How does dry aged meat not go bad?
In: 177
So you know how bad bacteria makes meat go bad? Dry aging meat does not allow these bacteria to grow on the meat. The air is kept dry and cold so the moisture in the meat is drawn out. Bacteria cannot grow in cold, dry climates.
The enzymes in the meat break down the cell structure making the meat more tender.
We use a measurement of water activity (a w), which essentially means the moisture available for microorganism growth. Dry meat has a low enough value that anything has a hard time finding moisture to use for its growth.
Because it is kept very cold and at a specific humidity. Beef can be aged at 1-2°C, which keeps a lot of spoilage at bay, and the dry environment does the rest. Dry and cold = slower decay.
That said, some stuff *does* happen. The beef breaks down. A very simple way to think about it is that it decays, but without any nasty bacteria or fungus. Enzymes start to break down the meat. Chemical changes happen. That is what makes dry aged beef so tender and flavorful.
It does.
The thing is that what goes bad is the outer layer that’s more exposed to air and moisture.
Red meats tend to have … not air tight but I can’t think of an ELI5 close enough simile, bacteria unfriendly texture.
The bacteria WILL get through eventually but by the time they get there the water will have been long gone and they will have little to nothing to thrive on.
You rarely see white meat aged that way because the bacteria can get through and make it inedible before the preservation took place.
I can’t remember if they cut of the outer layer on all the variation of the processes or just use a coating but I know they do on some.
[removed]
I have one question related to this one: basically if the conditions are right, the cells inside the meat simply won’t decompose ever? I mean the cells will stay in the same state forever?
The easiest way to think of it is “controlled rot” … the same way that kimchi, cheese, sauerkraut, and even coffee has “gone bad” in terms of yeast and bacteria developing colonies. The difference is that these are highly controlled conditions where harmful agents can’t develop and the culinarily desirable agents can. The biggest thing is water activity: if you create an environment that isn’t damp (a dry cave, a salty brine, etc) most of the bacteria harmful to humans develop at such a a slow rate you don’t need to worry about them. And there’s a lot of bacteria (lactobacillus being the most famous one) that can grow in these “hostile” environments and produce a lot of stuff that makes food tasty and also helps preserve food
Bacteria and fungus need water to grow. Drying the meat denies them the water they need. Also it probably concentrates salts in the meat which also impairs microbe growth for the same reason although I am not sure how big a role this second one plays. That said, you can salt the meat while drying which works as I said. I had an opportunity to eat salted meats that were produced using techniques like used in the 1600’s. It is really salty, like shaking a salt shaker in your mouth with every bite. It won’t last forever as water does manage to work its way back in depending on storage which then allows stuff to grow and make it go bad. But if stored right it can last a very long time.
Edit: Not a cook and I guess you mean dry aged as a way to improve flavor, not a cook and didn’t think about it. But will leave this here anyway.
See it as scorched earth tactics, the meat start dehydrating which bacteria struggle to gro with low levels of humidity, so if you make a condition where the meat drys faster than the ploriferation of bacteria making harsh conditions you have created an enviroment to hostile for their reproduction. With this decay of bacteria . The pelicle (i thinks how its called) is carved out an aged steak where it gets its extra flavoured from dehydration and the decaying proliferation of mould whioch has antiseptic propertiesl.
The main need for most living beings is water. Apart from a few exceptions, not even bacteria can thrive if there’s no water, so dehydrated food doesn’t spoil because bacteria can’t get in. This is why salt is/was used to preserve food, and the origin of the word “salary”, btw.
Latest Answers