I compared dry aged to wet aged ribeyes and dry aging won by a mile

I picked up two USDA Prime ribeyes last month from the same cow - one dry aged 28 days from a shop in Portland and one wet aged from my regular supplier. The wet aged had that metallic taste and lost more moisture during cooking, while the dry aged was beefy and tender all the way through. I know a lot of folks here prefer wet aging for the higher yield, but has anyone else found the flavor difference worth the extra cost?

3 comments

3 Comments

spencer_gonzalez15d ago

oh man, my buddy tried this exact thing last month! he bought two prime strips, one dry aged from some fancy butcher and one regular wet aged from costco. he said the dry aged one was like eating a totally different animal, way richer and no weird aftertaste. he's been bragging about it ever since lol

grant1555d ago

60 hours in my Bradley smoker with oak chips and @spencer_gonzalez1 is right, the flavor is unreal.

amy_martin5d ago

I read somewhere that the metallic taste in wet aged beef comes from the blood and fluids pooling in the bag during storage. It makes sense why dry aged beef tastes so much cleaner and richer. A buddy of mine went to a steakhouse in Chicago that dry ages their prime rib for 45 days, and he said it was almost nutty and funky in the best way. I guess the extra evaporation during dry aging concentrates all that beef flavor. Plus, you lose less moisture during cooking, so you get a better crust and more tenderness. Definitely seems worth the extra money if you're going for a special occasion cut.