Here at Martins Meats, we offer our customers the unique option to choose how long their beef is aged for. Whether you are looking for a Rib of Beef for Sunday lunch, or steaks for a stay-at-home Friday night, you can select your preferred aging time (35, 70 or 100 days from a simple drop-down menu before checkout)!
What is the optimum length of time to dry age meat?
This really comes down to personal preference, in particular when it comes to terms of flavour. The longer the time, the more intense the flavour! Typically, the dry aging process is around 28-30 days, but there are some distinct benefits from extending this period.
All our meat is aged in our Himalayan Salt chamber where the salt particles draw out moisture in the meat, allowing the natural enzymes to break down the muscles slowly, resulting in more tender meat. This process also activates the good bacteria in the meat, enhancing the flavour. Therefore, meat aged for a longer period is more tender and flavoursome.
As a rough guide, 35-day aged meat will lose up to 10% moisture, 70 days up to 20% moisture and 100 days 35% moisture. The greater the moisture loss, the stronger the flavour.
Are some cuts of meat better suited to a longer aging time?
The larger cuts of meat such as Ribs of Beef can be aged longer than smaller cuts such as steaks. This is simply due to the fact they have a larger surface area and the process takes a bit longer. We would suggest that steaks age optimally at around 35 days, whereas a Rib of Beef can reach perfection at approximately 60- 100 days, depending on personal taste preference.
Why is meat aged for longer, more expensive?
The longer the aging process, the more moisture is lost and therefore there is a reduction of up to 50% in the original weight of the meat. Longer aging time also results in areas of mould, which need to be cut away, further reducing the weight.
What is the longest time you have aged meat for?
At Martin’s Meats we are excited by pushing the boundaries of what we can achieve with our meat. Perhaps not to everyone’s taste due to the very strong flavour, we have recently aged some beef to 18 months.
If you would like to try your meat dry aged visit our online shop. For bespoke dry aged cuts, aged to your requirements contact us today.
