I know we haven’t even reach one major holiday and I’m already going to ask you to start planning ahead for your next one, whether it’s Christmas, New Year’s, etc. By then, you’ll probably be turkey’d out, so let’s talk beef. Specifically dry-aged beef.

We celebrate Christmas or Chrismukkah with family and our neighborhood friends, and the one thing that’s on the dinner table every single year is steaks or standing rib-roast that I’ve dry-aged at home. I’m too cheap to buy it professionally aged (especially since we usually feed around 12 adults at these parties) and with a spare refrigerator in the garage, it’s not bad in terms of convenience and price.

Earlier this year, back in May, I contacted Thea, the owner of Drybag Steaks about their product. How did I find out about them? Well, Drybag came to my site and mentioned the product in the comments of this post on salting steaks. I was interested. But pissed that the comment was spammy. But, still interested enough to contact them. After emails and phone calls back and forth, they sent me their starter kit which includes a vacuum sealer and several bags, retail $119 to test out their product. I am NOT paid to write this review and I do NOT get anything whatsoever if you buy from them.

The bags are special — during the aging process, they turn into a membrane that allows moisture to escape but do not allow oxygen to come into the bags creating the perfect seal for dry aging steaks.

I’ve now tested this method 4 separate times over the past 6 months. That’s why it’s taken me so long to get this review together. Also, I conducted 4 separate tests…twice with ribeye loin and twice with strip loin. I took about 300 photos during the 4 separate tests. THREE HUNDRED PHOTOS. I’m using the best of the lot – which means that the photos below are a mish-mash from all of the tests. So if the steaks look a little different between photos, that’s why.

A note of caution – for successful dry-aging, you must keep a steady temperature of 34F-38F. If you have an old, rusty, broken refrigerator, please do not attempt. Or, if you only have one refrigerator in the house and your kids open shut open shut open shut the door to sneak finger swipes chocolate cake frosting, you’re better off having someone else do the dry-aging.

I’d like to introduce you to hunk-o-meat.

And this here is the vacuum machine that they sent to me. But that’s not the secret weapon. Not yet…we’ll get to that in a minute.

This is how vacuum sealers used to look and work prior to Foodsaver. If you have one of these, you’ve probably have had yours for a long time. Many of the commercial vacuum sealers work similar to this. It’s called a chamber vacuum sealer.

First, I want to cut the hunk in half. Hey wait. My strip transformed into a ribeye somewhere down the way. Do NOT trim the outer fat and when you first take the hunk-o-meat out of the cryovac that you bought it in, do NOT wipe off all that gooey bloody mess (that was my mistake — Not only did I trim the outer fat…but I also mopped off the goop) Here’s why, direct explanation from owner of Drybag:

“To create the best (and, ultimately, safest) bond between the surface of the meat and the DrybagSteak material, it is critical that the meat be well coated with proteins–i.e. bloody and gooey like right when you crack it out of the cryovac if you purchase meat from Costco or Sam’s Club.” ~Thea, Drybag Steak

Put hunk into the secret weapon…the Drybag bag. Trim away excess, but leave some room, because you’ll need that extra space to insert into the vacuum sealer.

Vacuum seal that baby up.

Just a note – not all vacuum seals will work with this bag. i.e. my Foodsaver vacuum seal will not work. The sealer that you want has the special nozzle or chamber in the middle that sucks out the air. See the nozzle? The reason why Foodsaver will not work is that these bags are very very thin (in order to let moisture out). Foodsaver will just burn right through the bag. Many commercial restaurants or butchers might have this chamber vacuum sealer. Just search for “chamber vacuum sealer.”

Get it good and tight. Oh and also, only Drybag bags work – it actually becomes a membrane. Don’t try to do this with other brand of bags. It won’t work. Foodsaver bags are thick and the whole point of DRY aging is to release moisture. Foodsaver bags will not release moisture.

Place it in the refrigerator. Important: you want air circulation, so place it on a heavy rack. Also use a thermometer in the refrigerator to make sure it’s between 34F-38F.

In fact, for test run #2, I propped the rack up with some boards so more air can circulate around the meat.

