Overheard a customer at the shop say something about 'aged beef' that made me pause

This guy comes in yesterday and starts telling me how he lets his steaks sit in the fridge for like 3 weeks before cooking them. He said it 'dry ages' them right at home. I always thought you needed a special setup for that, but he just wraps them in cheesecloth and flips them every few days. Told me he did it with a ribeye from our shop and it turned out way more tender than anything he'd bought aged. Has anyone else tried this at home without a dedicated fridge or am I just behind on a common trick?

3 comments

3 Comments

matthew1661mo agoTop Commenter

Wait, three weeks in a regular fridge? That just sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. I'd be scared of some nasty bacteria taking over, even with cheesecloth. That "dry ages" thing at home seems like rolling the dice on a $30 steak.

kaih361mo ago

Read a food safety article that said home dry aging is risky without humidity and temp control.

reesel501mo ago

Look, people have been hanging meat to cure for centuries without fancy gear. A fridge is basically a cold, dry box, which is the whole point. That cheesecloth lets air move around the steak just like a butcher's aging room does, just slower. You ever wonder why the pros can charge so much for aged beef if it was that hard to do?