Review – If you have ever eaten in a high-end steakhouse, one of the things they often tout is dried beef. Dry aging is the process of improving the quality of beef. The refrigerator takes a long time and takes up a lot of space, so the cost is higher. This is why you usually only see it at expensive steakhouses and not at your neighbor’s barbecue party. SteakAger wants to change this situation so that anyone who can leave a few days to a few weeks in the refrigerator can dry and age. If you have a garage refrigerator, you are really in the target market. I have, so I tried SteakAger Pro 15. Let us dive into the details.
What is it?
SteakAger Pro 15 is a beef drying and aging equipment that can hold up to 15 pounds of beef. The following is the detailed information about dry aging on the SteakAger website;
science
The keys to perfect drying are airflow, humidity, temperature and time. In the right environment (such as your SteakAger), these variables will be professionally adjusted, leading to what we call dry aging controlled deterioration. Each stage of the aging process will cause different changes in the scientific composition of the beef, introducing new flavors and textures.
How old is
From day 1 to day 14 of the aging process, enzymatic changes begin to occur, breaking down tough tissues and fibers. Although the flavor characteristics of beef remain basically unchanged, the beef has reached a high degree of tenderness at this stage. The collagen in beef is also decomposing, releasing water. This evaporation is crucial in the early stages of dry aging to achieve a perfect steak.
From the 14th day to the 28th day, evaporation continued, but at a slower rate. Enzymes begin to break down proteins, fats and glycogen, turning them into new salty components, including sugars, fatty acids and amino acids. The beef begins to take on a more delicious contour and reach its soft height. At this point, observations are approximately normal. 10% weight loss (of course beef).
The 28th-42nd day is the best processing time for your ordinary dry ageing machine. You may see another 5% loss, which is made up by the maximum flavor concentration: the beef has a balanced flavor, with deep complexity and strong flavor.
Over 42 days, the new flavor began to replace the original steak. Sharp, pungent aromas and tastes are produced, and many people compare it to blue cheese. Just like blue cheese, this rich flavor is not for everyone-you have to try it yourself.
Collagen breakdown dAging in dryness. Collagen makes the meat hard during cooking because it binds the meat fibers together. During the drying and aging process, some of the moisture in the meat will be removed, thereby deepening the flavor.
What’s in the box?
- SteakAger Pro 15 beef jerky aging device
- shelf
- Door (very clear, so hard to see-it’s under the handle)
- Door handle with mounting screws
- Butcher’s Twine
- Power adapter with 12′ power cord
- manual
Hardware specifications
- Dimensions: 16.9″ (H) x 11.2″ (D) x 9″ (W)
- Power supply: 12V DC, 12′ power cord
- Connection method: Bluetooth, WiFi
- Allowed direction: vertical or horizontal
Design and features
The core of SteakAger Pro 15 beef jerky ageer is a box-a big box. The height is less than 17 inches, and you need to leave enough space in the refrigerator for long-term use. The image above shows the back of the device. In the upper left corner, we see the power port.
There are air inlets and fans on the side. Sorry, junk photos.
Inside the equipment, we see the shelf, you can put the cut beef on the shelf.
The rack slides into place in the channels installed on the top and bottom of the SteakAger.
The air inlet and sensor are located at the top of the inside of the device.
The transparent plexiglass doors slide into the grooves on both sides of the device.
The door can be easily slid up and down by connecting the handle with the included screws and pre-drilled holes.
set up
If you choose to use the optional app, you need to download and install it and set up an account. To use the SteakAger Pro 15 Beef Dryer, clean the interior and shelf, attach the handle to the door with the screws provided, put it in the refrigerator and insert it. Yes, you must insert SteakAger. This means that during the aging process, there will be a thin power cord outside your refrigerator door. The power cord is very thin, and the door seal should be adequately sealed around it.
When ready, you can use the included butcher’s twine to fix the selected beef pieces to the rack, slide the rack in, and then set the aging parameters in the app. Then…you wait.
Performance
On their website, SteakAger recommends diced beef for aging. They recommend ribeye (bone-in or boneless), tenderloin, sirloin, chuck roast, tenderloin and loin. 15 pounds of beef is a lot, especially for the two of us. I looked at a large boneless rib-eye steak that could produce 12 steaks, but I was unwilling to pay the $250 required to buy it. In the end, I bought a 4.55 pound tenderloin, and the price was still $115. The results should be awesome!
