Tender meat for BBQ

[Mick]

Thought I would share this, Beef here is very hit and miss. Sometimes it's just OK,  or cooked in a pressure cooker, to make tender, then next time it's like eating the soul of a shoe. So I tried 2 ways to age the steak, in a large shallow tin with a rack, I put one steak as is, and next to it the same cut of steak but wrapped in muslin cloth, put it to the back of the fridge for 40 days, yesterday I ate the uncovered one just cooked on the BBQ, with a sprinkle of salt, it was tender and tasty, today I have had the one in muslin cloth, 41 days aged..... Wow tender like butter and fantastic flavor.... Better than anything I have ever had here, apart from Wagu house in Eastwood, but that was $80..... So buy the cheap cuts, wrap in muslin cloth, ta daa...... I'm going to try for 60 days, if I can wait after the 40 days are up.. 

[Clermont]

13 hours ago, Mick said:

wrap in muslin cloth

Mick a bit ignorant here, what is muslin cloth please and being 40 days old doesn't that give it a stale taste, here in Aus., its about 7 to 14 days old before eating, thanks.

[Tommy T.]

13 hours ago, Mick said:

I'm going to try for 60 days, if I can wait after the 40 days are up

Thanks for the idea Mick. You are right, some of the so-called rib-eye is more like shoe leather.

However, I have left beef in the refer for just a few days and it takes on a rotten smell already. I know that blood goes off quickly. What kind of preparation and how cold do you set your refer?

[Mike J]

37 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

Thanks for the idea Mick. You are right, some of the so-called rib-eye is more like shoe leather.

However, I have left beef in the refer for just a few days and it takes on a rotten smell already. I know that blood goes off quickly. What kind of preparation and how cold do you set your refer?

The USDA recommends a maximum of five days in the ref for beef.

https://www.foodsafety.gov/food-safety-charts/cold-food-storage-charts

Food	Type	Refrigerator (40 °F or below)	Freezer (0 °F or below)
Salad	Egg, chicken, ham, tuna and macaroni salads	3 to 4 days	Does not freeze well
Hot dogs	Opened package	1 week	1 to 2 months
	Unopened package	2 weeks	1 to 2 months
Luncheon meat	Opened package or deli sliced	3 to 5 days	1 to 2 months
	Unopened package	2 weeks	1 to 2 months
Bacon and sausage	Bacon	1 week	1 month
	Sausage, raw, from chicken, turkey, pork, or beef	1 to 2 days	1 to 2 months
	Sausage, fully cooked, from chicken, turkey, pork, or beef	1 week	1 to 2 months
Hamburger and other ground meats	Hamburger, ground beef, turkey, veal, pork, lamb, and mixtures of them	1 to 2 days	3 to 4 months
Fresh beef, veal, lamb, and pork	Steaks	3 to 5 days	4 to 12 months
	Chops	3 to 5 days	4 to 12 months
	Roasts	3 to 5 days	4 to 12 months
Ham	Fresh, uncured, uncooked	3 to 5 days	6 months
	Fresh, uncured, cooked	3 to 4 days	3 to 4 months
	Cured, cook-before-eating or uncooked	5 to 7 days or “use by” date	3 to 4 months
	Fully-cooked, vacuum-sealed at plant, unopened	“Use by” date	1 to 2 months
	Cooked, store-wrapped, whole	1 week	1 to 2 months
	Cooked, store-wrapped, slices, half, or spiral cut	3 to 4 days	1 to 2 months
	Country ham, cooked	1 week	1 month
	Canned, labeled "Keep Refrigerated," unopened	6 to 9 months	Do not freeze
	Canned, shelf-stable, opened Note: An unopened, shelf-stable, canned ham can be stored at room temperature for 6-9 months.	5 to 14 days	1 to 2 months
	Prosciutto, Parma or Serrano ham, dry Italian or Spanish type, cut	2 to 3 months	1 month
Fresh Poultry	Chicken or turkey, whole	1 to 2 days	1 year
	Chicken or turkey, pieces	1 to 2 days	9 months
Eggs	Raw eggs in shell	3 to 5 weeks	Do not freeze. Beat yolks and whites together, then freeze.
	Raw egg whites and yolks Note: yolks do not freeze well	2 to 4 days	12 months
	Raw egg accidentally frozen in shell	Use immediately after thawing	Keep frozen, then refrigerate to thaw
	Hard-cooked eggs	1 week	Do not freeze
	Egg substitutes, liquid Unopened	1 week	Do not freeze
	Egg substitutes, liquid Opened	3 days	Do not freeze
	Egg substitutes, frozen, unopened	After thawing, 1 week or refer to “use by” date	12 months
	Egg substitutes, frozen, opened	After cooking, 3 to 4 days or refer to “use by” date	Do not freeze
	Casseroles with eggs	3 to 4 days	After baking, 2 to 3 months
	Eggnog, commercial	3 to 5 days	6 months
	Eggnog, homemade	2 to 4 days	Do not freeze
	Pies: Pumpkin or pecan	3 to 4 days	After baking, 1 to 2 months
	Pies: Custard and chiffon	3 to 4 days	Do not freeze
	Quiche with filling	3 to 5 days	After baking, 2 to 3 months
Soups & Stews	Vegetable or meat added	3 to 4 days	2 to 3 months
Leftovers	Cooked meat or poultry	3 to 4 days	2 to 6 months
	Chicken nuggets or patties	3 to 4 days	1 to 3 months
	Pizza	3 to 4 days	1 to 2 months

