Perfect Aging – The Right Meat for your DRYAGER™ cabinet

The primary purpose of dry-aging is to improve the tenderness, flavor intensity and complexity of the meat. Not only does the dry-aging process satisfy our taste buds, it also entertains all our other senses.

This experience creates a closer relationship with a greater appreciation towards this sensitive kind of food. Above all, it also contributes to the fact that we occupy ourselves much more intensively with the food 'meat 'and its provenance. We call it "The Art and Style of Enjoying Meat."

When we picture dry-aged meat, we imagine a stout, primal cut of beef hanging in a large, dry-aging room. The DRYAGER™ cabinet offers a new perspective to dry-aging and allows us to witness the fascinating aging process unfold before our eyes: From freshly butchered meat, bright red, to perfectly aged, deep-red hued bark, the meat beautifully transforms in a matter of weeks.

While beef may be the most common application for dry-aging, the DRYAGER™ cabinets are suited for other types of meat such as pork, wild game, fish, and charcuterie. Close to our experience, there are almost no limits to the variety of refined food with DRYAGER™.

The Animal
DRYAGER's™ rule of thumb: only premium results start with premium quality. The best meat begins at the basis of the species and breed of the animal. It continues with the livestock farming practices, the feeding, and the completed animal welfare until the end through slaughtering. Ensuring an unrestricted life quality of the animal will result in 100% of its meat quality.

Here the story for your dry-aging process begins because the fat is an integral and crucial part of the process in two points of view. The marbling (intramuscular fat) carries and amplifies the flavor of the meat, while the cover of fat on the outside (subcutaneous fat) protects the underlying beef from drying out. An animal raised slowly, naturally, and organically will have excellent tissue structure to well-marbled meat. So do not remove the fat before.

The Right Cut
The DRYAGER™ cabinet offers enough space to age a variety of products and cuts. Sides and loins are particularly well suited for the sizeable dry-aging format, creating buttery, preferential pieces. Pork shoulder, lamb shank, or game also gets an intense, nutty, buttery taste of their own in the dry-aging process. Achieve the best results by using larger meat pieces and maximizing product yield. After four weeks and dry-aging subprimal beef hanging off the bone, percentual weight loss should be ideally in the single digits, depending on the fat coverage.

Beef
When it comes to sourcing animals, professional chefs and master-butchers prefer cattle breeds that grow slower. Cattle breeds such as Aberdeen Angus, Hereford, and Wagyu are considered favorites. Beef can be aged from 21 days to 100 days, depending on your desired flavor intensity —fine meat of minimum 24-months old heifers.

Pork
Breeds considered old or original species provide the best flavor and perfect dry-aging. The most common pig breeds in the United States known for their quality flavor are Berkshire, Chester White, Duroc, and Hampshire. An extensive rearing and fattening and thus a higher slaughter age (8-10 months) are always the better choice. Pork should age at least two weeks but can not go as long as its beef counterpart. Pork will reach its maximum peak of dry-aging within the first 28 days. A critical peculiarity here is that pork with the skin on will be dry-aged.

Lamb
Lamb is known as the chocolate of meat for its rich flavor. This very young meat profits through dry-aging in an even more tender bite. The juiciness and expression of the refined flavors enhance drastically, making it close to decadent. Lamb should only be dry-aged for 8 to 12 days and no longer.

Wild Game
A big challenge of dry-aging any kind of wild game is its nature. It is completely subject to the influences of its natural setting, especially from season to season, and the corresponding food supply affects the fat content. Fine-marbled venison’s taste improves when dry-aged and becomes particularly tender. For relatively lean venison, we recommend dry-aging it for up to 2 weeks. If you choose a quite fat wild boar, you can go up to four weeks.

Poultry
By dry-aging in the DRYAGER™ cabinet, the unit ensures that the right conditions keep the meat-free of pathogens and bacteria. The results of dry-aging poultry are crisper skin and succulently tender meat. With little time, poultry, especially fat poultry such as duck and geese, will result in meat as tender in texture as it is rich and savory in flavor. Dry-age it up to 6 or max. Eight days to render the best results.

Fish
Fish with a high-fat content is beneficial, for example, salmonids various species of mackerel or tuna. Dry-aging fish removes excess moisture from residual blood and slime, avoiding an unwanted fishy odor. The fish becomes glassy-tender and buttery during aging. It is vital to remove the gills, hang the fish with the head down for the blood to drain, and dry-age between 8 and 12 days. A significant effect on the side is, thus dry aging the fish keeps longer its good quality.

Food Philosophy
Create a juicy, tender, intense, and complex flavor product in the DRYAGER™ cabinet. The freedom to transform fresh ingredients into the most flavorful product is easily achievable with the DRYAGER™ cabinet. We encourage experimentation with different cuts of meat to hone a craft and delight friends, family, and guests. Tell them your personal story about your experience in handling, caring, dry-aging, and close it with "The Art and Style of Enjoying Meat."

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