fety's sake. 1. Only the top grades of beef can be dry aged successfully.

Use USDA Prime or U SDA Choice - Yield Grade 1 or 2 (the highest quality of Choice) only. These have a thick layer of fat on the outside to protect the meat from spoiling during th e aging process. 2. Buy a whole rib-eye or loin strip. [You cannot age individual steaks.] Unwrap it, rinse it well with cold water, and allow it to drain; then pat it very dry with paper towels. 3. Wrap the meat in immaculately clean, large, plain white cotton dish towels an d place it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator - which is the coldest spot. 4. Change the towels each day, replacing the moisture-soiled towels with fresh. Continue to change towels as needed for 10 days, to 2 weeks. (See Step #7 for c leaning towels.) 5. After the desired aging time, you're ready to cut off steaks from each end, t rim as desired, and allow the rest to continue to age in the refrigerator. 6. If, after 21 days, you have not eaten all the meat, cut the remaining piece i nto steaks, wrap each steak in freezer-proof, heavy-duty plastic wrap, and freez e. The steaks will keep for several months in the freezer. 7. To clean the towels for re-use, soak the soiled towels, immediately upon rem oving them from the meat, in cold water overnight. Next, soak them in cold, salt ed water for 2-3 hours to remove any blood stains. Then launder as usual. [In ol den days, butchers used to cover sides of beef with cotton "shrouds" during the aging process - this is essentially the same thing.]

How to dry-age beef at home One: Buy a prime or choice boneless beef rib or loin roast from the best meat so urce in your area. Two: Unwrap the beef, rinse it well, and pat it dry with paper towels. Do not tr im. Wrap the roast loosely in a triple layer of cheesecloth and set it on a rack over a rimmed baking sheet or other tray. Three: Refrigerate for three to seven days; the longer the beef ages, the tastie r it gets. After the first day, carefully unwrap and then rewrap with the same c heesecloth to keep the cloth fibers from sticking to the meat. Four: When ready to roast, unwrap the meat and, with a sharp knife, shave off an d discard the hard, dried outer layer of the meat. Shave away any dried areas of fat, too, but leave behind as much of the good fat as possible. Roast whole or cut into steaks. Instructions 1. Purchase beef with a good amount of fat around it. Little to no fat can caus e the beef to become overly dehydrated. Purchase beef that came from an adult co w whenever possible, as it will become more tender during the aging process. 2. Unwrap the beef and place it on a ceramic surface such as a plate. Do not pl ace it on wood, as this will absorb the much-needed juices from the meat. Discar

d the juice left in the wrapper. 3. Place the beef in an empty fridge to ensure that other items do not affect t he flavor and smell of the beef. Scents such as onion and fish are absorbed by t he aging meat, causing an unfavorable taste. 4. Keep the temperature in the refrigerator between 33 and 35 degrees Fahrenhei t to ensure that the meat stays cold, but does not freeze. 5. Allow the beef to age for three days if it is light in color and you do not know the date on which the cow was slaughtered. If the beef is light in color an d you know the date of slaughter, allow the beef to age for a maximum of 16 days from that date. Beef that is dark should be aged between seven and 10 days for maximum tenderness. 6. Trim the beef once aging is complete. Cut off any gray areas and mold on the exterior of the beef using a knife. When you age beef, you lose almost half of it in the graying process. Make sure to take this into account for recipes; you must buy roughly double the amount to complete your recipe. http://mattikaarts.com/blog/charcuterie/meat-curing-at-home-the-setup/ 1. Paint all the surfaces of the meat well with vinegar. We have high humidity f rom time to time. I cannot trust that the air in the fridge is sufficiently dry and find that the vinegar helps to prevent the green fuzzies. 2. Place fat side up on a wire rack in the fridge and place something on the she lf below to catch the drippings. I use a newspaper because it can be draped over whatever may be on the lower shelf. The dripping-catcher can be removed after t he first day. 3. Check every day whether the surface of the meat feels dry to the touch or sli ghtly sticky. If sticky, repeat the vinegar treatment and turn the fridge temp d own a notch. 4. Leave until a hard black rind forms - usually about 7-10 days, depending on t he humidity. 5. Trim off the rind, cut into steaks and either use within a day or two or free ze. Weight loss is 15-20%, depending on the shape of the meat: a larger surface area results in a greater weight loss. Wrap the roast in several layers of cheesecloth--place on a platter in fridge ( under 40 Degrees). In 24 hours--unwrap and rewrap to prevent sticking. Repeat in 24 hours. let it rest 3 to 5 more days. Unwrap--cut off the dried outside a nd dried fat leaving as much fat as you can--roast to deaiserd doneness.

7. Cook the beef as desired.