[OnMyWay]

I see steak houses advertise "dry" aging for many days.  What is that?

[Mick]

2 hours ago, Clermont said:

Mick a bit ignorant here, what is muslin cloth please and being 40 days old doesn't that give it a stale taste, here in Aus., its about 7 to 14 days old before eating, thanks.

Muslin cloth is a fine cotton sheet, as for taste great, it recommends at 4c, you can age upto 120 days, it was a really meaty taste

[Mick]

2 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

Thanks for the idea Mick. You are right, some of the so-called rib-eye is more like shoe leather.

However, I have left beef in the refer for just a few days and it takes on a rotten smell already. I know that blood goes off quickly. What kind of preparation and how cold do you set your refer?

The fridge is at 4c

[jimeve]

I Don't understand, Fresh beef, veal, lamb, and pork. 3 to 5 days. Yet Mick says 60 days! dry cured. Whats the differance?

[Tommy T.]

2 hours ago, jimeve said:

I Don't understand, Fresh beef, veal, lamb, and pork. 3 to 5 days. Yet Mick says 60 days! dry cured. Whats the differance?

Yeah.... I am puzzled too. I am going to try checking with Kuya Google and see what he has to say about this. I just bought some nice looking, thick cut, top round roast that I used to like to make London Broil. But not with the tough hides they sell here. I am really eager for some tender beef!!!

[Tommy T.]

3 hours ago, jimeve said:

I Don't understand, Fresh beef, veal, lamb, and pork. 3 to 5 days. Yet Mick says 60 days! dry cured. Whats the differance?

Jim.... I just spent some time with Kuya G... He (actually, she, in this case) had a lot of information. After reading it, I think I will pass on and not try this dry ageing unless Mick can provide convincing reason or information on how to do this properly.

There's also wet ageing that I unwittingly did on the yacht. All I was trying to do was prolong the usable life of beef on the yacht using a vacuum bag system because all I had was refrigeration - no freezer. That worked and, I think, did help tenderize the meat, but it did make for a bit of a funky taste that I was not so fond of. However, some of that could be reduced by rinsing the "cured" beef in a bit of water.

Anyway, here are two links that you might find informative. I would really like to hear Mick's take on these if he looks at them:

https://jesspryles.com/how-to-dry-age-steak/

https://jesspryles.com/dry-aging/