after more than a bite or two It is rare that you will find any restaurant serving a steak this aged OK, JUST GIVE ME THE TL/DR VERSION HOW DO I AGE MY STEAK? • Step 1 : Buy a prime rib Make sure that it is bone-in, preferably with the chine bone still attached, and the complete fat cap intact If you are buying from a butcher shop, ask them not to trim it at all A decent butcher will not charge you full price then, since they are making money by selling you that extra fat and bone • Step 2 : Place the meat on a rack in a fridge, preferably a dedicated mini-fridge in which you’ve stuck a desk fan or small cabinet fan set to low (with a small notch cut in the door seal for the cord) Set the temperature to between 36° and 40°F • Step 3 : Wait Wait for anywhere between 4 and 8 weeks, turning the meat occasionally to promote even aging It’ll start to smell This is normal • Step 4 : Trim For a step-by-step guide to the process, see "Knife Skills: Trimming Aged Beef," here • Step 5 : Cook • Step 6 : ??? • Step 7 : Profit Q: What about wet-aging? What is it, and does it work? Wet-aging is simple: put your beef in a Cryovac bag and let it sit on the refrigerator shelf (or, more likely, on a refrigerated truck as it gets shipped across the country) for a few weeks Then tell your customers that it’s aged, sell it at a premium The problem is that wet-aging is nothing like dry-aging For starters, there is no oxidation of fat in wet-aging, which means that there is no development of funky flavors A minimal amount of flavor change will occur through enzymatic reactions, but these are, well, minimal Additionally, wet-aging prevents the drainage of excess serum and meat juices Tasters often describe wet-aged meat as tasting “sour” or “serumy.” Wet aging can result in the same tenderizing and moisture-retaining benefits as dry aging, but that’s about it In reality, wet-aging is a product of laziness and moneygrubbing It’s easy to let that Cryovacked bag of beef from the distributor sit around for a week before opening the bag and calling it “aged.” When you are being sold “aged” meat, be sure to ask whether it’s been dry-aged or wet-aged If the butcher doesn’t know the answer or is unwilling to ... sit on the refrigerator shelf (or, more likely, on a refrigerated truck as it gets shipped across the country) for a few weeks Then tell your customers that it’s aged, sell it at a premium The problem... For starters, there is no oxidation of fat in wet-aging, which means that there is no development of funky flavors A minimal amount of flavor change will occur through enzymatic reactions, but these... It’s easy to let that Cryovacked bag of beef from the distributor sit around for a week before opening the bag and calling it “aged.” When you are being sold “aged” meat, be sure to ask whether it’s been dry-aged or wet-aged If the butcher