Dry Aged Beef - The Flavor of Luxury for Holiday Guests

Winn Meat Company has one of the few dry-aged beef programs in the United States. 
Frankly, there’s more to beef than meets the eye these days. Among the questions that come up: What is “Aged Beef?” Does it refer to the age of the animal? Where is this aging taking place? In the cooler, or outside in a barn? Do I want dry-aged or wet-aged? I don’t want a “dry” steak. I like mine juicy! Does this mean “wet-aged” is better? I’m confused!

Four decades ago, all beef was dry-aged. Butchers discovered that beef carcasses that were allowed to hang for several days tended to be more tender and flavorful than those that were processed and eaten immediately. While dry-aging had a positive impact on flavor and tenderness, it had a negative impact on yield. Dry-aged beef lost water moisture and, therefore, weight. And less weight equals more cost to the customer.

Wet-aging came in with vacuum packing in the early ‘60s. In this process, meat is allowed to sit in a vacuum packed bag in its own juices for 7 to 28 days, at a temperature of 34-38 degrees F. Tenderness is positively impacted by wet aging, but flavor is not, since there is no loss of moisture. Wet aging is a much less expensive proposition for the beef industry.

What happens to beef when it is dry-aged that creates such a buzz?
The scientific word is proteolysis, or breakdown of muscle proteins. This process depends on specific enzymes that focus on digesting proteins when the animal is alive. When the animal is slaughtered, these enzymes are released into the meat where they begin to breakdown proteins into their more flavorful components, amino acids, and act on the muscle tissue to make it softer. This all occurs under very controlled conditions, temperature of 35-38 degrees F, and humidity of 50-60% with a very controlled air flow over the meat. All Winn Meat dry-aged beef is dry-aged at least 21 days.

Successful results for this time-honored process are achieved with only the finest quality beef. Winn Meat Company uses Prime and Sterling Silver® Premium beef in its dry aging program. In a mass-produced commercial environment where all attention is given to profit margin, Winn Meat is one of the few companies that are producing custom, dry-aged beef for our customers.

Contact one of the expert Winn sales team members and let us show you the exciting opportunities with dry-aged products to make your holiday menu extra spectacular.