Notice that during one of my test runs that there is some trapped air inside the bag. This occurred part way through the aging process. Remember I said I made a mistake– I trimmed the fat and wiped the bloody gooey goop from the loin? Well this is what happens. The membrane couldn’t get a good grip and cling.

So, I snipped off the end and re-vacuum sealed the bag for a tight fit.

After 7-21 days (I aged for 14 days) the steak is ready! See how the Drybag bag clings? You should have to peel it away like a membrane. It comes off easily.

Trim away the outer, tough layer.

Do that all the away around the loin.

Trimmin’

Now slice the steaks into whatever thickness you’d like. Look at the nice, deep red color that’s typical of aged steaks.

That’s some good lookin’ steak.

As for the taste? Fantastic.

Like most well-aged steaks, it had incredible depth of flavor, deep beefy, earthy, complex flavors that hit every part of the mouth.

And like all steaks, taste and flavors depend first and foremost on how long you’ve aged the steaks, how well you cook the steaks, the breed of the cattle, what they were fed, how they were raised and where they were raised. In fact, you should probably read up on Artisan Steak Tasting.

But take your favorite steak and amp up the flavor and beefy-ness by 10x.

I think what you want to know is:

Q) Does it taste better than professionally aged steaks?

A) About the same. But that also depends on how long the professionally aged steaks were aged. And also results depend on making sure you follow the directions of Drybag (correct sealing, correct/steady temperature, air circulation) and the type of beef you are starting with. Good restaurants and butchers might be aging PRIME steaks…and I tested with CHOICE steaks. That makes a pretty big difference. But I’ll take affordable home-aged steaks over pricey butcher or restaurant steaks any day.

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Q) Is Drybag more effective than home-aging without Drybag?

A) Both yielded same results for me, tastewise. When I dry age without the Drybag, I cover the meat with several layers of cheesecloth – which I have to clean every few days. The cheesecloth ends up getting dirty, bloody and crusty. I know, that sounds gross. The Drybag saved me time over changing and washing cheesecloths and worrying about exposed meat in the refrigerator. But it is an expense. The machine with bags plus shipping will set you back $130. Cheesecloth is cheap.

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Q) Can I use my current Vacuum sealer and bags and do the same thing?

A) No. Don’t try it. The bags are special bags that turn into a membrane to allow moisture to evaporate away. And the Drybag bags do not work in other vacuum sealers like the Foodsaver. They will work with vacuum sealers that have the nozzle thingy that I’ve shown in the photo above. If you have one of those vacuum sealers, just buy the bags. *UPDATE: how to use Foodsaver machine with these bags below in red.

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FINAL THOUGHTS:
I did have a little bit of trouble getting used to the chamber vacuum sealer that Drybag sent to me. But that’s probably user error more than anything (I hate reading instructions.) The vacuum sealer doesn’t work as well as my FlavorSeal in terms of sucking all of the air out — I had to try 2-3 times to seal and reseal the bags. My biggest advice to you in terms of using the machine is to leave yourself PLENTY of bag space in case you need to snip and reseal.

Also, part-way through the dry aging, I had to resuck and reseal the bags as I noticed air pockets as shown in the photos above. But this is minor compared to the ease over dry aging the steaks with cheesecloth.

I can see myself dry aging with Drybags probably 4-5 times a year – remember you have to dry age whole roasts, not individual steaks. And a whole roast is massive. In fact, I’ll be dry aging the standing rib roast that we’ll have for Christmas dinner.

For $119 (which includes the vacuum sealer, instructions and the bags) it’s totally worth it. But also remember that Drybag is in the business of selling the BAGS…not the machine. You can get a few bags for $20.

Target market would be small restaurants and families who have an extra refrigerator/freezer. Since you’re dry aging an entire loin, you better have a lot of friends over to eat…or have the freezer room to store the cut steaks! Totally not recommended if you don’t have an entire shelf in your refrigerator to dedicate to this roast. If you’re refrigerator is slammed already for space and you have a family that constantly opens/shuts, I just wouldn’t recommend dry-aging at home anyways. NOT SAFE as the temperature fluctuates too much.

I use the refrigerator in my garage where I store drinks and booze…and it only gets opened when I want drinks and booze…which…is…um….quite…often. But still, it doesn’t get opened very much, and I have a fridge thermometer right on the shelf that I’m constantly aware of.

