Dry Aged, Wet Aged,Highly, Mechanically Processed; or Really Gassed, Real Beef?

Knowledge Is Power: Hence the ever increasing NECESSITY of Knowing What You; as Well as the Other Person, is Talking About.

Unfortunately, most people, in our modern society, don't appreciate this simple fact. They no longer care about the art of pasture farming, artisan beef processing, or dry aging.  The average consumer has been “Americanised”; conditioned to accept gas packing, by- products, grain feeding, mechanical manipulation/tenderisation, and industrial farming as the norm.  Consumers have become accustomed to buying cheap(quality, and for the producer; not the shopper/buyer), mass produced, synthetic, beef that is incredibly unhealthy.  And, as long as consumers are willing to keep buying this type of beef, nothing is going to change. 

I hope that you will continue to educate yourself about these practices and come to the same conclusion I did.  Pasture raised beef that is properly aged and stored is superior to the current, largely by-product, potentially deadly, status quo. Raising animals in pasture from beginning to end is a more natural process; which is better for the animal, the environment and very definitely; the consumer.  Make your voice heard-first, gain the necessary knowledge- then; vote with your wallet; choose locally, raised, natural, pasture fed, beef.

When you buy beef from a small producer, conscientious; prideful, local, Canadian farmer, the beef is usually dry aged, and comes frozen; to ensure you are receiving beef of the highest quality. Unfortunately, for most of us, long gone are those days of the local butcher; the one who aged his own beef with pride.  Of course, dry aging, far from being the exotic ritual we make it out to be today, is what pretty much all beef that wasn't cured or canned used to be 30 years ago. What happened? Why is properly hung beef such an oddity today if it was the industry standard such a short time ago? Plastic bags, unfortunately, are the anti-climactic answer. Basically, the meatpacking industry figured out that if you stick a piece of meat in a vacuum-sealed bag it not only reduces the amount of money that is lost in water weight and trim but it also "ages" faster. Thus the age-old Wet vs. Dry Aging Controversy began.

Okay, so what is aging and what are the differences between wet and dry aging exactly? Aging is the process during which microbes and enzymes act upon the meat to help break down the connective tissue, for the sake of making the aforementioned meat object tenderer. Whether it happens in a bag or out in the air as a big swinging side of beef, that element of the process is the same (okay, almost the same).

During wet aging, the plastic doesn't allow the meat to breathe, so it ages in contact with its own blood, which lends it "a more intense, putrid, odour and a bloodier flavour.

This sounds a very negative when you're talking about the flavour of a steak, but, the fact that upwards of 90 percent of the beef taken home by North American grocery store shoppers in plastic-wrapped foam trays is wet-aged seems to suggest complete ignorance, stupidity; or that; just so long as there is a perceived profit-money to be had- somewhere- they no longer, really care.

Dry aging, on the other hand, allows the meat to breathe, lose water (which increases its "beefiness" since there is now less water and but the same amount of muscle fibre), and get acted upon by other microbes beside those of the muscle itself. Those other microbes are the long, threadlike mycelia of various airborne fungi that begin to digest the meat, giving an aged loin its distinctive flavour, aroma, and fuzzy exterior. So dry aging wins, right? It's complicated: while most meat snobs (myself included-for many years I considered myself to be; well almost; a carnivore) prefer dry-aged beef, the average North American; now,  actually, claims, to prefer, bagged beef- that is- according to a number of very expensive meat studies.

Certainly you could chalk those results up to North Americans preferring-- what they have been “brain washed into preferring-- and so, now, choosing bagged , often contaminated, meat and food products  over the healthier, more flavourful, and nutritious, varieties

However, because most people have been brainwashed into believing that they enjoy the convenience of buying thawed beef at the grocery store, they might not understand why frozen may be better.  To fully appreciate the differences, you have to understand how beef is –and was-aged, processed, and stored, prior to purchase and why more, and more, grocery stores have started using a process called gas packing; which is designed to make beef appear fresher, longer; while it sits on their shelves.  This is not "good eats".

That local prideful butcher has been replaced by the convenience of mega grocery store chains; that thrive by selling the cheapest (therefore poorest quality) food possible. To reduce their meat storage and labour costs, many retailers rely on large, industrial sized meat processing plants to process “case ready” meat for them.

 In other words, an industrial scale processing facility processes all the meat, packs it with Carbon Monoxide gas to preserve the colour and ships it directly to retailers where they can put it directly on their shelves for sale. Many retailers have embraced the gas packing of meat because it lowers their operating costs.  Retailers save money through gas packing because they don't have to store the meat in expensive coolers, they don't have to employ skilled butchers and they can keep meat on the shelf longer while providing an illusion of freshness.  As the video clearly shows, non-gas packed ground beef turns brown and then black over a short period of time if left out.  But the gas packed beef still looks fresh even after it's spoiled.

Is Aged Beef Overrated?

In a word: yes. But—and it's a big but—aging is crucial. To meat and steak lovers, the only thing more disappointing than an over-aged meat, in fact, is meat that hasn't been aged at all. Humans, including vegans, are  classed as an omnivorous animal; which means that we are all, like hyenas, and most bears; basically scavengers.

Confused? You have every right to be. But be warned: Steakhouses and high-end butcher shops- the Canadian Food Industry- are playing off your confusion to perpetrate a scam and “rip you off”. So without further ado, here's everything you need to know about aged beef and why good beef just doesn't need to age all that long.

