Love Andy:s style. In the world of online chefs he's a breath of fresh air No ego, attitude, stupid jokes, pointless cooking 'challenges' etc... Seems like a top bloke and his delivery is always clear and engaging Thanks for the videos mate👍

@andy_cooks

4 ай бұрын

thanks legend, i appreciate that. and thanks for watching!

Between the 1920s and mid-40s, my family owned ranches and feeder lots in the US. It wasn't until the KZread dry age explosion, that I understood some of my mother's stories. They would hang a side of beef in a shady North and East corner outside, in the winter. They would carve off a chunk, cut off the pellicle, and serve it to the hands. It makes much more sense now.

@3xeplodng_3agle_studios

4 ай бұрын

North and East. Is that another way of saying Northeast/Nor-East, or did you mean it literally? E.g some at the North, some at the East?

@jtcattanio

4 ай бұрын

​@@3xeplodng_3agle_studios Read it again.. slowly.. i think the words will explain it to you...😅

@3xeplodng_3agle_studios

4 ай бұрын

@@jtcattanio hm... Yes. Fair enough. *_"A"_* side; "corner" 😐 oops. Thank you 😅

@jtcattanio

4 ай бұрын

@3xeplodng_3agle_studios all good. I usually race thru reading stuff.. an i do it to myself a lot. 😅😅

@My_mid-victorian_crisis

4 ай бұрын

@@3xeplodng_3agle_studios The northeast corner, someplace that gets a north/east cross breeze. You can maintain a reasonably stable temp anywhere with a north/east cross breeze. Dairies (where you store milk, and make cream and cheese) would historically take advantage of it. Or so Ruth Goodman says.

My grandfather raised black angus rancher. Every 6 to 9 months we would get half of the cow. They would hang the cow for 30 days before breaking down for steaks and other cuts. It was the best beef I had. I have used the dry aging bags that you use with a vacuum sealer and the results were amazing. I was able to snag a 4 bone prime rib that was 50% after Christmas.

As for the fridge and moisture - there is a trap in every fridge at the back wall - lower temperatures means less possible moisture. As temperature increases it does not just immediately go back. Fan would help, except it would require much stronger pressure than a high flow desk fan. The solution is to isolate the back wall that contains the cooling unit - now that is dangerous with bar fridge - walls and glass are poor insulation and increasing the internal one can only be done in the margin before reaching the weakest external on (glass here). So for tinkering: 1) Get a power meter - you need to be be checking for a increase in average cost. If you isolate too much, system will just overcompensate. 2) Household fridge can barely sustain 3C, so you need to be tracking the temperature as best as you can. 3) Food safe insulation. As for your glass of water, it needs agitation to create mist. Simple piezoelectric speaker is used in cheap humidifiers and can be driver by an old MP3 player. I bet recording a PID cycle as a song and leaving it on loop has not been done on youtube :) But I have seen sterilized aquarium fountains for those looking at it... However AS water in the system increases, it needs to be removed as well - you can use chemical traps (what is inside those food packets). Easy to sanitize and reuse in the oven. Otherwise ice will form decreasing the fridge capabilities. Chemical traps also generate heat so potential risk when using weak fridge. The only good solution is to increase the efficiency of the system: Better fans, better insulation and more and more air. The perfect ratio is 3000x times the air to the meat and why it was done outside in the past. Without fans it would require 14(edit) meters of fridge for each 1 meter of meat :) But on the positive note it means by doing only 1 piece, you are already doing 2 times better. :)

Great video and very informative. Cheers mate, thanks for posting!

I have never come across a clear and more encouraging home dry aging video like this. I love how you gave contrast begining with the more professional dry aging set up. I feel it's doable now. Saved this video to watch again and again. I'm definitely trying dry aging beef at home. Thank you Andy and your wonderful team.❤

I have no experience dry aging yet, but I will surely try soon! I love the content, feels like listening to father talking about what he loves. Thanks, Chef and Not-So-Basic Mitch!

