Dry aging beef is all about leaving the meat to sit for a while, to allow the intensification of flavour. But what if you’ve bought already aged beef, but don’t want to eat it yet?
The good news, you can let it sit a little longer in the freezer. You’re just as able to freeze dry aged meat as fresh, without any negative effects. However, you should freeze it within a few days of purchase. It’s important that you take care when storing the dry aged beef too, here’s our recommendation.
Wrap the meat well in heavy duty plastic wrap or place it in a re-sealable bag with the air squeezed out. If you really need extra shelf-life, you can vacuum pack the meat, to prevent oxygen reaching it. Be very careful about this step to avoid further moisture loss, as that could leave your premium beef dry and chewy.
Freezing the meat should not affect the flavour at all, though the meat should be wrapped carefully to avoid freezer burn. However, don’t expect the meat to continue the dry aging process while freezing, as the far colder temperature will simply keep the meat in stasis until pulled out of the freezer again.
The only issue that freezing dry aged meat could cause in a slight change in texture. This is because, when meat freezes, the moisture inside of it while change to ice crystals, which can change the structure of the meat.
However, the process of dry-aging, as its name implies, is all about removing moisture in the meat, to intensify flavour and break down muscle tissue. Therefore, a dry-aged cut will be less effected by the freezing process than a regular piece of meat.
Dry aged beef can be stored in the freezer for around six months. So, if you love dry aged meat as much as we do, keep a constant stash in your freezer for a rainy day.
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