Dry-Aged Beef – A Premium Choice TK Ranch

Until the 1970s, when corporate agri-business began taking over our food system, almost all beef was dry aged.

A Premium Choice

Until the 1970s, when corporate agri-business began taking over our food system, almost all beef carcasses were dry-aged in large coolers for weeks before being broken down and cut up. An example of carcasses being dry-aged can be seen below in our cooler on TK Ranch. Today it's very rare to find anything but  wet aged  beef in grocery stores and this is a very different aging process.

Once a carcass reaches an internal temperature of 4C, which takes approximately 24 hours, it's cut up into whole muscle groups, vacuum packaged and boxed according to type. Commercially this is called boxed beef. It's then shipped to major retail stores and restaurants where they age it in the vacuum bag, hence “wet aging”. Being able to buy boxed beef is convenient for places that only want to sell certain cuts. On TK Ranch we're a  nose to tail  company and have to sell all cuts on a carcass to make ends meet. That's why we're often out of stock on some items. We can't process more beef just because we're out of tenderloin which only makes up 1.7% of a carcass, we need to sell all cuts at the same rate. We occasionally put some items on sale to help move them more quickly and balance out the process, but it's far from easy.

All of our beef on TK Ranch is dry-aged, even our ground beef and stew. Dry-aged beef is very flavourful and the hanging process removes excess moisture. It also makes the meat much darker in colour and more tender to eat. In comparison, we find wet aged beef has a different flavour, slightly sour, and it often doesn't have a real beefy flavour.

So when you go to your favourite restaurant and see beef on the menu that's been aged for 28 days it’s most likely been wet-aged for that time. Just ask the chef or meat manager at your local retailer whether the meat they are offering is wet or dry aged, they'll think you are a real beef connoisseur.

Having the opportunity to purchase grass-fed and grass finished beef that's been dry-aged is well worth the investment. Just check out our Google Reviews and  testimonials !