Chef just got your book. Great job really pleased now to work my way through it. Cheers from Canada

Fantastic video as always Andy ❤🎉

Love the video…very informative!! Hope I can try this!!,, 🎉

as a home cook enthusiast got to say I love all you FB and Insat vids, thanks.

I dry age all the time, and I use the Umi dry bags, but you need a vacuum sealer. If you do it this way, you should also put a salt block in your fridge. Love you videos, mate and Kia Ora from NZ 💪🏾

@Boon19871987

4 ай бұрын

I’ve used them before also, Why the salt block out of interest?

@andreasleventis

4 ай бұрын

@@Boon19871987 draws moisture

@hondomclean6759

4 ай бұрын

Salt block will draw moisture from the air which will maximise your dry ageing

@nbourbon1

4 ай бұрын

you shouldnt need a salt block using the umai bags as the bag stops moisture getting in it to protect the meat, ive done it a few times without the salt block and perfectly fine

@hondomclean6759

4 ай бұрын

@nbourbon1 Umai bags are an awesome way to start out dry aging meat. I've tried rump and sirloin and both have worked out great

This was so awesome thank you!

great video. might give this a try

Thanks for the advice and setup Andy. Mitch is learning so much.... eating.🤣🤣

Did love Chef & Mitch's reaction to the grade 9 and how they got momentarily carried away by the yumminess factor and went off script 🤣

Yes Chef! Andy, Legend, thanks for a very educational, interesting and entertaining video. I'm sure the trimmings weren't "wasted" and you have a vey happy well fed dog. Peace and ❤ to you and all of the team

@andy_cooks

4 ай бұрын

Thanks mate!

Brilliant vid Andy!

I have an ink bird that controls temperature and humidity in my wine fridge dry curing cabinet. I also put in a small cool mist humidifier. Takes up some room, but works well curing my sausage and snack stick type sausage. Excellent videos, thanking for your interesting videos.

Fantastic video really excellent work! From South Australia ex chef now appreciative connoisseur!

Really enjoyed this one for the food technology aspect. I Googled the average humidity in Scotland during winter and it's just above 70%. Around Kilcoy look for an old farmhouse with brick chimney as it might have an old meat safe outback usually under a broad tree. Local antique shops may have a small meatsafe Love to see more food preservation stuff on your channel. You explained this topic today in a very accessable way.

@strictlymitch

4 ай бұрын

Growing up we had an old meatsafe in the kitchen that came over with my nan from England. Eventually was a linen cupboard in our bathroom. Was always confused how the meat was "safe" until I learnt about dry age beef years later😅

Really interesting. Enjoyed this vid.

Thanks Andy. Great video as always: Entertaining and informative. And of course, hunger and drool inducing!!😄 As to increasing humidity (among the many that I found, this seems to the best for such a scenario): You can try placing a wet towel over the air vents. This will help to trap the moisture in the air and keep it from escaping.

Try an ultrasonic humidifier/mister for humidity control. Maybe an Inkbird controller that home cheese makers use to control a converted fridge.

@macriggland6526

4 ай бұрын

Here: Buy a bunch of weird equipment you never knew you needed and experiment with a process you don’t fully understand, buying and wasting loads of meat in the process. Yeah, why would anybody in the food industry want you to be hyped about dry aging?

@EdwardsComment

4 ай бұрын

@@macriggland6526 To some degree people are complicating the process and pursuing unnecessary levels of precision. I have dry aged meats for years and never used any special equipment - nor have I thrown out a single aged cut. If people want to choose this hobby, its frankly far better than staring into a screen like a zombie or burning jet fuel on holiday.

@CarlosRodriguez-dd4sb

4 ай бұрын

Exactly what I was going to recommend. Two Guys and a Cooler have some nice vids converting fridges into agers.

@macriggland6526

4 ай бұрын

Still gonna end up throwing away a bunch of meat trying to figure it out. Its a huge industry, a driver or the modern service/decadence economy.@@EdwardsComment

@EdwardsComment

4 ай бұрын

@@macriggland6526 In case I wrote too much for you to read, I've thrown nothing away. You don't have knowledge of this topic, which is fine but its probably best to stop here.