More on Aged Meat:

When a bovine animal is slaughtered, its beef is so fresh it's considered "green." As with wood from a newly felled tree, its extreme freshness is considered a bad thing (unlike cats and other “true” carnivores, MAN and all omnivores/scavengers prefer meat that is a little “off”. Green beef is tough, a tad bland, and has no sustained juiciness—the steak seems “played” or “washed” out by the second chew.

Aging

The aging of beef (really the very start of the putrefaction process[and, this is another problem withmechanically tenderised beef-containing pink slime- and with wet aging-meat scrappes; that have already begun to digest and putrefy; are again, injected into the "fresh" meat, to continue the process]) is normally thought of as the storage time, in days, from slaughter until processing.  Processing is breaking down the carcass into retail cuts (individually sized portions that consumers buy). All beef is aged prior to processing; (even that acheap/inferior beef bought in your grocery store), because unaged beef is tough and has a metallic flavour.

But, one ageing process is considered superior to all others and it's called dry ageing.

Chances are you won't find dry aged beef in your grocery store.

If, you’re lucky, your grocery store still sells wet aged beef, but more than likely, they have switched over to selling case ready beef that has been gas packed.  But before we get to the nasty details of gas packing, let’s take a step back and talk about two traditional processes for aging beef. 

Dry Aged vs. Wet Aged Beef

The traditional process for ageing beef is called Dry Aging and because the meat will have much better flavour and NUTRITION as well as being tenderer; is generally favoured among ALL, truly knowledgeable, beef connoisseurs. 

Yes, quality dry aging makes the beef you buy not only more tender, but, concentrates both flavour and nutrition, while producing meat that is superb in taste and texture.

Dry Aging occurs when beef is processed and stored in a 30 - 35 degree Fahrenheit  (just above freezing)cooler. During this time, enzymes in the meat work to break down the fibres and tenderize the beef.  Most beef is aged a minimum of 72 hours; however, it's better if the beef is aged longer. Maximum tenderness occurs at 10 - 11 days of aging, but superior flavour and nutrition occurs when the beef is aged longer.   The longer you dry age beef, the more you increase the density of the beef (due to water loss) which concentrates the flavour and very importantly, the nutrition.

More, Dry Aged Beef

During the dry aging process, mould, and bacteria, forms on the outermost layers of the beef; and must be cut off, and thrown away. Once the dry aging process is complete, the beef is broken down into retail cuts; which are then; cooked, put on store shelves for immediate consumption, or frozen.  Remember, beef is a perishable product that will spoil at temperatures above 40 degrees F.  The only way to stop the aging process is to freeze the beef.  

Dry aged beef is highly prized-usually considered-by the Canadian Government, producers, retailers and the Canadian food industry in general to be far too good for the Canadian consumer, but it commands a premium price for several reasons. First, the aging process takes time which means longer storage time in special meat coolers.  Secondly, there is significant weight loss during the aging process due to water loss and trimming (~18% weight loss).  Finally, labour costs are higher, because,  the darkened outer layer of the aged beef must be, skilfully, cut away.  For these reasons, truly dry aged beef will, always, be labelled as such. These days, you typically only find dry aged beef only in gourmet grocery stores and high end steak houses; in foreign countries.

Wet Aging

Up until recent times, up to 90% of beef sold in North America was wet aged.  Wet aging, also known as aging-in-the-plastic bag, involves vacuum packing beef in plastic.

The typical process for wet aged beef goes something like this.  The beef is processed into wholesale cuts, vacuum packed, boxed and shipped. The retailer then stores the boxed beef in its "coolers" until the meat is needed for display and sale. When the bags are opened the meat is first “aired” to get rid of the stink, then, cut into retail cuts, packaged and put in the refrigerated section of the store; where they, immediately, start spoiling.

Inside the plastic, the meat does age and it does become tenderer, but, there is no concentrating of flavour and nutrition, because there is no moisture loss.  So, why is Wet Aging so prevalent?

Because, and only because, wet aging is cheaper, and more profitable, to produce; when combined with the addition of “Pink Slime” and mechanical tenderisation/processing, wet aged meats can be deadly.

Gas Packing - Case Ready Meat

In recent years, a new and even more disturbing, trend has emerged. It is called gas packing. Up to 75% of meat found on grocery store shelves are now gas packed (with, deadly, carbon monoxide, to make the meat, APPEAR, fresh even if it has gone bad.

Gas packing does nothing for tenderness, nutrition, or flavour.  It is, strictly, a process designed to scam the consumer, decrease costs and Increase Profits while ultimately, at Deprivation of Their  Health, fooling the customer into thinking they are buying a "fresher" piece of meat. 

Gas packing with carbon monoxide extends the shelf life of beef up to 14 days. Once it is packaged, Real Beef is not bright red for very long.  It quickly turns a dull brown colour.  But Retailers know consumers shop with their eyes. With gas packing, beef maintains a bright red colour. To most consumers, this bright red colour signifies freshness.  Sadly, nothing could be further from the truth. 

Supermarket/Grocery Store Beef

GAS PACKING PREVENTS DISCOLOURATION

When you buy beef from grocery stores like Cost-Co or Wal-Mart, you are usually buying gas packed meat.  Even though the meat has a bright red colour, there's no telling how long the beef has been sitting on their refrigerated shelves, thawed and slowly spoiling ©Al (Alex-Alexander) D Girvan. All rights reserved.