I wanna read you something: Is there anything in this univers that ages
better than Jennifer Lopez ? Yes, of course, a steak.
Last time we dry aged meat on this channel, it was great: we took a big piece of tenderloin
which I put in a special dry aging bag, in the fridge for one month.
The result ? A funky, flavorful piece of meat that pleased my mouth.
So I figured : if dry aging for 30 days is great, it means dry aging for 3 months must
be amazing, right?
Well, not so fast.
It turned out to be a disaster: an amateur mistake where too much meat moisture was lost
in the process.
But can we rebrand this mistake to cured meat miracle ?
The meat law says so, so let's take a closer look.
The meat I am gonna play with is tenderloin.
That piece from which fillet mignon, French for small piece, was born.
By the way, is it still called fillet mignon if I eat an entire tenderloin ? I don't know,
you guys, but what I know is that I want to dry age this meat at home in my regular fridge.
Home project otherwise impossible without umai dry aging bags.
For those not part of the meat club, dry aging is an ancient process where substandard cuts
are aged with the hope for a more tender texture, a funkier, cheesy aroma and a more interesting
meat experience.
Usually, this is done in dedicated refrigerators with controlled humidity and microorganism
environments.
But, for us home cooks, there is a trick: using these bags that act as a membrane, allowing
for oxygen and moisture to pass through the bags both ways, in an out.
This will do the trick of dry aging at home in your regular fridge.
With that being said, let's bag our small experimental piece of tenderloin, tie it up
with cable ties, put it in the fridge for three months and say a prayer to the meat
gods.
Three months later, here's our little Frankenstein: red as a Bordeaux wine, hard as a math exam,
and slim as a Victoria's Secret model.
During dry aging, of course, the meat loses a lot of water causing the flavor to concentrate.
How much water are you asking ? Well, in this experiment, we started with 1585 grams and
now we have 793 grams.
So we have a 50% weight drop.
Holly smokes, that's not right!
Is this normal or something went horribly wrong ?
A quick search on Bing reveals the truth: according to Pat LaFrieda, we should see a
35% after 4 months, and we have 50% after 3 months.
Well, f*** it!
At this point, the damage is beyond repair so I suggest cooking some steaks and enjoying
life.
I'm gonna cut an experimental piece out of it and....
This is so hard to cut through ! Anyways, after managing to cut a piece, carefully undress
the meat as during the dry aging process it developed this Bordeaux red colored dress,
made out of worlds' deepest mysteries.
Once the exterior is clean like this, I'll grill the steak in a hot in her twenties cast
iron pan, until medium rare stage or... some sort of a stage has been achieved.
Nothing left to do now than devouring it!
Aaahh, very flavorful but dry : drier than English humor, drier than a Guiness factory
invaded by Irish men.
And as I was chewing on my hard work and dedication, I couldn't stop wondering: where did all the
water go ? Did it vanish into thin air, reverse Big Bang
style into the ancestral beginning of this mess we call society ? Yes, and no.
Allow me to explain, since it smells like science!
During dry aging meats, a lot of water evaporates.
How the hell does that happen without boiling ? Well, water molecules are held together
by weak hydrogen chemical bonds.
A structure similar to an extended Italian mafia, Soprano style, big family.
A molecule might have enough energy and courage to brake free from that Soprano structure
and go its own way to become vapor.
And that's ok, totally normal, during dry aging.
But the evaporation process is highly encouraged in drier environments like a fridge where
more water will be lost.
Also, when the fridge is opened, the air pressure inside it drop significantly.
Look, this is me trying to pick a wine from the fridge:
Not this one, maybe this, I don't know, I'll grab all of them...
Just pick one already and close the door ! Sorry guys, they're like my children.
Now, since I opened the fridge for too long, the pressure dropped.
Ok, so what ? Well, less air pressure will be put on that water structure and easier
will be for the water molecules to escape.
Adding the fact that I started with the smaller piece of meat, more prone to dehydration and
that's how we end up with 50% weight drop and uneatable steak.
Or maybe ... hold on!
Maybe I can rebrand it to something else like cured meats ?
Yes, brilliant idea ! After all, that's what I do with my sadness, I rebrand it to jokes
on youtube.
Dehydration, one of the first processes of curing meats, is quite similar to what I did
to this meat: it allows for time and air to do their job on a piece of meat until its
water weight dropped 40%.
Ours has 50% water drop, so far, so good!
Also, pink salt, also known as nitrates, can be used in order to avoid meat spoilage during
curing, which my meat unfortunately does not contain.
So, is this safe to eat raw as cured meat ? Hmm, I'd say so.
The biggest threat here would be dying.
Of botulism, a life threatening condition produced by toxins released by Clostridium
Botulinum.
A bacteria that enjoys low oxygen environments like a closed bag.
Oh oh...
Well, hold on, remember what I told you about the bags: they allow for oxygen exchange with
the exterior.
So, I think I am safe.
Let's give it a try as cured meats, shall we ?
I'll cut it into really thin citrus slices, no big hunks of meat here.
God forbid I enjoy this life more than I'm allowed to.
Here goes nothing, see you on the other side, folks.
I mean, it tasted good, it lacks seasoning, but, pleasant beefy aroma, funky French cheese
vibes, pretty decent I'd say for a dry aging disaster.
All right, guys, and that's a wrap on this disastrous dry aging meat experience.
Maybe a new path to curing meats, who knows ? I definitely recommend giving dry aging
a try, but stick with the 3 to 4 weeks range.
Anyways, thank you so much for watching.
If you guys enjoyed spending time with me, smash that subscribe button, also, teach that
youtube algorithm who's boss and like and comment on the video!
And until next time, remember, life is hard, get used to eat !