I have to admit, not having relatives and in-laws at the house this year was really, really nice! One of the most relaxing holidays I have ever experienced! A Covid silver lining. And perhaps a new tradition? Hahaha…
And there was no pressure to do anything for my birthday, which also falls in December. As a kid, birthday and Christmas was a rip off! Always combined together for gifts and general celebration. As I grew older, I always made sure my birthday was completely separate of Christmas!
Christmas Day Tamales at Pajaro Valley Loaves & Fishes
One of my favorite December traditions is to volunteer at my beloved local food pantry & kitchen: Pajaro Valley Loaves and Fishes. Tamales are served every Christmas day.
Communities all over America have families in great need this year! My home town was no exception. Already filled with poverty, many families here had an even greater burden to get food on the table during Covid.
So I do what I can to help out at Pajaro Valley Loaves and Fishes. I mainly Sous Chef in the kitchen, but I also serve food on the food-line, fund raise throughout the year, and do whatever else is needed.
The Dry Age Experiment
My main December tradition is cooking a prime rib roast! This is the second year I am dry aging a roast. I attempted a 28 day dry age. Last year, I did a 10 day dry age.
The longer you let the roast age the better the flavor. I’ve been told the sweet spot for full funky flavor is between 30 and 40 days of aging. I learned a few things along the way both positive and negative that will hopefully help you in your quest to dry age.
When you decide on the size prime rib you want (mine was 10 lbs.) make sure to tell the butcher not to slice through the roast disconnecting the ribs. I failed to tell the butcher and it caused a couple of issues for me later in the process.
As you can see in the photo above, the butcher tied the ribs to the roast with twine. For the purpose of dry aging it’s best to have the whole roast in tact. You can slice off the rib bones after its been cooked, if you desire. Or chop the roast into bone-in steaks for grilling.
Why you ask? Dry aging is basically water extraction from the meat. When the rib bones have been sliced it leaves a gap between the bones and roast. That gap only gets wider as more moisture is evaporated. Causing the bone meat and the belly of the roast to dry out and become leathery.
Further issues arise when you roast the prime rib in the smoker or oven as the bone meat and roast shrinks. It no longer fits correctly together during the cooking process.
Dry aging only works with roasts or bulk meat. Dry aging does not work with individually sliced steaks.
Adding Cheese Cloth
If you choose to use cheese cloth any brand cloth will do. You don’t have to use cheese cloth if you don’t want to. You can leave the prime rib bare.
I like using cheese cloth for a couple of reasons. First, it helps extract moisture into the cloth. And secondly, it helps keep debris, and other things floating around the frig, off the roast, since I’m sharing space with other foods.
The rule with cheese cloth: pat dry the roast thoroughly, apply the cheese cloth (3 layers). After the first 24 hours you need to discard the cloth and replace it with fresh cheese cloth. After that, leave it on for the duration of the dry age process.
The wrap
Once the roast is wrapped, tie twine around it to keep it in place. Remember, after the first 24 hours, replace the cloth with a fresh one. I used 3 layers of cheese cloth each time for the roast.
Once it’s wrapped, place the roast on a small rack on top of a shallow pan. I put pink Himalayan salt crystals in the pan.
Why? The Pink Himalayan salt acts as a natural anti-microbial, especially in the form of a brick for dry aging rooms, that helps kill bacteria, helps absorb moisture, helps tenderize the meat, and it gives the meat a much more in-depth flavor.
Since I’m dry aging in my frig, using cheese cloth, and sharing space with other food, the use of the salt may not have the exact detailed impact to the roast that I want.
While on the subject of refrigerators, if you have the ability to dry age your roast in a separate refrigerator that has nothing in it, is best for dry aging.
Why? You get consistent temperature without the constant interruption of the door opening and closing, which reduces the temp. And, you don’t have any competing odors to deal with, leaving your roast pure of outside odors that could linger within the meat.
Day 26 of 28
On day 26, I took off the cheese cloth, discarded the cloth and cleaned up the outside of the roast with a damp paper towel.
The prime rib in this state weighed about 8 pounds. So, in the aging process, I lost 2 pounds. That included shaving off leathery areas of the roast.
