Aged Brisket, anyone tried it?

[jefmker]

After doing a few competitions here in KS I've talked to a few people who seem to 'age' their briskets. Keep them in the fridge for 2-4 weeks and then smoke them. Well, I tried it and got mixed results. The meat was tender, just melted in your mouth, which is to tender for BBQ competitions as it wouldn't pass the 'pull' test.

When I did it, just cooked it as normal, wrapped at 160 internal temp and removed at 190. I'm thinking that if I age the brisket, I wouldn't have to reach all the way to 190, the aging process should tenderize the meat enough.
If you were to age a brisket, would you just keep it in the cry-o-vac package or remove it and place in fridge and cover.

 

[sdesmond]

Keep it in the cryovac. It is called wet aging. I do it with our beef. Normally about 3 weeks. If you remove it from the cryovac it will turn fast.

http://www.ehow.com/how_4748392_wet-age-beef.html

 

[mballi3011]

I like the idea about dry meat. I have eaten aged meat in new york city (peter luger's) and it was to die for. I have not tried wet aging but I sure will soon. I'll let you know of the results. I still want to try dry aging meat though.

 

[zapper]

Aged beef is almost a lost art

I have heard that from slaughter to package in 17 minutes is like the industry standard now (Cattleman was telling me)

You really should have large cuts to age and the above discribed wet and cryopacked is what I am used to. (Or a variation of cryo packed)

Brisket is going low and slow anyways traditionally, so while it will make a difference, I don't know why it would really be needed (Although I do believe that there is also a taste difference as well as the tenderness factor) But for steaks and chops and stuff that will be served to lesser degrees of doneness or rarer (is that a word) and cooked hot and fast, Aged beef at medium rare is where it is at!

 

[ellymae]

I am wondering if you didn't foil it if you would get the pull test results you want.
Sounds like a tasty experiment.

 

[smoke freak]

In my opinion and from my own limited experience, wet aging in cryovac is a myth and a waste of time.

I go along with the theory that freezing a brisket will tenderize it some. The freezing causes meat fibers to expand and break to some extent making it more tender. I think it works and I got two in the freezer now.

 

[nate_46]

I am no expert on the subject, but I do have some information that might be helpful. My grandfather owned a couple meat packing plants in southern Colorado and I remember a little of what he told me years ago. All beef is aged to a degree, he never processed a beef until it hung slaughtered in the cooler (34-36 degrees) for at least two weeks. It allowed the juices to firm and the flesh to gain a deeper flavor. I can remember the cooler when I was a kid it was huge. For a couple small operations it had to be 1000 sq ft with the beef hung on a rail system marked with dates and customer numbers with blue dye (food based dye?).

If you listen to Alton Brown from the food network he states that the best steak joints age their beef for months before preparing it on the grill. He suggests aging it in the refrigerator on a rack with fabric towels over it to draw out the moisture and dry out the outer shell. He does this about a week in advance and it there is any pieces turning a gnarly color (didn't quite know what that was) he just sliced them off. The theory was the outer shell dried keeping in the juices from the connective tissue breaking down and the aging time also tenderized the meat.

For a large hunk of meat cooked slow and low I personally don't think that aging it any more would be any benefit and could possible be a problem with microbe growth if the temps are not out of the danger zone.

Just my two cents, don't take it as gospel, but it is something to research/think about.