Debate: wet aging vs dry aging a whole ribeye primal?

I had to pick between wet aging a choice ribeye in the cryovac for 30 days or going dry aging in my fridge setup for 21 days. Went with wet aging for my first try since it's less risk of losing meat to trim. Did I miss out on flavor or is the convenience worth it? What do you guys lean toward for home butchers?

2 comments

2 Comments

pat_park1mo ago

Wet aging is fine for a first try but you definitely missed out. Dry aged beef has a completely different flavor, more nutty and beefy, and the texture gets way better. You lose some weight to trim but the payoff is huge. Next time wrap the primal in cheesecloth and put it on a wire rack in the fridge, that cuts down on waste. Wet aged just tastes like regular steak to me, nothing special. Don't be scared of dry aging, it's worth the extra effort.

ryan7191mo agoMost Upvoted

Oh man, totally get what you're saying but honestly I had a weird experience with dry aging once that kinda put me off. I tried the cheesecloth method on a ribeye primal for like 28 days and my whole fridge smelled like a weird blue cheese factory for weeks. My roommate thought something died in there. The steak itself was pretty good, had that nutty thing going on, but I couldn't get past the smell haunting my kitchen. Now I just stick with wet aging because it's way less hassle and honestly I can't tell the huge difference everyone talks about. Maybe my tastebuds are broken or something.