Final Prep
After you shave away the leathery areas of the roast add your rub to the roast. I use olive oil, salt and pepper as a rub. That’s it! I keep mine simple.
Place it back in your frig for another 48 hours and let the rub marinate.
Day 28
On day 28, I took the roast out of the frig and let it come to room temperature. That will take a few hours. So time it to the time you want it in the smoker, grill, or oven.
The cooking process
Here’s where you have some choices on how you want to cook your roast. Some people like it oven roasted while others like it on a grill or smoker.
I did two of the three. First, I put the roast in my oven at 500 degrees for 15 minutes. That seared the roast and left a nice crust on top (above photo).
From there, it went to the smoker. I set the temperature to 250 degrees and let it cook, undisturbed, with the occasional visual inspection.
Done!
When the internal temp hit 120 degrees, I took it off the smoker and moved it over to a cutting board where it rested 30 minutes. The temp raised another 10 degrees during the cool down, making it a perfect 130 degree “rare” roast in the center.
The Moment Has Arrived!
After it rested, this is what it looked like inside. In my opinion, it was perfect! Rare in the center, medium rare in the outer section, and medium well to well on the ends.
The Finished Product
Here are my thoughts on this prime rib dinner. The prime rib itself tasted very good. On the outer area up to the edges of the steak, you could taste the funkiness of the dry age and the smoke flavor from the smoker. Neither flavor overwhelmed one another; each flavor paired very nicely together.
The center of the steak was dense, but had hints of the funk and smoke, but not as bold as the outer area of the steak. The dense texture comes from the dry age process; less moisture in the meat.
I added Au Jus and creamy horseradish to the steak, making it a phenomenal experience for my taste buds!
To complement the prime rib, I made potato au gratin and roasted brussel sprouts with olive oil, bacon and balsamic vinegar.
What Drinks Pair With Prime Rib?
Traditionally, for me, it would be a good bottle of bold red wine to pair with prime rib! My favorite is Merlot when it comes to steak.
Lately, however, it’s been Dirty Martinis (with Tito’s Vodka) with prime rib.
But, in years past, I have had whiskey, Jameson in particular, or Tequila with my prime rib and other steaks!
So really, in my mind, it doesn’t matter! It’s what ever you and your taste buds desire!!
What I Learned From The Process
In conclusion, I learned several things about the process that I will do differently next time:
I will dedicate a small refrigerator for the dry age process. I found that the general frig had too much going on inside with other foods. Also, the consistency of air flow and coldness quality changed every time the frig door opened, which was annoying. Plus, dry aging causes a funky smell in the frig that people don’t like. It’s similar to rotting food, which is not far from the truth.
In order not to cross contaminate food odors I had to use zip lock plastic bags or other containers, that sealed well, to keep odors at a minimum. While the roast is in the state of dry aging, odor contamination is a high probability. The roast soaks up all the odors like a sponge.
The other thing I would do differently is age it longer. I want to try aging it for 40 days to hit that “sweet spot” funky taste. 28 days was good and a far cry from 10 days! But I want greatness! So, next time 40 days will be the goal.
Pink Himalayan salt is the other thing I would do differently. I need to find brick size Himalayan salt, or similar, that I can line the interior of the small frig. Himalayan salt not only helps with moisture absorption, it has a natural anti-microbial quality to it, which helps kill bacteria. The meat is more tender and has a more in-depth flavor when its been surrounded by Himalayan salt.
And, if I dedicate a small refrigerator to dry age meat, I won’t have to use cheese cloth, which will give the chance for the Himalayan salt to work its full magic!
I will probably dry age 2 prime rib roasts next time. One for the traditional Christmas dinner and the other to chop into steaks for grilling without smoking it.
Cheers and Bon Appetit! Happy New Year’s to everyone! Until next time on Foodie Booze Explorer.
Love how the meal came out, yum. I did giggle a bit when you mentioned pairing with Jamison. Thought to myself, huh doesn’t everything pair with Jamison? Happy New Year Chef Paul.
Hahaha! Awww thank you Amy. Happy New Year to you!
Very informative. I’ve dry aged my Christmas Prim Rib the last three years never 40 days,20 days are what I have done I really like the results.
Thanks Kevin!