06
Jun
Chefs are pushing the boundaries of beef by hanging meat for ever-increasing periods. And yes this is in a controlled enviroment with a.
There is nothing wrong with the mold just the ugh factor.
How long to hang beef. This usually lasts for six to 12 hours in beef cattle. Cooling the carcass shortly after slaughter will allow the rigor to go only so far. Also as the carcass ages is hung after slaughter and the temperatures in the cooler are set properly there are enzymes within the muscle that are released causing a further breakdown of connective tissue that will increase the tenderness of the meat.
Aging a beef by hanging it in a cooler takes from 321 days depending on how much aging you want on the meat and how much fat is on the carcass. The aging process will dry the meat out so the more fat is marbled in the meat the longer it will tolerate aging. My dad used to hang them an average of 14 days.
Debate rages gently and most often over counters of the nations independent butchers about how long the beef should hang for. Youre not going to notice much difference in either taste or tenderness before about 10 days. Its after this that flavour starts mounting up.
Most British butchers proud of what they do will leave beef in the well ventilated chiller for at least 21 days with 28 days. We dry age our custom beef carcasses a minimum of 14 days. A lot of how long we hang the beef we kill depends on a few factors.
First being how large the carcass is a beef weighing 400 lbs. Hanging will not be able to hang as long as a beef weighing 800 lbs. Another factor in how long we can let beef hang is how fat they are or how much cover they have.
The more fat a beef has on. The process takes at a minimum eleven days. The longer the meat is hung the better the flavor will be but also the higher the chance that the meat will spoil.
Most companies limit hanging to 2030 days. Up to 1015 of the water content may evaporate. 28 days or until a blue mold begins to appear.
BUT an old tough steer will NEVER be an aged baby beef. Another trick — let the butcher age to his preference wrap major cuts in vacuum pack then age in your refrig for six-weeks. We usually advertise 21 days and we do a three week rotation but that actually equates to a 17-21 day hang.
It really depends on the individual animal. Without sufficient fat cover anything over about 14 days will go mouldy. And yes this is in a controlled enviroment with a.
Beef should be aged a few days before cutting. The amount of aging will depend on the amount of fat covering desired flavor and temperature. Carcasses that have only a thin fat covering should be aged three to five days.
Those with more fat five to seven days. Very little tenderization occurs after seven days. Longer aging may result in off flavors and odors due to microbial growth.
You can take it too far. Once it gets past about six to eight weeksin my experience anyway-the flavor becomes so transformed by the action of the enzymes that it begins to taste like blue cheese. Its a very interesting transformation but for most.
The beef can be stored in a vacuum package under refrigerated temperatures for 4 to 6 weeks. We use the term wet aging because the beef is aged in its own juices not because additional water is added. If you hear that beef is aged without being specified wet or dry chances are it.
Most processors will age carcass beef at temperatures below 40 degrees F with a common range from 34 to 38 degrees F. The holding of a beef carcass in an aging cooler for 19 days should not present any significant problems versus holding in an aging cooler for 10 to 14 days. Since we were discussing steaks on another thread I thought I would ask how long most of you leave your beef hanging before processing.
Our local locker cuts everything up 7 days after slaughtering as a rule. I make them hang our 21 days before cutting it up. I like a dry aged piece of beef I think it has more flavor and is more tender.
The hanging tender is not very well known but those who know about it and how to cook it are always coming back for more. This is a muscle that hangs from the diaphragm of the cow along the lower part of the belly. It does very little actual work and as a result is very tender and full of flavor.
We wanted to test out a basic recipe to share with everyone to give you a bit of confidence in. Aging takes about 11 days before you see much improvement in the flavor of the meat. After that the flavor continues to intensify but so does the loss of weight and the risk of spoilage.
Eventually the meat will be worthless so many fine restaurants who do their own aging will limit it to 20 to 30 days. Even putting welfare and provenance aside a supermarket doesnt hang meat as it leads to weight loss which in turn leads to money quite literally going down the drain. A side of beef will looses 15-20 through drip loss during the ageing process and weight is money for the big retailers.
There are lots of horror stories of mis. You really want it too hang at least 2 weeks 3 weeks is best. You will have the tenderest and tastiest steaks the longer it hangs.
There is nothing wrong with the mold just the ugh factor. It is like aged cheddar you jusy scrape off the mold. Just make sure your butcher keeps his cooler cold i have seen s couple that only get it down to proper temps when they are being inspected.
Usually 14 days is plenty. I knew some old gents that had their beef hung for 31 days at our abbatoir. They got kinda fuzzy though 126fs2277341.
I recommend 14 days. 20 increases your chance of mold growth but the benefits of hanging your side of beef isnt worth it Who am I to say. 16 years experience at a private family owned abbatoir.
It is not difficult to hang meat at home you need a fridge a gauze bandage a bowl a grill and the right steak to be cooked possibly char-grilled. First choose the right piece of meat. A first choice steak of 500g solid with evident marbling fat and be patient the hanging period lasts 3-4 days.
Set the fridge at 2C with 80 humidity. Beef is normally hung from between 21-28 days. Beef which isnt hung for long enough normally is tougher and less tasty than one which is.
The enzymes in pork and lamb work differently and start to turn the meat sticky and it then goes off in a lot shorter time which is why they are not hung. Chefs are pushing the boundaries of beef by hanging meat for ever-increasing periods. The resulting steaks are sensational but a little goes a very long way.