The secret to aging and seasoning steak so that it is tender, juicy and flavourful
We live in Alberta, so its no secret that we love steak. Over the years our team has consumed thousands of steaks. We love all the cuts but our favourites are in this order:
#1 Ribeye
#2 New York Striploin
#3 Tenderloin
#4 Denver Steak
#5 Sirloin
No matter what cut of beef you get they can all be seasoned the same.
Aging your steak
When you buy a steak it is important to look at 2 key dates, the packed-on date and the best before date. When beef is packed properly it can last a long time in the refrigerator. According to www.meatscience.org you can wet age beef for 4-6 weeks from the day it was packaged. Note that this does not work for grocery store sliced steaks in the Styrofoam trays, those you should pay more attention to the best before date. You will find that the longer you wet age something and or the closer to the best before date, the more tender and flavourful the meat will become. So next time you are at the grocery store, do not buy the freshest beef, I recommend searching for one that is about to expire.
Finding the Packed on date
Usually the packed-on date is printed on whole loins when they are sold vacuum sealed or on the case that the meat was sold in. If it is not printed directly on the packaging of the meat, you can ask the butcher to see the case lot and it should be marked on there.
What’s that smell?
The beef should be airtight in the vacuum pack, any additional air pockets can allow bacteria in and that’s how meat spoils. If you open the bag after you are done wet aging the beef and you notice a distinct smell, that is ok. If it is rotting, you will know. Run the beef under cold water and the “bag smell” as it is affectionately known should mostly subside. If it is putrid, then you probably let it age too long or there was air in the bag so you may need to discard the beef.
It’s aged so I’m ready to season
Age helps to tenderize beef, but so does salt, so this next step is to apply your seasonings to the steaks and then let the steaks sit out at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. I have experimented for up to 2 hours and it is yielded some fantastic results, but I’ve also ended up with a few salt bombs. My recommendation is to start with 30 minutes and work your way up from there to find your own salt tolerance. The seasonings I use are Duck Fat Spray, Boars Night Out White Lightning, and Big Poppa Smokers Double Secret Steak Rub.
Applying the seasoning
I like to spray the steak with a little bit of the duck fat, then put down an even coating of white lightning, making sure to cover the steak on both sides as well as all of the edges. Once the steak is covered in white lightning, now I apply the double secret steak rub, once again making sure to cover the entire steak. I give the steak a bit of a pat to push the seasoning down lightly at this point as well to prevent the rub from falling off while it cooks. Now let the steak sit for that 30 minutes we discussed earlier.
Cooking the Steak
Follow our instructions here: Cooking a Wagyu Steak Without Overdoing it.