They say ignorance is bliss, I am no longer blissful.
Last week I took a Safe Serve food safety class. It was taught by the health inspector that certifies the kitchen I work out of. The subject of dry aging meat came up. He did not go as far to say that it couldn’t be done, but he had a lot of reservations. For the process to be approved, he would need to see a detailed plan from start to finish. Once that plan was submitted, he would take it to another group for approval. If I were a betting person, I would say the odds are that I am a long longshot for my home setup being okayed, (a desk fan sitting in a dorm fridge with a bowl of water).
Based on the conversation in class, the only scenario that I can see being approved, would be if you had a commercial “dry aging refrigerator” and the meat was in a bag (like the Umai bag). He did not like the idea of open-air aging at all, even with a constant readout for temp and humidity. Using a bag made it easier for him to at least consider the possibility that it could work.
Since I no longer have plausible deniability, I have decided not to serve aged beef for the party. The roast that is now dry aging, I will cook for our family Christmas dinner. The other two roasts are in the freezer and will be thawed and smoked for the party.
I am disappointed that I will not be able to finish my experiment. I am still interested in looking into the bag a bit more. I have tried contacting them to see if they have any outside documentation or research that would show USDA approval for their drying process. So far it has been hard to reach anyone.
