What is Dry Aged Beef?
Why is it important?
& why do we make such a BIG deal about it???
So glad you asked....
Here is an explanation directly form my father in law, the original rancher himself, Donnie.
Dry aged beef???? (This is lengthy but important)
I get to visit with customers often about our aging process and have even let some of them tour our aging room.
Most of you have heard about dry aged beef, but let me see if I can explain the benefits.
I am talking about aging in the half carcass not in an aging chamber.
Some folks don't want to see where their food comes from but some are highly interested.
If the beef carcass has a fat cover, we can age it in a controlled environment with good air flow at a temperature around 36 degrees for 21 days.
This basically accomplishes 2 things. It increases tenderness and flavor.
Our customers say it makes it incomparable!
There is another really important fact. Beef from the store is not aged and could be only 36 hours old since harvest.
Beef is an excellent protein source with many vitamins and minerals.
Aging beef in the half 21 days has now made it a highly digestible protein source, your body doesn't have to work near as hard to digest our aged product.
I learned about 27 years ago from V.C. Hopson about aging beef.
So I always tell folks that any old timer you talk to says to age it 21 days. There is a science behind it but the older generation figured it out a long time ago.
Here is an excerpt from an article....
"Enzymes break down the muscle fibers, improving tenderness, until by the third week the meat is positively buttery. A 20 percent moisture loss concentrates the beefy flavors, leaving an intense, taste. The meat's ability to hold onto moisture with cooking is improved, too, making for juicier cooked steaks. Dry-aged beef also develops a crust which has to be trimmed away, resulting in an additional loss of up to 25-percent of the meat's original weight, adding to its cost.
Even though it's an expensive proposition, dry-aged beef has long been considered the best among seasoned steak connoisseurs. They describe its flavor as rich and nutty, decadently tender, and "beefier" than nonaged. Its intensity requires a robust erudite palate."
This may be why some of our customers say they can eat our beef, but they can't eat beef out of stores.
We have a value-added product, fully traceable, Homegrown, no added hormones, or antibiotics. I might add that we couldn't do it without our excellent employees!!
But they are more like a partner and friend than employees!!
Check out Ranchers Storefront and thanks for all your support. July is beef month!