Great Vid! Thanks

I’d love to join a cooking class with you! I feel I’d learn so much. Love this

I like the interaction and friendship of Mitch and Andy. good mates for sure.

You are looking TRIM, Chef. Hard work is paying off. 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾 Also, great video.

You could try those cigar humidor acrylic crystals. They release humidity in a controlled manner and are available for different target humidity levels. Should work pretty well since it is the same concept as with cigars.

@andy_cooks

4 ай бұрын

II haven't tested them but I don't think they're strong enough to deal with a moist product like a piece of meat as opposed to something that's already reasonably dry like a cigar.

Brilliant video, I watched enough Guga foods to understand everything you were talking about. The problem is the cost of Beef here in Aus, and also the quality of that beef. How much would you be spending for a slab that big. Cost of living is atrocious atm

Hi Andy. Thanks for all the great videos mate. I am still waiting for your Picalilly recipe you promised us before Christmas. :)

love this! The refrigeration process removes moisture from the air in the fridge, that's just a fundamental part of the process. This is most easily seen when you have exposed meat in a freezer. it 'burns' (drys out) very quickly. It would be worth trying a bowl of water at the bottom of the fridge, to try and maintain the balance. That water will definitely evaporate because of the refrigeration, but you can easily keep an eye on it and top us as required. Worth a try, I reckon!

Great informative vid mate 👍

@andy_cooks

4 ай бұрын

Thank you!

Working with salami, so not a 1 to 1, the humidity really matters at the start. If the humidity is too low at the beginning, a thick pelicle forms before any moisture loss. Essentially, you get a wet, sealed bacterial growth chamber. Your high initial humidity to a drier finish probably cost you some volume, but a slightly more intense flavor. For a home dry age without a designated fridge, try Umai dry age bags. Seal the meat in the bag, place on a wire rack in your fridge, and wait until days aged is reached. So long as you don't bury the meat, you can use your fridge as normal. I used the bags for both strip loin and brisket at 38 days with no problem. Bags run about $30 for a 3 pack.

Excellent video! I dry-aged for the first time and just cooked the steaks yesterday. I used an Umai bag and aged for 35 days. The results were outstanding. The only downside is having to wait the 35 days lol

Hey Andy, we used a small humidifier placed in the bottom of the fridge. We then used a inkbird humidity controller that automatically switches the humidifier between your set parameters. Love the vids mate!

@grahamheath9957

4 ай бұрын

That’s exactly what I was going to say. If you control the humidity with a humidifier and a fan etc, you will have more success with humidity control and inkbird is a good brand.

Hi Andy, thank you. I guess if we ignor cost, its then all about at what aging time best suits your palate. Cheese, wine, meat, all benefits from aging, we all love food thats matured caputuring those hidden flavours only time can develop Great posts

For humidity you could try an ultrasonic humidifier/fog generator... The kind that looks like a metal puck with a small white disc on it. Cycle it on a timer until you hit your desired humidity

I like your longer videos. Thanks for being a no nonsense cook

@andy_cooks

4 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching!

I just happen to have an extra one of those little fridges. Tempting to try this!

You need Inkbird humidity and temperature controllers. Get an old barfridge for about $50 on gumtree and cut a hole in the side just big enough to run a power plug through (plenty of demos on KZread so you don't destroy your fridge). Get an Inkbird humidity controller and an inkbird temperature controller, a small usb fan, a homebrew heating mat and a humidifier. All fridges naturally dehumidify over time so run the fan constantly to allow this and a humidifier that switches on when the humidity drops below a certain point. Run the fridge power through the temp controller cold side powerplug, and get a homebrew heating mat and plug it into the hot side of the temp controller. Plug the fan into the 'dryer' side of the humidity controller and humidifier into the 'wetter' side and attatch all temp and humidity probes just through the side at the top opposite the fan. Run all necessary cables through hole in fridge and seal hole with a plastic sheet backfilled from outside with expander foam. Thoroughly clean and disinfect all items going in the fridge. Set fridge to come on at 3c and off at 2c, heating mat to come on if temp drops below 1c and off at 2.5c. Set humidity controller to switch on fan on at 0% and off at 100% (this will keep it running) and humidifier to turn on at 65% and off at 85%. Just remember to regularly keep your humidifier topped off with distilled water.

