Dry Ageing improves both the texture and flavour of bone in beef by hanging in a cool dry environment. Temperature and humidity levels are carefully controlled to ensure that the dry ageing maturation creates the ideal conditions for softening the tougher connective tissues within muscle fibres.
Dry ageing produces a very tender finished product. The cuts of beef are hung in a dry, cool environment for at least 28 days. This is what we have found to be the most beneficial time scale for best results for aging beef. During this time, the muscle tissue loses water through evaporation which has the effect of intensifying the flavour of the meat and results in less shrinkage during cooking.
Dry ageing harks back to the times before large refrigerators; a time when meat would have been hung in a cold pantry until it was ready to eat.
You will rarely find dry aged beef in the supermarket. Typically they rely upon wet ageing, a process that takes less time and preserves the moisture content of the beef. That’s why your supermarket beef usually shrinks by up to 30% when you cook it.
We begin by taking selected cuts of beef from our certified suppliers, trimming and preparing them before they go into the dry ager. The end result is unparalleled tenderness and an amazingly intense flavour for our dry aged beef. We might be biased but we definitely think it is worth waiting for.
Here at Charles McHardy we can dry age our beef up to 60 days on request in our dry ager situated in the shop where customers can see the dry ageing taking place. We generally age Rib Roasts, Sirloin Roasts and T-Bones to enhance the flavour and make our steaks extra special for our customers.