My excitement grows as the holidays draw near because I know there will be ample time to connect with family and friends. I think we all tend to have a favorite relative that we especially look forward to talking to at family reunions.
For me, that was my great uncle George, the most charming 94 year-old to ever walk the planet. He would always share stories from the “good ole’ days” that ranged from him skipping school to go fishing to pranking his elementary teachers.
With those stories came some even greater quotes that were intended to expound upon George’s life lessons. Here are a couple that may sound familiar to you . . .
For the most part, George was referring to his seemingly unbeatable card game winning streak, but I find there is a lot of truth in that sentiment. With time comes maturity, wisdom, more experiences and therefore better technique. Time is a variable that cannot be substituted and creates the biggest impact on all areas of our lives. In fact, the impact of time even follows us to the food we find on our plates.
If you’ve been following along with Oak Barn Beef, you have probably already asked yourself,
Normally, you would need to go look at a menu at a fancy steakhouse to get that high-quality beef. Now there’s nothing wrong with wanting to get all dressed up for a nice dinner, but through Oak Barn Beef you not only provide your family with high-quality protein that has been dry aged for maximum flavor, but you can enjoy and customize the experience at your own home!
There are a few things you should consider when choosing which dry aged beef cut you should try:
Is dry aged beef really better?
You may be asking yourself if dry aged beef really is better than the typical grocery store beef. The answer is YES!
Dry aging beef is like aging a fine cheese or wine- the lucrative process gives the beef time to mature to truly bring out its best self.
The natural enzymes in the beef break down tough muscle tissue, which results in a much more tender and flavorful beef cut.
Take it from our customers:
During the Dry Aging Beef Process:
After the Dry Aging Process:
Which steak is better dry aged or wet aged?
Oak Barn Beef Dry Aging Process:
After the animal is butchered and before the beef is cut into individual cuts, the carcass is hung, so natural enzymes in the meat have a chance to eat away some of the muscle tissue. Like a good cheese maker, butchers watch the beef to give it time to "mature."
Most of the time, butchers only dry age the primal cuts (which are the high end steaks) but we dry age the whole carcass because we believe that your family deserves more than just high quality steaks, but high quality roasts and ground beef, too! Ideally, dry aging takes place in a climate controlled room where the humidity and temperature is carefully watched to make sure the conditions are perfect for the natural enzymes!
Because of the extra time the meat has to mature, dry aged beef is a darker red color and not the cherry red you see in the grocery store. Most grocery store meats are given 7-10 days to "mature" but experts say that dry aging makes the most difference between 17-28 days. We dry age all of our beef between 21-28 days, which is what makes it the best dry aged beef.
Wet Aging
Wet aging was developed along with advances in plastics and refrigeration. By wet aging, beef cuts are vacuum sealed in plastic. They are often shipped to their destination (grocery store, restaurant, etc.) after this process.
Is Dry Aged Beef or Wet Aged Beef better?
If you are still wondering, "but which is better? Dry aged beef or wet aged beef?"
There are evident differences between the two kinds of meat. A lot of times, they are described a difference in flavor of the beef.
Wet aged beef can be described as a slightly metallic and a mild flavor.
Dry aged beef is known for being extremely tender and having an intensified beef flavor.
The majority of people are most familiar with a wet aged beef flavor, since that is the meat you purchase at the store. But if you are a person who likes premium beef, dry aged beef is something you should try.
Dry aging beef is like aging a fine cheese or wine- the lucrative process gives the beef time to mature to truly bring out its best self.
Can you age your own steak?
Is dry aged beef safe?
Does dry aged beef smell?
Do dry aged steaks cook faster?
Does aged meat have mold?
Can you freeze dry aged beef?
Can you age ground beef?
What does dry aging do to a steak?
Is dried beef healthy?
At what temperature is beef dry aged?
Daily operations on the farm can be a bit more of a challenge especially when temps get below freezing such as keeping the water from being frozen for the cattle and elsewhere on the farm, having to spread out the hay with the hay bale processor due to the lack of fresh grass, and the extra steps it takes when winter hits the farm that causes a chore to take much longer than expected.
