process of keeping raw meat, aimed primarily at softening the muscle tissue in it, changing the chemical and physical properties, namely density, taste, color and smell, as well as water-retaining qualities. scientific name this process is autolysis.
Stages of maturation
Autolysis proceeds in several stages:1. Fresh meat
2. Rigor
3. The end of rigor. Maturation.
The stages smoothly flow into one another and have their own characteristics, having become acquainted with which we will understand the gastronomic value of aged meat.
1. Steam meat.
Meat is considered paired for a short time after slaughter. For poultry, this period is 30 minutes, for beef and pork - no more than 4 hours. For fresh meat, a dense, moist texture is characteristic, the absence of a pronounced meaty smell and taste. The broth from such raw materials turns out to be cloudy with a faint aroma. The pH level of quality fresh meat is 7.2 units.2. The beginning of change. Rigor.
This period begins 3-4 hours after slaughter and reaches its peak after 24-48 hours, at a temperature of 0-4°C. The meat at this stage is characterized by rigidity and low water-holding properties, and the pH level gradually decreases towards acidity. On sample, the meat is dryish with a characteristic sour taste.3. End of rigor. Maturation.
The acid accumulated in the previous stages in the meat softens the muscle tissue, and it loses its elasticity. A noticeable decrease in stiffness is observed after 5-7 days at 0-4C °, reaching optimal performance after 25-30 days. Taste and aroma characteristics reach an optimum after an average of 2 weeks, subsequently remaining at this level unchanged. The moisture-retaining properties of meat also increase.The rate of maturation of the product depends on its type, as well as on the age of the animal - the meat of old animals changes more slowly than the meat of young animals.
| № | Stages | Time | tC | pH |
Characteristics |
| 1 | Fresh meat | 0.5 h (bird) 2-4 h (cattle) |
0-4s | 7,2 |
Tender, juicy, pronounced odor and taste |
| 2 |
Rigor |
3-48 h | 0-4s | 5,5 |
Elastic, dry, with a sour taste |
| 3 | Rigor resolution (maturation) |
5-30 days or more | 0-4s | 5,5 |
Soft, juicy, characteristic taste and smell of meat |
Features of the stages of autolysis
Dry and wet aging
To date, two main methods of meat ripening are known and successfully used, namely:- wet aging;
- dry exposure.
This method appeared relatively recently. For its implementation, the product is placed in a vacuum plastic bag, where it is kept without air from several days to 4 weeks. At the same time, raw materials practically do not lose weight, losing only 5% of moisture. The final product becomes very soft, juicy and tender. Almost 90% of raw meat in the world is prepared using the wet method.
Dry exposure.
This method known for a long time and used almost everywhere. It is aimed at evaporating moisture and softening the connective tissue as a result of fermentation. The meat is placed in special chambers (and earlier in the basement) and kept at a special temperature and humidity. After 15-30 days, it reaches the optimal degree of ripening, gets a wonderful rich taste and soft texture. At the same time, the raw material loses significantly in weight - up to 20-30% of the original. The dried upper edge of a dry-aged meat piece requires cutting, which also reduces the weight of the product. These features increase the final cost, and meat after dry aging is very rarely found on the open market, but is used in restaurants and steakhouses.
Process automation. Meat aging equipment.
If the ripening technologies are violated, the meat may deteriorate. To prevent this from happening indoors, it is important to maintain an optimal microclimate. However, in normal conditions this is quite difficult to achieve. Modern manufacturers of kitchen equipment offer their own solution - cabinets for aging meat.
This equipment is designed specifically to create the necessary temperature and humidity conditions for raw material aging. Management of such devices is quite simple, because all important points already programmed and the stages will follow each other automatically. Cabinets are equipped with thermostats, which, depending on the model, maintain the temperature in the range from -7 to +4C°. They do not require service support, and cleaning them is similar to cleaning a refrigerator. As a rule, cabinets have several tiers, transparent doors and a control unit that allows you to create your own programs. Undoubtedly, automation greatly facilitates the process of product preparation. Cabinets are successfully used on restaurant kitchens, steakhouses and other establishments, including elite ones, allowing you to achieve great results With minimal effort. Our website contains a catalog of high-quality equipment for meat aging from the most well-known manufacturers with the best value for money. What meat to choose
For the preparation of steaks, the meat of gobies of certain breeds that ate grass and grain is suitable - it evenly contains fatty layers. They not only affect the structure and taste of meat, but also protect it from harmful microorganisms. regular beef not suitable for aging.For dry aging, it is important to choose the right cut - from the loins or ribs of the carcass - and on the bone, as it also imparts shades of its aroma to the meat. On the surface of such a cut should be a fatty layer.
The weight of a cut for steaks is at least 8 kg, otherwise it will dry out too much.
