I'm half tempted to categorize this as 'religious'...

Someone earlier today talked about aging beef...

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~ **--WARNING!!! This may be dangerous!!!--** ~
~ **--------DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME--------** ~
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Now that we've dispensed with the obligatory warning for the 'lieyers' ...errr... 'attorneys' on the board we can get on to the 'meat' of the subject.

You can age beef at home...if you are careful! I don't do it very often but there is nothing out there that can compare with the flavor and texture of properly aged beef.

Aging beef is just a way of allowing the natural juices and enzymes inside of the meat to break down the muscle fibers. Ideally you need to keep the meat between 34F and 38F and ~50%-70% humidity. Also since moisture evaporates from the meat (think shrinkage here), you get a greater concentration of flavor. Most of this process happens in the first two weeks or so. After that the benefits diminish. You do run the risk of having a great petrie dish for growing your own starter set of bacteria (hence the heavy handed, lawyer induced, warning message).

Most high-end meat producers use what is known as "wet aging", where they vacuum pack the meat and refrigerate it for several days. It does make the beef more tender than it otherwise would have been, and avoids most of the shrinkage (maximizing shareholder value ) as well as most of the bacteria issues. The downside is that it has a much milder flavor (think: less filling, tastes bland).

A steak that has been dry aged is firm, tender, with a wonderful nutty, beefy flavor (think roasted asparagus with olive oil, only better). The reason why most places don't offer dry aged beef is that it is very expensive (~20% loss of weight, 2-3 weeks of storage, liabilities with bacteria, etc.).

I learned how to dry age beef from an article in an old cookbook by a man named Merle Ellis. I have to admit that the first couple of times I did it the steak wasn't medium-rare...(I don't think of my self as a coward...merely intellectually experienced) But it is easily the best steak you will ever get...hands down...nothing compares to it...well, maybe 30 minutes in a Ferrari blasting through Provo Canyon late on a summer evening...but you get the picture.

Follow each step VERY carefully, or at least think about how fun food poisoning might be...but if you want to have the very best, it's going to cost some brain power.

First: Use only USDA Prime or USDA Choice, Grades 1 or 2. You need a whole loin strip or rib-eye. Can't do it with individually cut steaks. Don't go cheap here. You can't turn a $2.99/lb. Albertson's special into something magical. Just isn't going to happen. Leave the outside layer of fat on the meat so that it doesn't spoil.

Second: Take the meat home, unwrap it (DUH), rinse it VERY well with cold water! Rinse it again VERY well with cold water (you probably thought that you could rush through this step...DO NOT!). Now that you have rinsed it VERY well, pat it dry...very dry (think middle of Nevada dry). Pat it dry again. And again. Don't rub, just pat. You want the enzymes in the meat to make it tender (now is not the time to practice your massage skills...save it for after the meal).

Third: Wrap the meat in VERY clean dish towels (I prefer large, white, & cotton). Place it on the bottom shelf of your refrigerator (it's the coldest spot). If you can, turn the temperature of the fridge down to ~35F (it will make your morning cereal interesting...but this is for an even greater cause!).

Daily: Unwrap the meat and change the towels each day. They will be damp, dirty, and messy (you'll need to clean the towels). Do this every day for 10 - 14 days.

After 2 Weeks: You will need to cut any mold, dry areas, etc. off of the meat with a sharp fillet knife. Cut off the steaks from the end, trim the fat, and be ready to grill. [And for those in the south Utah County area, fire up the car to deliver my cut... ] Wrap the remaining meat in clean towels and return to it to the bottom of your fridge.

After 3 Weeks: If you still haven't cooked all the meat, trim the remaining pieces into steaks, place them in freezer proof zip-lock bags and freeze them. They will stay good for a couple more months.

Spouse Acceptance Hint: She'll like it better if you clean the bloody towels (you know, the towels soaked the blood...not the 'bloody towels') rather than dumping them down the laundry chute. Soak them in cold water immediately after removing them for an evening. Then soak them in cold salt water for a couple of more hours to remove the blood stains. Now your wife can run them through the laundry as usual...<duck, run, & cover>

Hope someone finds this information helpfull...

-Robert