Dry-Aged Beef The process of dry-aging beef has, over the past few decades (with the exception of a handful of legendary steakhouses and even fewer butchers) fell to the way side due to the expense, meticulous attention and expertise required to properly execute this time honoured tradition. However, to the true beef aficionado, dry-aging remains as the only process with which to truly highlight and enhance the quality, texture and flavour of a AAA prime cut of beef. 
How and why Dry-Aged? Dry-aging begins with only top quality beef. Only a fraction of beef can be dry-aged: well marbled prime grade and meat from exceptional cattle breeds. Extremely lean beef will not age without spoiling as it requires the protective layer provided by the fat content found in only prime graded beef. With that said, once Black Angus has selected only the best Canadian AAA beef to begin the dry-aging process with, three important factors remain in order to produce this exceptional product; temperature, humidity and above all patience. The process begins by hanging either the whole rib section (containing what most consider to be the "king of steaks", the rib-eye) and the "long loin" section (containing the sirloin, strip loin and tenderloin cuts). These sections are hung in a temperature controlled walk in cooler set to 32 – 34 degrees F with an ambient humidity level adjusted between 50% and 75% for a period of 4 – 8 weeks. During this ripening period, several key things begin to happen; a tough "crust" will form on the outside of the hung section, similar in feel to that of beef jerky. This "crust" essentially seals the section off from outside bacteria, thus allowing the naturally occurring enzymes in the beef to start breaking down the muscle fibres, rendering the meat extremely tender. At the same time, a slow progression of "evaporation" begins to rid the meat of excess moisture which would otherwise work to dilute the flavour of the end product. Think of this "evaporation" process as a beautiful pot of soup or stock gently simmering on a stove. The more it boils, the more moisture is evaporated leaving a richer, more full flavoured liquid. At the end of the 8 week process, the beef has lost up to 20% of it’s excess moisture and any moisture remaining in the meat itself has fully absorbed into the muscle fibres, thus allowing less moisture loss during cooking, making a even juicier steak! When it comes to the flavour of a dry-aged cut of beef, many describe it as having a "rich" or almost "nutty" quality, with an intense beefy flavour. At Black Angus we are true beef enthusiasts, and as such are dedicated to providing our customers with only the highest quality beef which is why we dry-age all our beef "in- house" allowing us control every aspect of the aging process, by starting with only the best Canadian AAA Angus beef and aging it with the utmost care and patience. |
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