Sometimes it requires extra conditions to get the best out of many ingredients we use for cooking. Other times, it is expensive and takes a lot of time to achieve.
Dry-aged beef is one important ingredient for many chefs that understand being crafty in making savory dishes. If you have come across this meat at the store, the price tag sometimes looks scary and you would ask why is dry aged beef so expensive?
Sometimes, it is overwhelming, trying to pay for a particular ingredient that is expensive. Well, dry-aged beef is one of a few ingredients that go through some treatment from weeks to months before it is set out for use.
Let us find out more about dry-aged beef. And why dry-aged beef is expensive.
Contents
All about dry-aged beef
First off, dry-aging is the process of leaving large chunks of cut-out portions of beef to age for some time, after which, in weeks or months, the meat is now sliced and used for whatever purpose anybody wants it for.
So, dry-aged beef is the beef that undergoes this process before anyone can use it in any recipe. The process helps to add some flavor to the aged beef.
This is because, as the meat dries, it loses some moisture, which makes it more concentrated and flavorful. Dry-aged meats have a meatier flavor than fresh beef.
Many people would always choose aged beef over fresh beef because the process makes the aged beef more tender compared to the fresh beef.
Taste of dry-aged beef: since dry-aged beef develops the taste after a long time, it will have a more defined flavor. And because it has lost so much moisture, it will have this roasted beef-like flavor while maintaining some beefy taste too.
What can you cook with dry-aged beef?
Just like any meat, you can roast, fry, or cook dry-aged beef depending on what you need it for. Add enough seasonings to enhance the flavor.
Are you still curious? Why is dry-aged beef so expensive? Let us find out now!
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Why is dry aged beef so expensive? (Top 5 reasons)
1. Age of the beef
Dry-aged beef is costly because, unlike the regular meat that we all buy and cook with, almost immediately, dry-aged beef is cut into chunks. And then treated and left for some time, and that is from weeks to years.
This chiefly depends on what the person drying the beef wants. But the price of the beef will depend on how long the beef is aged. So, if 3 weeks to 2 months dry-aged beef costs a couple of bucks, a year of dry-aged beef would be 3 or 4 times more expensive.
So, the age of the beef contributes to the expensive nature of dry-aged beef.
2. Time-consuming
Another reason dry-aged beef is so expensive is that it takes a long time for the meat to reach the desired result, and it is quite costly drying the meat.
To dry the beef you would relatively need some level of humidity and low temperature for the beef to dry properly without bacteria.
It takes a lot of patience to get dried-aged beef ready. This is another thing that makes dry-aged beef expensive.
3. Flavor and quality
Dry-aged beef is so expensive also because it is filled with flavor, unlike the regular beef, we use for our daily cooking. More so, the quality of the dry-aged beef is top-notch. The weight of the beef is far less light than the fresh beef.
Regular beef is nothing like dry-aged beef. Many people might love to enjoy beef without having too many ingredients in it.
And dry-aged beef fits in perfectly, so if you are looking forward to having a tender and flavorful beef without too many ingredients, dry-aged beef is enough.
However, it comes with a price too! And because it is the aging process of dry-aged beef that contributes to the flavor, it is five times the price of regular beef.
4. Longer life span
Dry-aged beef is so expensive because it is not quick to spoil. The beef has lost too much moisture and as long as the beef is dried for a long time, it will maintain its taste and texture.
So, when it is almost impossible to keep fresh beef for long, especially when the situation seems unfavorable, dry-aged beef will outlive the expected life span. However, this does not mean that dry-aged beef does not spoil.
How long does dry-aged beef last? Dry-aged beef can stay for 7 to 120 days. However, the longevity of dry-aged beef will depend on how long it is dried and how well you store it.
5. Cost
The cost of drying beef is relatively high and for sure return on investment, many people that produce dry-aged beef ensure that they get the best reward for their efforts.
It is quite demanding getting dry-aged beef ready, from the cutting process to the trimming process, and since the beef is hung in the air at a well-regulated low temperature around the freezing point, it will take some time to dry.
So, having constant electricity to ensure that the process is not disturbed is costly. And it takes energy to trim the pellicle in the beef to maintain quality.
These are the reasons dry-aged beef is so expensive. However, this does not mean you cannot have some good dry-aged beef for your recipe.
Since the cost of dry-aged beef would depend also on how long the beef has stayed dried, you can settle for dry-aged beef that only takes some weeks to dry.
Where can you get dry-aged beef?
Availability is not an immense problem for dry-aged beef; the only problem is the cost. You can get dry-aged beef in grocery stores and you can even order online.
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Conclusion
At the beginning of this guide, you were curious and asked why is dry aged beef so expensive? However, you are not ending this guide, still curious.
And we are glad our guide can help you answer this relentless question. Now, you know the several reasons behind the high cost of dry-aged beef. Although dry-aged beef is not really cost-friendly, many people still use it in their recipes.
And if you want to, you can go for the cheaper dry-aged beef. We hope you can make the right choice!