Hanging sides vs. laying flat for dry aging made a huge difference on my last steer

I always hung my beef sides to dry age but tried laying the primals flat on racks in a dedicated cooler for 45 days. The crust formation was way more even and I lost less trim weight around the edges. Has anyone else tried both methods and found one better?

2 comments

2 Comments

tyler8545d ago

Flat method gave me way less waste too. The air hits all sides of the primal instead of just the outside of the whole side, so you don't get that thick crust on the outside that you have to cut off down to good meat. With hanging sides, you end up trimming a lot more just to get past the horny exterior. Did a 60 day flat age on a striploin once and the crust was paper thin compared to a hanging ribeye I did for the same time.

wilson.joseph4d ago

Forty days is my sweet spot too, I dry aged a whole ribeye primal flat on a wire rack in a used wine fridge I converted. The crust was so thin I barely lost any meat, maybe a couple ounces per roast. With hanging sides I always ended up cutting off a half inch of hard rind all around the outside, that's a lot of waste when you're doing a whole steer. I tried hanging once with a quarter and swore I'd never do it again, the flat method just makes more sense for airflow. The key is keeping the fan blowing gentle and steady, not right on the meat, just moving the air in the cooler. I get a nice even funk all over instead of that one nasty thick patch near the back.