Dry Aging: A whole Rib Eye Loin Roast Pictorial

[Rocklobster]

My boss and I have started to dry age a Rib Eye loin at work. We hung it yesterday in the walk-in fridge. The plan is to let it hang for 5 weeks and then cook it up and eat it at his place on July 1 long weekend, which is a Canada Day holiday. I have taken a photo and will take more periodically to attempt to show the changes and transformation. Feel free to discuss as we go along.

Friday, May 24. Hung for 24 hours.

 

[GotGarlic]

Cool. So you're hanging it openly, with no covering or anything? What about drips? How much does it weigh?

Cooks' Illustrated had an article about dry-aging steaks. They recommended covering them with paper towels and placing them on a rack over a baking sheet for a few days. I tried it out and it was pretty good.

 

[Rocklobster]

It is hanging openly about 10 feet away from the compressor fan. I am going to tie it up with butcher's string over the next couple of days so we don't find it on the floor some day. lol. He just wants to keep it on the hook but I am afraid it will drop. I never did weigh it. I should. That is a good idea. We have a roasting tray on the floor to catch drips but as of this morning there was nothing on it. It has dried up quite a bit since yesterday and I don't think we will have any dripping. I will get the weight today when I go into work. It will be interesting to see how much it changes by the time we are ready to eat it. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[pacanis]

Take a pic of the end, Rock, so we can admire the marbling.

 

[Rocklobster]

Will do. I am heading in right now. I will post it this evening. Thanks...

 

[pacanis]

Tease, lol.

 

[Aunt Bea]

Do you anticipate much waste from hanging it for so long?

I have heard of this being done with large pieces of meat and some portion was always trimmed away because of shrinkage, mold etc...

Very interesting project!

 

[Rocklobster]

Do you anticipate much waste from hanging it for so long?

I have heard of this being done with large pieces of meat and some portion was always trimmed away because of shrinkage, mold etc...

Very interesting project!

I think there will be a good portion of waste. Between shrinkage and waste I would guess there may be 60 percent of the original mass left by the time we go to eat it. I tied it up today. Just a few wraps with the string to take weight off of the hook which was already starting to rip the original hole bigger. I am sure it would rip through in a few days. I took a picture of the end but my gf has the camera in the van and she is gone shopping. I will post when she gets back.

 

[Rocklobster]

End view. May 24.

 

[pacanis]

Oh yeah. Just right.

 

[Whiskadoodle]

That's a beautiful piece to start with.

 

[Rocklobster]

Tied it up a bit with a couple of loops. It is starting to pull right off of the hook already.
May 26,

 

[vitauta]

gorgeous hunk of beast flesh, roch. any idea how much a piece like that would retail for?

i feel like we have two teams now, a pork team vs. a beef team. or, more to the point, team pacanis vs. team roch--u.s.a. vs. canada. to confuse matters even more, pacanis is currently making canadian bacon. this will be an interesting match to follow....

 

[Rocklobster]

gorgeous hunk of beast flesh, roch. any idea how much a piece like that would retail for?

i feel like we have two teams now, a pork team vs. a beef team. or, more to the point, team pacanis vs. team roch--u.s.a. vs. canada. to confuse matters even more, pacanis is currently making canadian bacon. this will be an interesting match to follow....

That costs about 90 dollars. Not sure exactly becuase they come in boxes of three. Here are a few more shots. Some very dark colors forming on the fat cap.
72 hours in...

 

[Aunt Bea]

This thread is sort a like The Body Farm for beef!

 

[vitauta]

did we ever determine the weight of this particular 'body' of beef, roch?

 

[Rocklobster]

This thread is sort a like The Body Farm for beef!

Yeah. I guess so. Quite a reflection on humankind, eh? I will hold off on the photos for a few days so we can really tell the difference. It is changing quite a bit from day to day, though. I am afraid of what it is going to look like in another month.

I never got it weighed because the scale is upstairs. Most of those come in anywhere between 12 to 15 lbs.

 

[4meandthem]

Was the meat cry-o-vaced to start with?

 

[Rocklobster]

Was the meat cry-o-vaced to start with?

Yup. Took it out and gave it a good wipe down with paper towel...

 

[Rocklobster]

I just had a meeting with a rep from a meat manufacturer. He is also a chef. He says that the piece of meat could lose up to 50% of its weight.