The chop is in fashion and as it happens with all fashions, it has to evolve, be more sophisticated, provide novelties to attract new followers and retain the loyalty of regular consumers. Fashions cannot be stagnant, they cannot remain still for a long time. If the product does not change, the trend is ephemeral, temporary, its impact on the market is diluted in a short time and sales... fall. For this reason, we now find meats of different origins, varied breeds, the ox (really) appears again in the menus and wagyu is everywhere. But when we talk about chops, the evolution of the product that has penetrated the most in the market and that provokes the most debates among professionals in the sector is the aging of the meat. It is time to pause a bit to reflect on the subject: what is the maturation of meat? what does it bring to the chop? Are long maturations good? Everything you always wanted to know and have never dared to ask about maturation is in the following lines.
Why should meat be aged?
The European palate in general and the Spanish in particular, is accustomed to the consumption of aged animals, in fact, the EU only allows the use of the denomination "cow" in the labeling of pieces from cattle over four years of age. Meanwhile, on the other side of the pond, for cultural, historical and even economic reasons, cattle older than a year and a half are not usually slaughtered for human consumption. And here is the first factor to consider: The older, the more size and more muscle volume.
What happens after the slaughter of a cow is, to explain it in a colloquial way, the contraction and hardening of the muscle fibers of its meat. This occurs mainly due to the absence of oxygen and water in the tissues, which produces a massive release of calcium in the animal's muscles. This chemical reaction occurs between 24 and 48 hours after the sacrifice. But it does not happen uniformly throughout the animal, the loins are especially sensitive areas due to their high amount of fibers. That's why, yes If we tried to consume a cow's loin just after its sacrifice... we would lose our teeth in the attempt.
What is meat aging?
It is the process through which a softening of the meat occurs naturally. The objective of maturation is to gain tenderness, however, it must be taken into account that the tenderness obtained through aging is indirectly proportional to the power of flavor that the meat will have. Therefore, a good maturation process will seek to balance both qualities to reach an optimal point, that is, gain tenderness without losing flavor.
How is meat aged?
There are two ways of aging meat: dry aging (dry aged) and maturation under vacuum or “wet”.
dry aging or dry aged
It is the most widely used maturation process in Europe today. It consists of preserving the meat in controlled humidity and temperature conditions. The meat is frozen from -1,5º therefore, to mature it, it can never be kept below 0,5º. The most frequent is that the temperature for a long maturation is established between 1º and 3º. As for humidity, it should be constant and controlled and be between 65% and 85%. In order not to break this enzymatic process, the meat must rest continuously within these parameters. It should only be carried out in suitable facilities that do not substantially modify these levels. In summary.. never try to age meat at home.
Vacuum maturation.
It is the process commonly used in America, it must be carried out within the first 48 hours after slaughter. The meat is refrigerated vacuum packed and at a maximum temperature of 3º. Through this system it is possible to avoid the loss of meat, in addition this form of conservation prevents the growth of microbes. However, this type of maturation should never exceed two weeks since from this moment unwanted odors and flavors are produced, metallic aftertastes (liver, blood, viscera). Most of the times you have gone to a restaurant and the chop had a strong taste of blood… it is due to poor storage in the refrigerator and longer than recommended (wet maturation).
What is the optimal ripening time?
Although this maturation is a trend, it is not new, it has been invented for decades, it has not just been discovered. Therefore, it has also been studied for decades what are the optimal ripening points. To measure it, scientists use an instrument called a texturometer, which measures the hardness values of a piece of meat. Except for breeds with values of hardness higher than normal, the optimal point of maturation occurs between days 21 and 35. Thanks to these studies, we also know that from day 30, 90% of fibrillar ruptures have already been completed, therefore, the maturation process is over. From this moment on, if meat softening occurs, it is caused by the decomposition of hemoglobin, myoglobin and other meat proteins. From 250 days (depending on the animal), we enter the dangerous world of putrefaction.
In addition to tenderness... What does aging bring to meat?
The first and most visible effect of dry aging is the so-called "shrinkage": the reduction in volume of the loin. This decrease in weight is very significant and partly explains the very high price of meats with very long maturations. A loin matured for a year loses up to 40% of its weight.
In terms of flavour, as we mentioned at the beginning of the article, aging is a two-way road: the more tenderness gained, the more primary (meat) flavor lost. That is why the balance in the maturations is very important. Once the first phase of maturation is over, if the meat is more than 40 days old and the animal is of a "normal" size, lactic and metallic, bloody flavors will appear. What we call "non-proprietary" flavors to the meat itself and that should never be present.
In conclusion, are extreme maturations good?
At this point you already have enough information to have your own criteria... if you still haven't reached a conclusion, I'll remind you that to dry-age the meat correctly it is essential to have adequate facilities. That is to say, most of the long maturations that you can try have not been carried out properly. In most grills, the meat is matured without taking into account critical factors such as humidity and temperature, so when you eat it... you won't want to do it again. To try an extreme maturation, you have to go to specialists who take care of the process, among them, High back in Barcelona, ca joan in Alicante there are two standard-bearers. As for providers, Iruki meat has a product dry aged very preserved. Try it and… decide for yourself!
SOURCE: http://www.lamejorchuletadebilbao.com/la-maduracion-de-la-carne/