There's nothing better than a juicy, flavorful, melt-in-your mouth, perfectly grilled steak that cuts like a “hot knife through butter”. There is much to be said about quality of meat and the specifications used by different butchers, which offer steak lovers the flavors and taste which make for a great steak.
Not All Steaks Are Created Equal
If you enjoy a great steak meal and are looking for the ultimate steak and meat offering, you need to be identifying what type of beef each butcher uses, how the meat is yielded, cut, and aged. This will determine the difference between just an ordinary steak meal and a fantastic one to be remembered.
Wet aged versus dry aged.
Properly aged beef is clearly superior in taste and tenderness. There are two ways meat is aged being wet-aged or dry-aged.
Dry Aged Beef
The dry-aging process begins in a strictly controlled temperature and humidity level–where beef ages for approximately 21 days. During dry-aging, two things take place. First, the additional aging time allows the breakdown of fibrous tissues and second, the monitored atmosphere causes evaporation–meaning that the meat loses its moisture. As moisture decreases and the meat consequently shrinks, the remaining flavor intensifies. Because of the extra time and the shrinkage of the meat, dry-aged beef commands a significantly higher price than wet aged beef does.
Wet Aged Beef
The wet-aging process is carried out with the meat carefully packaged to prevent oxidation. These bags are then placed into coolers for “wet aging” before the beef is finally cut and packaged. This extra time (in a controlled atmosphere) allows the fibers of the meat to begin to break down and reach an extra level of tenderness. Because wet-aged beef isn’t exposed to air (like its dry-aged counterpart), it doesn’t lose as much moisture through evaporation; and the result - delicious, flavorful and tender meat.
Different butchers use different aging periods. However, it is safe to say that the more time the meat is allowed to wet age, the better the end product will be. Chicago Steak Company allows our meat to wet age in a highly controlled environment for a minimum of 28 days, with the normal aging period being between 35-40 days. This maximizes the tenderness of the meat and enhances the flavor even further. We know that every piece of steak we sell to our customers has been wet aged perfectly and will present an amazing texture and flavor.
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