Riverside
uses the dry-aging method for beef.
Dry Aged Beef:
·
Forty years ago, most of our beef was
dry aged. In the early 1960's the process of vacuum packing beef became the norm for most processors.
· The advantage
of this process was that they could "wet age" the beef in the bag and not lose any of the weight of the beef. Wet
aging was much more cost effective for the processors so a weaning of the consumers' taste buds began to occur. Slowly, the
consumer forgot what the real taste of steak was.
·
Beef is aged for 7 to 21 days. During this process a crust forms on the outside of the loin, very similar to the texture of
beef jerky. This layer is trimmed away, leaving steaks that are superior in tenderness and flavor. During the dry aging process,
the juices are absorbed into the meat, enhancing the flavor and tenderizing the steaks.
·
Research from major universities, including Kansas State University, indicates the enhancement of flavor and tenderness occurs
in this Dry Aging process. Dry Aged Steaks are very popular in the fine, white linen steakhouses on the coasts.
· A percentage of the original weight
of the loin is lost during the dry aging process.