Had to choose between dry aging a whole ribeye primal or breaking it down fresh last week

I had a choice between dry aging a whole ribeye primal for 30 more days or cutting it fresh for a customer who wanted it that day. The customer was a regular and he asked me to hold it for a weekend barbecue, so I went with cutting it fresh. He tipped me $20 and said it was the best steak he'd had in months. But I keep wondering if that dry aged flavor would have made it even better for someone else. Anyone else ever had to make that call between short term cash and long term quality?

3 comments

3 Comments

william_garcia2d ago

Wait, don't you ever feel bad about the ones that get away though? I had a similar situation last month where a guy wanted me to hold a whole brisket for his party and I gave up a chance to do a proper 45 day age on it. He tipped me too, like $15, and said it was great. But I still catch myself thinking about that brisket sometimes and wondering what it could have been. I mean, you can't really know, right? The customer was happy so that should be enough, but man, the mystery of what you could have made is tough to shake.

jade_jenkins2d agoTop Commenter

Yeah but $20 is $20 and a happy regular means more sales down the road, don't overthink it. Dry aging is great but it doesn't pay the bills like a tip from a loyal customer does.

quinncarr20h ago

Treat it like a test run for your next dry age. You got paid to see how the process goes, and that knowledge is worth more than chasing a hypothetical perfect brisket.