I think dry aging bags are overrated for most home butchers

I think dry aging bags are overrated for most home butchers. Last month I tried dry aging a ribeye roast using the Umai bags that everyone raves about. Followed the directions to the letter, kept it in my fridge for 21 days at 38 degrees. Lost nearly 25% of the weight to moisture and the pellicle trim, which felt like throwing money away. Plus the flavor difference was so small my wife couldn't even tell at dinner. For the $15 per bag and the wait time, I'd rather just wet age my cuts in the cryovac for a week and call it good. Anyone else tried both and stuck with the simple method?

2 comments

2 Comments

irisg571mo ago

and honestly the weight loss alone made me never want to try those bags again. I did the same thing with a boneless rib roast, 28 days in an Umai bag, and when I trimmed off the pellicle I had maybe 2.5 pounds left out of a 4 pound roast. For me the flavor difference was nothing like a real dry aging setup, more like a faint nutty taste that got totally lost once I seared the steaks. If you're doing this in your regular kitchen fridge where stuff gets opened and closed all the time, the humidity swings just wreck the process anyway. Wet aging in the original cryovac is so much simpler and you don't lose any meat to trimming, plus you can season the bag or add a little butter if you want to boost flavor. I stopped messing with dry aging bags after that and went back to just letting my prime cuts sit in their vacuum packs for 10 to 14 days, and my guests never know the difference.

terryallen1mo ago

Ngl @irisg57, that's a solid point.