Dry Age Beef Cam

Aging is a natural process that arguably has the most impact on the flavor and tenderness of beef especially in cuts from the rib and loin.

Dallas-based Winn Meat Company launched a new Web-cam campaign that will allow consumers to watch premium cuts of beef dry-age online.

The Web cam, aimed at satisfying a growing consumer need to know where meat originates and how it is produced and seasoned, captures the company's signature dry-age technique with Cargill Meat Solutions' Sterling Silver beef.

Winn Meat Co.'s dry-age process, or proteolysis, is a slow breakdown of animal proteins that creates more flavorful beef. To highlight the process, Winn Meat Co. recorded the 21-day experience of "PRIMO the Pampered Steak" and documented it at www.winnmeat.com.

"What could possibly be more exciting for our customers than watching proteolysis at work?" said Jamie Samford, corporate chef for Winn Meat Co.

Aging allows the natural enzymes in beef to tenderize the meat by breaking down specific proteins (connective tissue) in muscle fibers. Most of the tenderization occurs within the first 7-10 days of the aging process.

Two types of aging are practiced commercially: dry and wet aging.

Dry aging is the process of placing an entire carcass or wholesale cut without covering of packaging in a refrigerated room under humidity controlled conditions for up to 28 days. Too much humidity allows excessive microbial growth, too little causes excessive shrinkage. If the temperature gets too high, microbial growth increases significantly. During properly controlled dry aging, beef usually loses moisture. The dry aging process also adds flavor to beef, often described as “brown-roasted beefy flavor.” Today most dry aging is done by upscale steakhouses and specialty beef purveyors.

Wet aging refers to the aging of beef in vacuum bags under refrigerated conditions. Humidity control is not necessary for wet aging as the beef is tightly sealed in the packaging. Because most beef is vacuum packaged at the site of carcass cutting, wet aging is the predominant method of aging used today. By the time the vacuum-packaged beef reaches the retail store at least 7-10 days have usually elapsed. However, additional tenderization will occur with longer aging.

Stockyards Angus beef is s USDA certified Angus beef program. This premium program features only mid-western grain fed cattle, USDA inspected and certified, all in the upper 2/3rd Choice catagory. Stockyards Angus beef is aged a minimum of 21-28 days before being released for sale.

For More info about Stockyards Angus follow the following link or contact Brian directly.

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