Richard:
> Aging tenderizes muscle tissue. Enzymes in the meat break the meat down. It
> is the reverse of rigor mortis I guess. For some reason, you can age beef
> and lamb, but pork and chicken do not benefit from much aging.

Wild game birds and/or one's own chickens do indeed benefit from aging. So
does fish. I'm not sure there's much one can do with commercial chicken
though.

> Most meat is wet aged. It is sealed in heavy plastic "cryopacs" that you can
> see if you buy meat at a warehouse club in large quantities. It does not
> lose any water weight this way, and does not take up space. I do not know
> why it does not spoil this way -- I am told that it is rinsed in
> disinfectant although I am not sure.

Most bacteria need need moisture and some air to thrive.

The trouble with cryovaked meat is that the fat tends to go rancid instead
of truly "aging". Instead of drying, the fat goes soft and has an
off-flavor. Further, the muscle tends to get a liver flavor instead of the
almost smoked meat flavor of hung meat.

> You can age meat at home to great advantage. Take meat out of the package it
> comes in and put it on a cookie rack (elevated rack) in the refrigerator.
> The secret is good air circulation. The meat will dry out and become a lot
> better. About 4 days of aging really improves things, whether you start with
> grass fed beef or supermarket beef.

Right on!

Cheers,
Kirt