Finally tried dry-aging at home after years of thinking it was a gimmick

I always thought home dry-aging was just a way for fancy guys to sell expensive fridges. But my buddy at the shop loaned me his Steakager back in March after he upgraded. I threw in a prime rib roast from a local farm and left it for 28 days. The weight loss was about 15% which hurt my wallet at first. But after cooking it up that beef flavor was way deeper and the texture was super tender. Honestly I was dead wrong about it being a waste of time. Has anyone else messed around with a dry-aging setup and noticed a big difference?

3 comments

3 Comments

chen.adam2mo ago

Borrowed my buddy's Steakager last fall and threw in a whole strip loin from Costco. After 35 days the weight loss stung but man that crust was unreal and the inside was like butter. @hayden144 nailed it about that deep flavor change, I couldn't believe a cheap cut could turn into something that tasted like it cost triple the price. My friend said it ruined eating regular steak for him now and he can't go back. Definitely worth the wait if you can stomach losing some meat weight.

hayden1442mo ago

After years of thinking it was a gimmick" was exactly me until I borrowed my neighbor's setup and threw in a cheap roast. That deep flavor and tender texture completely changed my mind.

hunt.nora2mo agoTop Commenter

Isn't it funny how many things in life we write off as nonsense until we actually try them the right way? I feel like that applies to all sorts of stuff, not just steak. Like, I used to think composting was this gross, complicated mess, and then a friend showed me her simple bin and now I can't believe I just threw all those coffee grounds and veggie scraps in the trash for years. Same with learning to sharpen my own knives, I thought it would be this huge hassle but now I actually look forward to it. It's like we have this reflexive skepticism about anything that takes a tiny bit of effort upfront, and we miss out on these huge rewards because of it. And yeah, that perfectly crusted, buttery steak (even from a cheap roast) is a pretty convincing argument to try more things with an open mind.