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I’d been so nervous and anxious waiting for the results of this experiment. The aging of meat was done using the technology UMAi Dry not so popular in Europe yet.
Briefly, the American company produces kits of casings for any charcuterie, sausages, whole pieces of meat and other meat products. The manufacturer declares that the casings are membrane type which means they let humidity go out from the inside but do not let it penetrate from the outside. The product is sealed in the airtight membrane bag and if there’s no access of oxygen and outside bacteria, the possibility the product molds and rots is very low. The most important thing is that you can mature meat in a normal fridge without thinking about the exact temperature and humidity since the surface of the product does not contact with the ambient.
In other words, you pack the meat in an airtight bag and seal it, and then you wait certain time or until the product gets dry up to a definite grade, without using expensive chambers or home basements.
I packed a piece of sirloin (the one used for steaks) 4 kg and placed it in a normal fridge.
37 days later I cut off the coating and discovered a well-dried piece of beef with «glass» surface without any unpleasant odor o any signs of putrefaction (there's no way of rotting since there’s no oxygen)
Having cut off the dried and black outer layer I discovered a very good meat which changed its color from bright red to burgundy. The smell also changed, now it was less sharp, more profound and matured.
The steak grilled up to usual 55C was much different from my previous 23 days aged steak. Here as an example we can refer to the comparison with wine elaborated from one and the same vine when the taste is determined only by the maturation process and not by the grape variety. After 37 days of aging the taste of beef was more profound and stylish with a certain sophisticated bouquet of flavors.
I guess there’s no need to mature the meat less than 30 days but speaking about more days … then still I’ll have to experiment with it.
And some words about UMAi Dry bags. Certainly, it’s convenient and more safe. You won’t need a special chamber and if you follow professional hygiene standards the risk of mold is zero. Anyway, at present I’m not going to buy a big box of these bags, first of all, because the price is disappointing, secondly, I need to try the bags on various sausages and coppas prepared following complicated recipes to figure out if the taste really changes or not. For now I still doubt and think that the contact with ambient is necessary for complicated chemical processes which turn plain pieces of meat into speciality.