The aging time on the SteakAger website applies to large pieces of meat. I called and talked to a very helpful staff member and told him what I bought. Although the website says that tenderloin takes 15-21 days, considering the size and fat content of tenderloin, he recommends 10 days. I tied it with twine, stuffed it into SteakAger, and closed the door.
The next step is to set aging in the application.
I put the tenderloin in for ten days. I initially set up different beef cubes, but couldn’t figure out how to delete them in the app. Another call to SteakAger gave me the answer. If you swipe to the left on the cut, a sub-menu will open where you can edit or delete the cut. Nice function, not obvious.
Now, the only thing you can do is wait.
A few days later, I stopped getting updates in the app. I did not try to solve the problem. Another call to SteakAger led to a suggestion to the general technical support fix: unplug it and plug it in again. I did it, and it succeeded. I guess I may not fully plug in the power cord. Oh, well, back to waiting.
A few days later, this appeared on my phone:
I received it three days later. Finally, the day has come to complete the process. This notification shows:
Check the application and the green check mark at the top confirms that the aging has been completed.
I turned on the SteakAger Pro 15 beef jerky ageer.
The meat looks noticeably darker and smaller. The removal of the rack confirms this.
A thin film (hard, dry crust) is formed around the tenderloin. The people at SteakAger say that many people just cut it off and throw it away. They recommend saving and mixing with ground beef to make more delicious burgers, tacos and chili. I took the meat off the shelf and cut it into small pieces.
Then, I must cut the film from each piece of meat.
It took some time, but it was easy to cut off. This is the result.
I started with a 4.55 pound tenderloin. This is equivalent to 72.8 ounces of meat. After trimming, I got 15.4 ounces of film and 30.4 ounces of steak, with a total remaining weight of 45.8 ounces. This means that the SteakAger Pro 15 beef jerky aging process removes 27 ounces of water from the tenderloin. Wow! 37% weight reduction!
I put all the films on Magiccos Food Processor I reviewed it and improved it in April 2021.
Put it away in a few days and add it to some peppers. It smells good and strong!
I heated the grill to 350 degrees, added salt and pepper to the tenderloin, and threw it all on the grill.
Everything looks good. After letting it rest and tighten the pores in the meat, we started eating.
The texture of the meat is different. The meat is not very tender, but it is easy to cut. Due to the lack of a better description, when we chewed it, it melted a bit. One thing we noticed is that when we eat beef, there is usually a lot of juice on the plate. Not this time. But even so, the meat does not dry. It is very moist and delicious.
The next day, I added the ground film to a pound of ground beef to make chili. It is very meaty, because 15 ounces of dry film is more like 20-25 ounces of ground beef with high moisture content.
The texture has a more “chewy” feel, and we like it.
what do I like
- Easy to use
- Produce beef with dense texture and delicious taste
- Easy to clean
What will i change
- Your refrigerator needs a lot of space-be sure to check if you have a room
- It takes a lot of time, but I don’t know how to avoid it
- It does not age individual steaks-you must age large pieces of beef
Final thoughts
SteakAger Pro 15 beef jerky ageer is not suitable for people like beef. This is designed for beef lovers-people who taste their main cuts of beef or want to make slightly cheaper cuts of beef prefer more expensive beef. If this describes you and you have refrigerator space, SteakAger can help you bring steakhouse-quality dry and cooked beef to your kitchen. This requires space and patience. You will not decide on Monday to eat aged steak on Friday. It’s more like you decided in January to serve aged steaks on Valentine’s Day. Moreover, you will serve many of them.
I think the best point for something like this is to combine it with Vacuum sealing machine and a Sous vide cooking pot. Dry a good steak, season it, then vacuum seal separately, and then throw them in the refrigerator. Then, when you want a great steak, start the sous-vide cooking method, put in a vacuum bag or two at a temperature of 130 to 145 degrees for a few hours, then quickly grill it in a cast iron pan, and enjoy.
If you are serious about all this, please visit SteakAger’s website. In addition to Pro 15, which can age up to 15 pounds of beef at a time, they also sell Pro 40. It can age two boards at a time, up to 40 pounds, with staggered aging cycles. It is also an independent unit with its own refrigeration, so you will not dominate your other refrigerator.
These machines are not cheap. However, if you can dry your $20 boneless ribeye at home instead of paying $60 at a steakhouse, SteakAger can pay for itself in a short time. Their customer support hotline is great and they provide great advice. If you like beef, you might want to check out SteakAger.
Price: $329.99
Where to buy: Steak rack; Amazon
source: The sample of this product is made by Steak rack.
