If you read my blog over the holidays, you may have seen my post about my prime rib experiment. To summarize, I ended up with twice as much prime rib as I needed so I cut it in half and cooked it two different ways. The first way was my way, a simple marinade, dry rub and then roasting it in the oven. The second was a recipe I found at FoodNetwork.com for a dry-aged version. The result of the experiment was two-fold...first, we liked mine better. Second, we liked the dry-aged one enough to do a little more research. The research I did led me to the realization that I really didn't know what I was doing, which was fine since I was just following a recipe. However, after looking into what dry-aging is all about, I realized that the recipe I followed (no offense to the great Guy Fieri) was not the best way to treat a dry-aged piece of beef.
First of all, I spent very little time in selecting the meat. Don't get me wrong, its hard to find a bad cut of prime rib. But when it comes to dry-aging, you really want top of the line, premium beef. Second, I really didn't understand the point of dry-aging, besides adding to the ultimate deliciousness of the meat. And third, if you're going to dry-age, you have to take a risk and truly dry-age the beef.
My research led me to a few good sites but the one I found most helpful was GoodCooking.com. For the specific page I used, click here. In doing a little internet research, I first discovered the main attraction and purpose of dry-aging: it makes for a more concentrated beef flavor while breaking down the tissues that make beef tough, thereby producing a delicious, tender piece of meat. If you're a true carnivore like me, that's exactly what you're hoping for when you cut into a steak. Before I did the research, I went and bought a few delmonico rib eye steaks that I was planning on dry-aging. However, after my research, I realized that you can't dry-age individual steaks. The process of dry-aging will end up shrinking the meat plus you'll end up having to cut off the edges that are (for lack of better descriptions) crusty, moldy and discolored. So those will have to serve a different purpose. But that didn't stop me.
My intention is this: dry-age an amazing cut of meat and blog about the results. I've decided to try a beef tenderloin because my husband and I love filet mignon. My intention is to age it for 2 weeks, grill it simply and let the beef speak for itself. I think the main problem with the first recipe I tried was that it was over-seasoned. If your goal in dry-aging is to increase the intensity and concentration of the beef flavor, why hide it behind too many seasonings and spices? A little salt and pepper on a charcoal grill is all we need, maybe a little balsamic or red wine reduction to serve alongside it. I'll also try to remember to take pictures of the progress so you can compare. It sounds like a dangerous experiment and certainly could be. To be honest, I'm not sure why it works that you can let it sit in your refrigerator until it gets moldy, eat it and not get sick. However, I'm not that clear on how we can eat moldy cheese either but I know we do and live to tell the tale. The point is, its been done for centuries and it works. And even more important, I've had it in restaurants and I know that its delicious. Stay tuned, there's more to come...
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