How to Wet Age Beef

Many high-end restaurants boast that their steaks are wet aged. This means that the cuts of meat are vacuum-sealed and stored at precise temperatures for a number of days before they are cooked. This article will explain the process of wet aging beef.

Things You'll Need

• A cut of meat
• A refrigerator with precise temperature control.
• Access to a vacuum-sealing machine
• Time

Instructions

1. Vacuum-seal the meat in plastic. Sometimes your butcher is able to do so at a small additional cost. If not, you will have to buy your own vacuum sealing machine. They cost anywhere from $40 to hundreds of dollars depending on brand name and quality.

2. Place the sealed bag in the coldest part of your refrigerator. More often than not, this is the bottom shelf or a special meat drawer. Due to the airtight vacuum-seal, you should not worry about other flavors [such as onions] being absorbed by the meat.

3. Leave the sealed beef in the refrigerator for up to a week. When you are ready to cook it, simply cut the meat out of the plastic.

Tips & Warnings

• Wet aging beef is more economical than dry aging beef because none of the original cut is lost during the process.

• Wet aged beef is incredibly tender because the airtight plastic prevents it from losing juices. It is, however, less flavorful than dry aged beef.

• Critics of wet aged beef argue that the process tenderizes the beef but prevents the meat from developing much flavor.

• Beef should NOT be aged for more than a week by non-professionals. After one week, it is very important to keep the environment precisely controlled in order to prevent harmful bacteria from growing on the meat.

Resources

• Vacuum Food Sealer at Amazon.com