What happens to meat
While aging is underway, under the influence of the meat's own enzymes, the process of autolysis begins, in which the physical and Chemical properties muscle tissue. As a result of the destruction of connective tissues, the structure of the meat softens, and due to the loss of moisture, its taste becomes saturated. This is especially evident in the meat of grass-fed animals - its pronounced "beef" taste becomes characteristically sweet.A dry crust forms on the surface of the cut, on which colonies of fungi develop - it forms a kind of "packaging" of the cut, protecting it from the effects of pathogenic microflora, and also adds flavor to the meat. It is removed before cutting into steaks.
What does the process look like
After slaughtering the animal, fresh meat is placed in special ventilated cabinets, which maintain an optimal microclimate for aging: temperature 1–3 ° C, humidity 75–85% and slow air circulation. Under such conditions, the risk of reproduction of pathogenic bacteria in the meat is minimized.The meat is hung on hooks or placed on grates and kept for 15-30 days, obtaining high-quality raw materials for steaks. After a week, it begins to soften, but it becomes really tasty and tender after another week. The most popular aging period is 21 days. During this time, the meat loses up to 30 percent of its weight, literally concentrating the taste and aroma in itself. It makes the perfect steak.
Economic aspect
Taking into account all the losses and costs - cut weight reduction, aging time, overhead costs - the price of the final product is high. Therefore, it makes sense to use dry aging only for high-quality marbled meat.Equipment
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Automatic control: all the main parameters and stages of technology are included in the program.
Dry aging chambers are similarly constructed, but cuts can be stored either on shelves or on hooks. The level of humidity in the chambers is regulated with the help of special salt cassettes: when it is too high, the cassettes are placed in the chamber and the salt absorbs excess moisture.
What can be cooked
Basically, the technology is intended for aging beef steaks and ribs, but in Lately it is also used in the dry aging of the meat of other animals and poultry.Where dry aging is needed
Thanks to aging, the menu steakhouses and others restaurants specializing in meat, there will always be dishes highest quality with a unique taste.Some time ago I wrote about how I made roast beef for my jam day. And I remember that in the discussion I was asked a question about Blumenthal, about what he basically does similarly, but then cuts into steaks and fries.
And then the thought came to my mind: “But should I take a swing at our Heston Blumenthal?”. Well, do not wave so do not wave. But the question needs to be clarified, what exactly is the difference.
I ran to the store and bought myself a burner, well, just like the one your humble servant was going to threaten. I took a piece of meat from the same roast beef left. And here's what I want to say: at first glance, I really will do the same as with roast beef, that is, I will fry and put it in the oven, but this is only at first glance.
Those who are interested in meat and how to eat it have probably heard that beef for steaks is sometimes aged so that the enzymes contained in the meat slightly break down the proteins and make this very meat more tender. Some even do this trick in home refrigerator, but at a temperature of 3-5C, such a process takes 4 or more weeks. I don’t have a separate refrigerator, but I don’t really need it, since I have access to aged meat. But many who read my clumsy notes do not have the opportunity to get aged meat, so they dance with tambourines around their refrigerators, rubbing them from the inside with alcohol to create a relatively sterile environment where fresh, not vacuum-packed meat will be stored for more than 3 weeks. After all, Listeria is not dormant, but actively multiplies just at the temperature of the refrigerator.
I can imagine quite well how difficult it is to maintain hygiene in the refrigerator for 4 weeks if I do not have a separate refrigerator for this purpose, and I do not have one. But I liked Blumenthal's idea. The idea is simple - you just need to keep the meat at a temperature much higher than 5C, inherent in most of our refrigerators. After all, the higher the temperature, the faster fermentation occurs. So at a temperature of 40C, instead of 4 weeks, you will need a day at most. A day to maintain sterility in a single oven is like 2 fingers. Which is exactly what Heston suggests. I could not pass by such an idea, and having stocked up with everything necessary, I set to work.
I burned a piece of beef from a thick edge of about 1 kg with a gas burner to kill the microflora on the surface as much as possible.
At the same time, he singed the baking sheet and the grate in the baking sheet on which this meat was going to lie for a day. Putting the singed side of the meat on the scorched grate, I singed it on the other side.
And I put it in the oven which I warmed up to 45C. This temperature was maintained for a day with the help of a light bulb in the oven. When I pulled it out, the meat was withered on the surface, and dark red inside, I tried it raw, it tasted different from the meat that it was a day ago, it tasted cool.
I cut the dried meat from the ends, cut the piece into 3 steaks.
The first time I had to cut steaks from raw, but warm meat - out of habit it came out a little clumsy. I decided to leave the dried film and fat, not so many of them turned out on each steak.
And then grilled to the state of rer to taste all the subtleties.
The meat turned out very tasty, with a new flavor unfamiliar to me, which I liked. I'll have to pick up dry-aged steaks one of these days for comparison.
And finally, if suddenly someone wants to repeat my experience, I strongly recommend doing this with extreme caution and taking meat only from trusted sources. If so, it's not my fault.
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