jlpresto wrote: > I think its interesting that people here are aging their meat, like all the > good butchers know about. I look forward to learning more about this > process, can someone explain? > > As for killing any bacteria, if you really feel so compelled, I know that > soaking in grapefruit seed extract would also work. I used to work in a restaurant with a friend of mine. He used to age his own beef in the back of his fridge and cleave off T-bone steaks to order. He explained that over time, the connective tissues in the meat break down and the meat becomes incredibly tender. I always used to wait until about 3 weeks after he bought the piece and had the last steak that came off (excuse me while I wipe the dribble from my chin as I think about this). Remember also that most butchers - at least here in Australia - age their meats for a couple of weeks before selling it so total storage time can approach 5 weeks. This two week period seems to be the happy balance between the economic turn-over of stock and taste. If you ask a butcher - which I did - they will tell you that a commercial fridge is generally much colder than a domestic one. Also the large walk-in fridges do not lose all of the cold air when the door is opened. Bottom line: you need to keep the meat cold and, if you get a large piece, leave the outer layer of fat over the meat to protect it. If you have a domestic fridge, put the meat on the bottom shelf at the rear of the fridge and turn the temperature setting a couple of notches lower. The only other time that the meat is as fresh and tender is immediately after slaughter before rigor-mortis has set in. However, many people struggle with this type of meat. Not psychologically but the stronger taste (and extra enzymes etc??) can affect people quite strongly. Brett PS: don't flame me about the enzymes comment. I don't know what it is about the meat but something in the fresh meat really upsets some people and it disappears over time. It is something that you can get used to.