Dry aged beef in your own refrigerator

Natacha and I stopped by Bistro 7 the other night for a bite, and manager, Tim and I got chatting about the great flavor his beef has. Natacha had ordered the small teriyaki steak and it was really good, with honest, ‘western’ beef flavor that you don’t find at the chain restaurants or from the grocery store.

Tim hangs his beef for 28 days, which is pretty standard in the industry.

However, you can do this right at home, using less expensive cuts of meat and really come close to that dry aged flavor.

I’m using a couple of thinner cut porterhouse steaks from Butcher Boy Prime in south Reno.

This is my first attempt at producing my own video, so I apologize for the homespun quality.

Here is a look at the simple method of just letting the beef ‘be’ in the refrigerator:

The minimum time to let this ‘age’ is three days, but a week or 10 days is, of course, better. It will also depend on what part of the country you live in and the humidity, but most modern refrigerators will keep about the same level of humidity.

Make sure you have your beef over a clean, glass shelf. There really shouldn’t be any dripping juices after the first day, but you can put a small metal cookie sheet under it just in case. Don’t put it up high where it could contaminate foods underneath. You also want to not crowd the meat in order to keep air circulation optimal, so keep other food items - especially fresh fruits and veggies in their drawers.

As I show in the video, you’ll heat your cast iron skillet over medium high heat and then add about 3 tablespoons of olive oil or canola oil, and a nice ‘knob’ of butter.

Season the bad boys with salt and freshly ground pepper. I like the Penzeys  bold peppercorns. Up the heat just a bit and throw those bad boys in to sear. Do not move them around and poke at them. It’s not a circus act. The meat can’t develop that great color if you’re constantly messing with them.

After about four minutes- peek and make sure you’ve got a good sear underneath, and use a pair of tongs and turn them.

Use the touch method to determine doneness. With your finger, give the seared first side a push. If it feels like that meaty part of your hand, below your thumb, it’s medium rare. It will continue to cook a bit more after you’ve taken it from the pan, to a cutting board and covered it with some aluminum foil to ‘rest’.

When the meat has rested about five minutes, slice it against the grain, put your sauce in the still warm pan to heat. You can also put the meat in, too and give it a good coating of sauce - or not. It’s your call.

Plate and serve with a salad and a nice glass of red vino.

Bon appetit!