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Old school butcher taught me about beef aging in a walk-in
I was breaking down a whole ribeye at a shop in Portland about 3 years ago when this guy in his 70s walked in and asked if he could watch. He pointed at my trim and said I was cutting off too much fat cap. Then he showed me how he used to wet age primals for 45 days in the back of his shop with just plastic wrap and a temperature log. I tried his method on a batch of strip loins and the flavor difference was night and day. Has anyone else had an old timer change the way you trim or age your beef?
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holly_craig9d ago
That old-school wisdom about fat cap really unlocks a whole new level of flavor in the end.
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kellymurphy9d ago
Funny you mention that, because I actually started leaving the fat cap on a little thicker than most recipes call for and it completely changed how my roasts turn out. The trick nobody talks about is scoring it in a crosshatch pattern first so the fat renders down into the meat instead of just pooling on top. My neighbor who's been cooking for 40 years told me that trick and I swear by it now, makes the outside crispy but keeps everything juicy inside.
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