I have eaten a few dry aged steaks in my day but have always wanted to do a side by side test with a dry aged steak vs. a fresh steak. When I say fresh I don’t mean I went to the pasture and hacked off a hunk of the steer. By fresh I just mean a non-dry aged steak.
First off, let’s start with a quick explanation of what dry aged beef is… Dry aged beef is beef that has been held for a length of time in a temperature and usually humidity controlled environment. In this time the enzymes in the meat can change the texture and flavor of the steak. It usually takes at least 30 days to really start to notice a change in flavor. Most people describe good dry aged steak having the flavors of blue cheese, being funky, being earthy, or something along those lines.
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Dry Aged Beef vs. Fresh
Snake River Farms has a great selection of both dry aged and non dry aged beef so I picked up a nice dry aged bone in prime ribeye and a bone in prime ribeye.
The dry aged steak is the one on the left and the regular prime steak is the one on the right. At first look there isn’t a ton of difference in the two. The dry aged steak was a slightly darker color than the regular steak. I really liked the marbling on the non-aged steak but these both had a good amount of inter-muscular fat.
Generally speaking when you dry age a whole rib primal you will lose some of the coveted cap. Dry aging causes the outer layer of the meat to become tough and inedible. When it is trimmed some of that cap will have to go. You can see the difference in the size of the cap on these two steaks. I have two other dry aged steaks that have a bit more cap but nothing like what is on this particular regular steak.
There was also a bit of a different smell to the steaks. The dry aged steak smelled a bit funkier than the fresh steak. It wasn’t an off odor or any sort of rotten smell but just a bit nutty, a bit musty, and a bit funky.
Cooking the Steaks
Well, I guess it is time to cook these steaks up and see what the differences are. I dry brined the steaks overnight and did a simple reverse sear on my Weber Kettle with my Slow n Sear.
I started with about 15 or so lit coals in the corner of my Slow n Sear and put the steaks on.
When I cook bone in steaks like this I like to put the bones facing the heat to protect the meat a bit. I try to run my kettle around 225-250 when reverse searing which usually has the top vent closed about half way and the bottom vent only open a sliver.
A good reverse sear calls for a good thermometer to measure the temperature of the cooker and the temperatures of the meat. The Thermoworks Smoke X4 has been my go-to thermometer lately.
With 4 channels the Thermoworks Smoke X4 can measure the temperature of multiple pieces of meat as well as the pit. When I cook steaks for my family I usually cook 2 or 3 depending on the size. Every piece of meat is different so it is important to accurately measure the temperature of all the meat.
These two steaks were slightly different sizes so they cooked slightly differently. I usually try to get the steaks up to 115 degrees before I sear. Since these were quite thick it took about an hour and a half for the dry aged steak and another 10 minutes for the other.
I pulled them off the heat for a minute or two as I was loading up the Slow n Sear with a full chimney of hot briquettes for the sear. Some people like to rest the steaks for 10 minutes or so at this point. But I usually sear them right away.
When I sear this way I like to flip the steaks every 30 seconds or so. I also like to spin the grate as I cook so I am not putting the steaks back on the super heated grates.
After just a few minutes the steaks were done and ready to come off the grill.
After a few minutes of rest it was time to eat!
How Different Is Dry Aged Steak?
Let’s talk about these steaks for a minute. The dry aged steak was 2 lbs 1 oz and the regular prime steak was 2 lbs 6 7/8 ounces. The dry aged steak cooked a bit quicker than the regular steak and was probably 5 degrees more done than the prime steak.
Here is a slice of the dry aged steak:
And here is a slice of the prime steak:
There were definitely some textural differences in the two steaks. The regular prime steak had a looser texture. Both steaks were plenty tender but the dry aged steak was just a bit tighter.
Dry aged steaks are known for their funky, blue cheese flavors. There were a few bites of this dry aged steak that had those characteristics. Most of these bites were around the edges. The middle of the steak wasn’t too different than the regular steak. I noticed the biggest difference in flavors in the little bits around the bone. Gnawing on that bone was insanely good. Dry aging also makes a big difference in the fat of the meat. The fattier bits did have more of a funky flavor than the fat on the regular steak.
Some people aren’t a huge fan of the funky flavors of dry aged steak. Personally I like that flavor. A 30 day dry aged steak like this one is just starting to develop that funkiness. A 60 or 90 or even 120 day dry aged steak will have a lot more flavor development than a 30 day steak.
All in all I loved both of these steaks. The bites that had that developed dry aged flavor were excellent but overall I didn’t think the dry aged steak had quite enough difference in flavor to justify the cost.
OK, let’s talk about cost… This dry aged prime bone in ribeye runs $99 at Snake River Farms. That works out to around $50 per pound. The non-aged prime bone in ribeye (also called a Cowboy Steak) runs about $69 so around $35 per pound. This particular steak was one of the larger ones I have seen so it was closer to $28 per pound.
Are the dry aged steaks worth $50 a pound? Maybe. This is definitely a decadent steak and one you would want to save for an important date. A 10th anniversary, a bachelor party, a 50th birthday, or something along those lines would warrant a steak like this. Save this dry aged steak for a special event and splurge.
If you are ready for a special steak order your prime bone in dry aged steak from Snake River Farms. And if you just want a “regular” amazing steak go for the prime bone in ribeye.
