How do I age a prime rib?

[Poppinfresh]

I bought a cut of meat about a month back and froze it...prime rib, 4 bones worth--almost $100. I saw on "Good Eats" one time in which Alton Brown put the prime rib in a tupperware thing for 3 or 4 days, pulled it out and made it--it looked great.

Problem is my first aging attempt (right after that show) didn't produce the coloration that his had, nor the wonderful flavor--I mean, it was alright, but not "prime rib" quality.

This one here...I wanna do it right. Not only because it lightened my wallet so darned much, but because this is the only cut of meat I've never truly "conquered". So how do I age this thing? I want to do it for about a month if possible. And I'd really rather it not go bad in that time.

 

[Gretchen]

I believe a month is much too long. You need to wrap it in cheese cloth and hang it in your refrigerator, suspended over a pan to catch the juices that will drain. Do it for 5-7 days. The surface will dry out and need to be trimmed when you are ready to cook it.

 

[Poppinfresh]

A month is really too long? I knew a guy who worked at a steakhouse in Chicago that said his restaurant aged their prime rib for like 4 months. Didn't seem like he was blowing smoke at me.

I didn't figure I could get away with that because A) this thing takes up too much fridge space and B) that restaurant had a specialized aging room where they put all their meats, which I sadly lack--so I just figured I wasn't equipped to go that far.

 

[amber]

http://www.goodcooking.com/steak/dry_aging.htm

 

[GB]

Personally I would not recommend home aging. I love Good Eats and saw that episode, but the more I looked into it the more I thought that was one episode where Alton was not doing anyone any benefit by suggestiong this.

Aging meat is tricky and the temp and humidity need to be controlled very carefully and that is just too difficult to do in a home fridge IMO.

 

[Alix]

PoppinFresh, if you bought the meat at a grocery store then it has already been aged about 21 days. The only way you would need to "hang" your meat is if you bought it directly from a farmer or possibly a butcher.

Since it is prime rib, there really isn't much you can do to it to mess it up. Its name says it all. It is PRIME! Just enjoy the heck out of it. I'm envious.

 

[Poppinfresh]

I don't get my meat from the grocery store. We have a place out here called the Meat Locker where I get all of my animal products--and this particular cut wasn't aged or cured at all--they had just slaughtered and butchered the cow it came off of about 2 days before.

 

[pdswife]

Kill the cow when it's a little older? lololol

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I'm in agreement with GB on this one. Meat is aged to allow the fomation of particular organizms that help break down the meat tissue, along with the natural enzymes of the meat. However, you would first need to basically sanitize your fridge, put some kid of fan in it to keep the air moving, and control both the humitdity and the temperature to prevent unwanted organizms from spoiling the meat (yeast, molds, etc.).

If the meat is truly prime, then it will have sufficient marbeling to give the roast both excellent flavor and texture. You just need to cook it properly, and season it to taste.

Drying reduces the moisture content, which in turn concentrates the flavor. And I agree that a properly aged chunk of meat is a wonderful thing. But ask your butcher to perform that procedure for you.

The alternative is to do the research, and build the hardware to allow you to do it properly.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[jasonr]

Just leave the meat on the radiator for a few months. It'll be fine

 

[Caine]

Just give it some kids. Mine aged the **** out of me!

 

[bknox]

Caine, you are so right. Just give it some kids! LOL.

Or give the cow a job in advertising.