Once I’ve dry aged the loin, I cut them into 1 1/4-inch to 1 1/2-inch steaks and vacuum seal (with my regular Foodsaver vacuum sealer) each steak individually to store and freeze. For my Christmas standing rib roast, I’ll leave it whole.

In terms of number of days to age, I’ve tried 7 days, 14 days and 21 days. The 14-day aging was my sweet spot. Not that 21 days didn’t taste better (it did!) but I’m just impatient like that and it’s hard for me to wait the full 21 days. For Christmas, I think I’ll do the full 21 days. But that’s just because impatience can’t get in the way. Don’t think my family will stand for having Christmas dinner 7 days earlier just because I wanna eat the damn roast.

Another note on the company who distributes Drybag. The company is called MacPak LLC. The woman who owns this company is Thea, not really the expert on the technology behind how the bags work nor on beef/steaks nor that I was expecting. She passed me onto another gentleman who was a consultant to answer my tough beef questions and the science behind how the bags work. I think MacPak is just a distributor of these bags. I wish the vacuum sealer that they are selling was a better quality sealer, but I would have no idea where to buy a chamber vacuum sealer nor do I have the time to test them. But despite this, the bags work. Foodwishes also reviewed and tested Drybag.

I’m still unclear on the science of how these drybags work – how does the bag let moisture out and keep oxygen from coming into the bag? Hmmm…if you have an explanation, please let me know! I’ll enter into this post. If you know of other companies distributing similar bags, I’m happy to contact them and test to offer options.As whether I recommend that you buy or not, that’s really up to you. It’s expensive. An entire loin to dry age is expensive. But if you’re a steak whore like me, and can afford it, go for it. I like it and I’ll continue to use it. I am NOT paid to write this review and I do NOT get anything whatsoever if you buy from them. You might want to look on eBay or garage sales for the chamber vacuum sealer if you are bitching about having to buy another vacuum sealer. I see from the comments below that some of y’all are hung up about the fact that it’s a vacuum sealer machine and that you can’t use your Foodsaver machine. Fine. Let’s call this machine something other than a vacuum sealer. Let’s call it a “Magical Steak Aging Sucker Pucker.” All better now?

And if dry aging steaks doesn’t appeal to you, how about tenderizing and flavorizing your steaks using this post on salting steaks!?

UPDATE #1: Commenter Bruce has the best explanation I’ve heard so far:

“I’m guessing that the bags work by having tiny holes of just the right size. Oxygen molecules (O2 – two oxygen atoms stuck together) are a bit bigger than water (one oxygen with two hydrogens, but hydrogen is really, really small)”

UPDATE #2: I love my readers! This is from Ron, who’s a regular participant in the Big Green Egg Forums. He uses a 4-inch sleeve of the Foodsaver bag OVER the Drybag bag — and then seals with this Foodsaver. See his photos and his videos.

UPDATE #3: The owner of DrybagSteaks has emailed me more information about the science and testing of these bags.
Dry aging of beef in a bag highly permeable to water vapour
Effects of dry aging of bone-in and boneless strip loins using two aging processes for two aging times

I feel like that commercial for Beggin’ Strips…

baconbaconbaconbacon…BACON!

It’s a recipe I’ve adapted from Marcus Samuelsson’s brand new book, New American Table….recipe for Pasta, Bacon and Peas at Steamy Kitchen on TLC.

I never thought that I’d miss washing dishes in my kitchen…but after 12 days on the road, not only did I long for my own dish sponge (we all have personal relationships with our favorite dish sponge brand, right!? RIGHT!????) but I also missed my beloved rice cooker.

Of course I missed my children dearly…so much that we’re not gonna talk about that right now. But thank goodness for wonderful friends like Diane and Todd, who generously opened their home to host a party for me. The home was filled with good friends (do you see Matt and Adam in photo #2?), TONS of food (they cooked 8 dishes from my cookbook!) and a magical setting.

I’ve been waiting 3 years to meet this man. THREE YEARS. He’s as crazy as I thought he would be. And that’s his lovely wife to the right – she’s hilarious! Love them both. I told them my boys were going to marry their little girls.