Andy, you could try 75% or 84% Boveda bags. Half a dozen bags should be good for a fridge that size. Usually used for cigar storage👍

Chef Andy, silica gel absorbs moisture; also can you do a video doing maintenance on a home dry aging box?

The colder it gets the dryer...raise the fridge temp a couple degrees, great Vid, cheers Andy.

Hello chef !! First off amazing job on all the video's ! I don't know if this'll work but my wife keeps high humidity for her tropical plants in our mini green house with small balls of clay soaked in water kept in a small bowl. She has that green house at around 75 to 85 % humidity only with the lights. However the temperature is at almost 25 degrees celcius. Don't know if this would help. I'd love to know if it does. Keep up the excellent work !!

I enjoyed Mitch having a taste! Definitely should get him on more for those brief appearances.

Great effort!! 👌💪🔥

i saw a guy get an old fridge added a temperature controller that''s more precise and a humidity controller hooked up to a fan and that's how he dry ages his meat. can even do that for aging cheese as well.

Interesting. Id love to try that eventually but i know Mitch is still wanting to try chitterlings! ❤

Great information

Hello Andy, like this video, mine advise order Inkbird Dual Humidity Controller and buy humidifier and dehumidifier........and it will always will be perfect, I just use mine old fridge and have temperature controller and humidity, and they work great for dry aging or charcuterie . cheers.

Nice video! Have you heard about or tried the dry aging vacuum bags (for the fridge)? I've been tempted but not yet tried it..

@andy_cooks

4 ай бұрын

I have and they work pretty well

Lovely... Babe will never lack for dry aged beef in the house now, Andy! 😜🥰

Wonder if you could use Boveda, they are a two way humidification device that stores cigars at your preferred % They come in all different humidity

Andy when I gave it a crack way back when, I actually used an old Kegerator I had which I'd converted from a Deep Freezer so it had no dramas keeping cold. I had a Computer Case Fan in there, & for humidity I used a Half Sheet Pan for the Water(much bigger surface area). I never went over 2 Months(because I'm impatient).

I get these weed humidifiers packets that keep it to 65% has some gel or liquid inside. Had it in their for 3 months and it's still working. See if they make ones for 75%?

Thank you chef!♥

Love your videos but i must correct you on this point as a biologist. Animal cells do not have cell walls. I think you may be referring to collagen, which is the protein that primarily makes up convective tissue, which connects the muscle fibers together and what makes certain cuts tough and why you cut against the grain. The longer you dry age, the more collagen that gets broken down, the more tender the beef.

Loving the Andy Cooks Cookbook!

@andy_cooks

4 ай бұрын

epic!

Have you heard of Umai dry age bags? I dry aged a ribeye roast for 45 days in my normal fridge and it came out amazing.

@andy_cooks

4 ай бұрын

Yep, they work pretty well

@BreonNagy

4 ай бұрын

@@andy_cooks since you're trolling comments right now, did you see french guy Alex referenced you in his latest video?

Hi Andy, can the bits you have to cut off be rehydrated or used to make stocks or soups?

Chef kindly share how one can make the outback brown bread , thanks

Thanks!

Andy i love your videos which is odd because i am now a vegan as of last year!!!! I was never really into meat!!!! I just love the fact that you seem to be a really genuine person and i respect that!!!! Cheers from the srate of Michigan USA!!!!!!

@andy_cooks

4 ай бұрын

Thanks legend!

Could you use something like a electric essential oil diffuser without the oils to raise the humidity? It would be a cheap and easy fix if it works.

