Is It Possible to Age Meat at Home?
Is it possible to
APPLE
Wood chips
Choose culinary wood chips
made from hardwood, as these
are packed with flavorful lignin.
338°F
temperature that wood
must reach to release
#4
BATHE IN THE SMOKE
Leave the meat to smoke in the wok
for 10 minutes over high heat, then
remove the wok from the heat and
leave the meat to bathe in the smoke
for a further 20 minutes, or longer for
a stronger flavor. Finish the meat by
grilling, or slicing and stir-frying to give
it a browned crust.
AGE MEAT AT HOME?
Aging lends meat complexity of flavor and aroma,
but ready-aged meat can be very expensive.
Dry-aging meat is a time- and space-consuming
process that causes cuts to lose volume, which is why aged
meat is expensive. Leaving meat in cool, humid conditions
gives time for enzymes to break down collagen and muscle
fibers, tenderizing meat and fragmenting large, flavorless
molecules into aromatic, flavorful, smaller ones. In specialized
facilities, large cuts are aged in temperature- and humidity-
controlled rooms for months, but a similar effect can be created
SWEET at home with a standard beef roast and a fridge. The timeline
CHESTNUT below shows how meat transforms during the aging process.
AGING TIMELINE
(170°C) is the
Dry-aging meat develops complex flavors and
tenderizes meat. Below is a summary of the
changes happening to beef as it ages.
T IME W HAT HA P P EN S
its flavor.
Starting to tenderize
DAYS Place a large joint of beef on a rack above
a drip tray containing a little water. Place
01–14 in a cool fridge (37–41˚F/3–5˚C). Enzymes
begin to tenderize the meat; at 14 days,
meat has reached 80 percent of its
maximum tenderness.
Flavors begin to develop
DAYS As enzymes continue to break down
tissues, sweet and nutty flavors begin
15–28 to develop in the meat. Keep the water
in the tray topped off to help the air in
the fridge stay humid, and thereby limit
how much the meat dries out.
Optimum tenderness and flavor
DAYS The longer meat is left, the more time
the enzymes have to work and the more
29–42 flavors will develop. Fat breaks down
to create complex cheese-like flavors.
Before cooking, slice off any mold and
the charcoal-colored crust to reveal a
deep-red meat.