Tried dry aging a prime rib in my home fridge for 45 days. Here's what I learned.

I work at a small shop in Austin and we usually send our primals to a facility for dry aging. But I got curious and tried it at home with a cheap mini fridge and a USB fan for airflow. Wrapped it in cheesecloth and waited. Day 20 smelled fine. Day 30 it was like blue cheese and beef mixed. By day 45 the pellicle was thick and crusty. Trimmed off maybe 30% of the weight but the meat inside was the most tender ribeye I've ever cut. The flavor was nutty and almost funky. Night and day from wet aged stuff. Only issue was my girlfriend made me move the fridge to the garage. Has anyone else messed with home dry aging? What's your go to time frame?

2 comments

2 Comments

patricia_hill608h ago

@abbyf79 I'm gonna push back on the diminishing returns thing. That extra funk at 45 days is totally different from the 30 day stuff, it's like comparing a mild cheddar to a real stinky blue cheese. Yeah you lose more weight but the texture change alone is worth it since that 30% trim gives you butter soft meat you just can't get any other way.

abbyf7910h ago

Are you sure the funk was worth 30% waste? I've done a few home dry ages and I found 30 days gives you almost the same nutty flavor without losing as much meat to trimming. The longer you go the more you pay for diminishing returns if you ask me.