Hey Andy loved the video and learned a lot just curious though I'm on the Gold Coast and there is a few meat centres here and good butchers but the weight of that Wagyu would be maybe 5 kg and would i be paying around $ 100 a kg or more ? which i would pay i'd just hate to destroy a beautiful piece of produce Thanks mate love Back of House as well 👏

Absolutely right! It's definitely worth it for steak lovers. I bought a small dry ager for it a couple of years ago, which measures just 90 x 40 cm. It fits 8-10 kg of beef loin. An aging time of approx. 60-65 days has proved to be ideal for me. I mainly use the back of a heifer for maturing. I get this freshly slaughtered from my butcher. I can choose the cut on site, as I am allowed to enter the cutting room. The meat then costs me a quarter to a third of the matured meat available in the shop, which has only been aged for 21 days. At the end of the aging process, I have 6-7 T-bone and porterhouse steaks weighing 700 to 900 g each. The flavour and tenderness are second to none. Usually prepared in the Beefer and served with chimichurri. An absolute highlight for my family and me...! 😋

I think getting in touch with Guga if possible would actually be really informative. Although not a food “scientist”, that guy has done more experiments with dry aging steak than any other person on the planet I think. Combine that with his love with Australian Wagyu and your connections I think it’d be an amazing compilation.

Definitely the way to go. . Looks amazing. Those "rotten" pieces can make a good breakfast with some eggs, bacon potatoes

I saw a guy in the states that was using an aging wrap on his joints but also an old glass fronted fridge with a humidifier and a sensor that would switch it on and off to keep humidity at 80%. He was also running it at a higher temp around 8 DegC. Keep up the good work Andy, love the shows

@felicitystronach4656

4 ай бұрын

KZread channel called 2 guys and a cooler, mainly doing cured meats but he has a nice homemade set up that looks easy enough to pull together from Bunnings.

I've had a few different dry age steaks. 150 days was the best. 250 days was waaaayyy to blue cheese. At home I just like to dry out the surface of an individual steak for a day. It really improves the crust.

@m.theresa1385

4 ай бұрын

I do the same thing just by leaving it on a pan/ rack with a bit of parchment loosely over it in the bottom of my fridge, sometimes for up to three days. I used to put it in my meat drawer but now that’s full of cheeses etc. it makes a huge difference on the sear.

chef andy, being in queensland surely your feeling the heat at the moment. would love to know some easy to cook cold foods. loving the content, from a fellow kiwi living in queesnland!!

@kazwilson425

4 ай бұрын

I'm pleading for a gazpacho as we speak.

@swisski

4 ай бұрын

Adding to the Gazpacho comment, I recently looked up a recipe for a cold Turkish soup made with yogurt and cucumber, or cacik. It’s similar to Tzatziki, but more liquid- perfect for when it’s too hot to eat dinner but you want something refreshing.

@kazwilson425

4 ай бұрын

Oh sweet, thanks for that mate will try it out.@@swisski

Could you look to do a video on curing meats?

Would love to see the Aussie marbling scores and taste test of each number.

You could give the Boveda humidity packs a go. a Large 320 pack at 69%. I use then for my cigars so it should be safe for beef. May need to use 2 or more depending on the size of the bar fridge. Im gonna give it a go when I get my bar fridge.

And now my mouth is watering and I’m definitely having steak for lunch. Sadly not on the bbq though as the weather here in England is atrocious.

Does a tray of rice at the bottom help sock up the moisture?

I used to spray a bit of water in the fridge at times along with keeping a bowl of water in…it kinda worked for mee..sometimes i used to increase the temp for like 5-10 mins just after keeping the bowl of water in so that the humidity increased sharply for sometime and then return back to normal settings…a very coin flip trick but it did work fr me 😊

Damn that looks so good 🤤 Dry aging is top tier

Maybe try some cigar humidor packs. Can get them in different percentages

I have never tried Wagyu like that before. Your reaction just made me mighty jealous.

Is there anything you can do with the trimmings? Beef stew, dog food?

There’s a cool system called Umai Dry. They are vacuum sealed membranous bags, and all you need to do is put your meat in them, seal them and chuck em in your regular refrigerator on a cooling rack with airflow all around it. Guga on his channel Guga Foods used to use this system before he got proper dry aging cabinets and it always looked like it worked flawlessly.

