Unpopular opinion: dry aging bags are a waste of money

I ran a test last month comparing a $40 dry aging bag against just wrapping my prime rib in cheesecloth in the walk-in. The bagged one got a weird ammonia smell and lost way more weight to moisture. Am I missing something or is this just another gadget?

2 comments

2 Comments

charles6404d ago

Heard a butcher say the cheesecloth method is actually closer to traditional dry aging anyway.

gray8754d ago

Oh wow, that actually makes a ton of sense when you think about it. So @charles640, does that mean the cheesecloth basically mimics the pellicle that forms naturally on aged meat? I always thought the dry aging bags were the closest thing to the real deal, but now I'm wondering if the cheesecloth method is more traditional in a different way. Like maybe the old school butchers were just using what they had lying around, not overthinking it.