If you’ve looked on the Bricco website before, you’ll notice that we’ve advertised that our beef is aged. You may have heard of wine being aged to improve its flavor profile, but how does it affect beef? Believe it or not, aging your beef can actually make it a lot better when it comes time to serve it at a restaurant. Just like aging wine, there are several purposes and methods for aging beef as well as an overall reason behind it. If you want to learn all about aging your beef, read on for a crash course!
The Purpose Of Aging
You wouldn’t think that beef works exactly the way wine does, and you would be right. They share similar traits about them, and one of these traits is the purpose of aging beef. Believe it or not, aging beef actually helps to make it more tender! Over time, the muscles of the beef break down as it ages. The end result is a cut that is far more tender than it would be otherwise. It also traps the juices of the beef inside its cut, meaning that you’ll have a much juicier flavor when it comes time to serve it.
Methods
Another trait that beef aging and wine aging share is the fact that there are multiple methodologies used to get the most tender cut. There are two main methods to aging beef: wet aging and dry aging. They aren’t quite what they sound like, but we go over how each of them works below:
- Wet-Aging: You’ll usually see this method used in commercial establishments like supermarkets. For this method, the beef is either tightly wrapped in cling wrap or vacuum sealed in plastic. It then ages in a refrigerator for around a few days to a week. It’s easily the most cost-efficient of the two methods.
- Dry-aging: This is the technique that many high-end establishments use to age their beef. It’s a lot more expensive, too! For this method, beef is hung on a hook in a room, essentially leaving it out to dry. It is left in a refrigerator in that state for several weeks, exposing it to air and removing any moisture from the cut. This helps the flavor to be more defined.
Aged Beef at Bricco
If you don’t believe that aging your beef can make it taste better, Bricco is the best place to change your mind! We specialize in many different Italian cuisines that use beef aging to bring out the best of their flavors. For the tastiest cuts of meat in Boston’s North End, click here to make a reservation with us!