I dont know is you can still get them but i use too see dry age bags online for sale If they are still available that would be a good test to try against traditional dry aging and if they actually work

When I cured pork cheeks my low tech setup included super-saturated water and salt 'brine' (a tray with water and a mound of salt in it to keep the humidity at the sweet spot (water would evaporate if humidity was too low and salt would soak up the hunidity from the ambient if it was too high). Must've read about it either in Ruhlmann & Polcyn or on the fabolous eGullet forum. HTH

are there any changes with respect to the fat when dry aging? I remember watching some content creator talking about fat trimmed off dry aged beef, and i am wondering if dry aging beef fat(without the meat) could be a "cheat" option?

I haven't ever tasted dry age meat, but living on a pension, it is out of my price range, and I can't afford to throwing out meat, I'd rather just add some MSG to season it, and get a beefy flavour like that, yes a very interesting video and lot's to learn how to safely do dry aging, and hopefully my situation can change, and I'll be able to try it out, thanks Chef Andy

I’m curious if you ever make any homemade wines! 🍷 Some desserts would be Epic too. 😁

Maybe Boveda packs that they make for cigar humidors?

Guga foods uses some sort of dry aging bag that he gets from Amazon, any chance of giving that a run to see the difference?

Basic Mitch is not so basic. Andy must be so proud!

Wonder what it would be like to dry-age and since its a big piece of meet, then to cut up and vacuum seal and freeze it.

I dont know much about holding right humidity at that big scale, because im using boveda packs in my humidor but u can ask on cigar aficionados groups, many of us using same type of fridge for holding cigars and they need 60-65 % humidity for cuban cigars and up to 75% for cigars from the new world, they sure know how to do that

Most domestic fridges operate between 25-35% RH. Thats why the bags are ideal as they are designed to work at the lower RH. Commercial fridges (in NZ called Skope) usually run close to ambient (75-85%) and they are ideal for aging with plenty of room and are very cheap secondhand.

If your humidity is low andy put more meat in there I make dried cured salami things in the exact same setup and humidity isn't a problem it stays between 70 80% on its own

Quick note, new research shows that at that humidity temps should be 0-3. 3 and above already show bacterial growth.

Does fat content in steaks make a better crust? The steaks with basically 0 fat in them from woolies don’t really give a nice crust even with generous amount of salt when my family cooks them

The process is interesting and the taste is amazing, can understand why it's hyped.

@6099x

4 ай бұрын

good food and poe, what else :D

@despair268

4 ай бұрын

@@6099x heh, something nice to drink as well.

Hi Andy, I have the same temperature and humidity sensor as the one you showed. It's great for monitoring around the house, and probably good for your use. However, I HIGHLY recommend INKBIRD sensors: you can connect to them via Bluetooth, plus you can log temp/humidity and download a graph to monitor the conditions inside the fridge. Also bar fridges are terribly unreliable. I had a Bunnings one which was either too warm to safely store perishables, or freezing over. I wouldn't trust a cheap bar fridge unless I tested it first (with a temperature logger 🙃) The "safest" option would probably be forking out $$$ for a wine fridge.

@madcatjo

4 ай бұрын

Forget about wine fridges: I just checked, and most have minimum temperature of 5°C. 😵

@andy_cooks

4 ай бұрын

I think a proper dry ager would probably be the same price as a wine fridge, so that's probably the best option if you have the $$$

@madcatjo

4 ай бұрын

@@andy_cooks I actually have a butcher in my area who is a total Meat Nerd who dry ages cuts to order I haven't tried any yet, but now I'm really keen. 🤣 (Jack's Meats in Canterbury, for anyone in Sydney. The BEST old-fashioned sausages, too!😻)

Hey Andy here’s a question for you as a professional cook. I have the vague belief that grilling (good) steak 🥩 is better on a pan than it is a grill. My theory is that because you’re dealing with such expensive cuts you wanna retain that fat runoff in the pan instead of having it run off onto the grill stove that evaporates. Am I nuts or am I working logically in reality? Is one better? Does it matter?