degrees and rank them in overall preference, tenderness,
and funkiness. Almost everybody who tasted meat that had
been aged for a couple of weeks—the time by which some
degree of tenderization has occurred but seriously funky
flavor has yet to develop—preferred it to completely fresh
meat.
But folks were more mixed about meat aged longer than
that. Many preferred the more complex, cheese-like flavors
that develop with meat aged for between 30 and 45 days.
Some even liked the really funky flavors that developed in
45- to 60-day meat. Where you lie on that spectrum is a
matter of personal taste. I personally prefer meat aged for 60
days, but beyond that, it gets a little too strong for me.
Q: OK, I’m sold. But why would I want to do it at home
when I can order it online or from my butcher?
Two reasons: First, bragging rights. How awesome is that
dinner party where you can say to your friends, “Like this
beef? I aged it for 8 weeks myself,” gonna be?
Second, it saves you money. Lots of money. Aging meat
takes time and space, and time and space cost money. That
cost gets passed on to the consumer. Well-aged meat costs
anywhere from 50 to 100 percent more than an equivalent
piece of fresh meat. At home, so long as you are willing to
give up a corner of your fridge or you have a spare mini-
fridge, the extra costs are minimal.
You may have heard that in addition to the time and
space required, much of the cost of aged meat comes down
to the amount of meat that is wasted—that is, the meat that
dries out and needs to be trimmed off. This is not as big a