Why is “aged meat” a good thing? I see a 30 day aged meat on a menu, and it’s like HOW!? WHY!? Wouldn’t it be “bad meat” by that point?
EDIT: Holy wow I learned so much about aging meat!! Thank you for all the comments and videos!
In: Biology
Ironically, today’s gourmet aged meat is an extra step we take these days which used to be the average beef experience for hundreds of years until refrigeration was invented.
The process of aging the meat starts with a very well controlled environment, it’s so well controlled that it’s very similar to pasteurizing food. Good bacteria are allowed, and no bad bacteria can survive. It’s not sterile, and the hard work of keeping the meat clean is actually done by friendly bacteria.
Done properly, the outside of the steak becomes dry, not rotted. Rotted contaminated pieces do happen occasionally, but those are thrown out.
In the end, you cut the outside hard parts off and toss them in the garbage. Inside you are left with a steak which has transformed it’s connective tissues and natural cellular protein into broken down versions of themselves. These new versions of protein and collagens are much more tender, and have a distinct, more evolved and “meatier” flavor.
This is how aged beef is superior to fresh beef!
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