Also got to see my blog-sistahs Jenny, Bee and Rachael. I love them too.

Diane even took time out to snap some photos of me…and since I didn’t really touch my camera that night, I have no photos of Diane or Todd myself (sad) but Clare made sure she snapped a photo of my hosts, including the very very handsome Mark.

Then off to San Francisco where I started the morning with an interview at KTSF, romped with great friends at the Foodbuzz Festival with these cool people. Breakfast with Foodbuzz was the best. It was the morning I decided that the best hangover cure was a Bacon Bloody Mary. I must give a big big shoutout and thank you to Stephanie of Wasabimon for driving Ms. Jaden and playing photographer.

Wait…is that David Chang of Momofuku in that photo below?! Why yes it is! More on that below.

In San Francisco, I also did a live television segment on View From the Bay where I cooked Firecracker Shrimp.

Little did I know the Boy Scouts were gonna be there in the live audience! I wanted to just hug them all.

Biggest surprise was that brand new author and very talented chef, David Chang of Momofuku was in the station as well and also cooking his ramen dish on TV. What a sweetheart. Stephanie and I hung out in the Green Room together with his co-author, Peter where he confessed that he was massively hung over. Something like 100 shots the night before. But doesn’t he look so happy here? He hides his hangover well. I want to cook for this man.

I also managed to pack in a mini high-school reunion and a cooking class at Sur La Table! Long time friends Irene and Maria came to the class and new friends Ben of Cooking With the Single Guy (dinner with Ben, Stephanie, Sean and Samantha was !$!@*# awesome!)

These people who came to the book signing at Omnivore were so precious – one even came and gave me home made hot sauce!

A big thanks for a city that I still call home…and an even bigger thanks to the companies who sent me hundreds of products to give away as prizes at goodie bags, including Scanpan, MacSpeech, Chefs Catalog, Pama, Sodastream, Vine Connections, Marky’s Caviar and Van Gogh Vodka.

And then…there’s Seattle…for next time…

Must.

Make.

These.

Or let him…

Make them for you.

You might as well add flour and buttermilk to your grocery list right now.

Read more Pioneer Woman’s Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe on Steamy Kitchen on TLC.

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NEWS FLASH! The Good Bite team has announced their semi-finalists for the Quaker Awaken Your Senses Challenge! Vote for who wins $10,000 to give to their favorite charity!

This is one of those perfect perfect fall-winter recipes that you must make for Thanksgiving. Because it’s super-simple. If you’ve never made gnocchi before, please trust me that it’s easier than you think…please don’t be intimidated by the “gn”

Two throaty letters THAT close together sometimes scare me too.

But I promise you, it’s not bad at all. Here, let me hold your hand and walk you through it.

1. Mix together some canned pumpkin, lemon zest, salt, ricotta cheese, egg yolk and grated parmesan. In a separate bowl, add the flour. Now, here’s a secret shortcut. The recipe calls for “sifted flour” but I’m lazy. I don’t like to sift. I use a whisky-thingy to briskly whisk through the flour which breaks up any clumps. Does the same job. Plus, I like saying “briskly whisk.”

2. Add some of the flour (not all) You’re gonna mix with a spatula until the flour disappears.

3. Now add the rest of the flour and use your fingertips and lightly mix/knead. It’s a wet, sticky dough, but you’ll only do this for a minute. You can add more flour if it’s too sticky.

4. How do you know when you’ve added enough flour? Press your finger into the dough. It should be slightly tacky but clean. Then divide that dough ball into 4…and roll out with your hands one of the sections into a 1-inch diameter, long snake.

5. Cut into 1-inch pieces with a knife. Then you can use your fingers to lightly roll each piece to get them evenly sized. But seriously, this step is not necessary at all – you’ll be pan frying the gnocchi and any fancy handwork or groovy fork-marks will disappear anyways.

6. Heat a pan with some butter, add gnocchi pieces, fry until both sides golden.

7. After you fry all batches, clean the pan. Add new butter and olive oil. Fry the sage until fragrant. Remove and discard the sage. Then whisk in balsamic vinegar. Pour over the gnocchi. THAT’S IT!

8. Shave some parmesan and serve.

See, I told you gnocchi was gneasy.