Meat hanging is the

culinary Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of food preparation, cooking, and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as restaurants – are commonly called chefs or ...

process of dry-aging meat to develop its flavor and tenderness. It is applied both to

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...

and to

game A game is a structured type of play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or video games) or art ...

Hanging game

Traditionally, game meat was hung until "high" or "gamey", that is, approaching a state of decomposition.''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...

'', 3rd edition, ''s.v.'
high ''adj.'' A.II.12dgamey 1a
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Dry-aging beef

For dry-aged beef, the meat is hung in a room kept between 33–37 degrees Fahrenheit (1–3 degrees Celsius), with

relative humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, dew, or fog t ...

of around 85%. If the room is too hot, the meat will spoil, and if it is too cold, the meat freezes and dry aging stops. Good ventilation prevents

bacteria Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...

from developing on the meat. The meat is checked on regularly. Meat hanging allows processes to continue in the meat that would normally cease in dead animals. For example, the muscles in the meat continue to use the

hemoglobin Hemoglobin (haemoglobin, Hb or Hgb) is a protein containing iron that facilitates the transportation of oxygen in red blood cells. Almost all vertebrates contain hemoglobin, with the sole exception of the fish family Channichthyidae. Hemoglobin ...

that is stored in the soft tissue of the animal. This normal biological process creates

lactic acid Lactic acid is an organic acid. It has the molecular formula C3H6O3. It is white in the solid state and it is miscible with water. When in the dissolved state, it forms a colorless solution. Production includes both artificial synthesis as wel ...

. Contrary to popular belief, animals cannot be completely drained of bodily fluid during slaughter, since soft tissue necessarily retains some amount of fluid. This can be well observed by cooking a steak and observing "blood" on the plate. Since the blood is no longer being circulated through the body, the lactic acid starts to break down the muscle and connective tissues around it. The process takes at a minimum eleven days. The longer the meat is hung, the better the flavor will be, but also the higher the chance that the meat will spoil. Most companies limit hanging to 20–30 days. Up to 10–15% of the water content may evaporate. As the meat ages, its color goes from red to purple, and the texture becomes firmer.

Popularity

In the 1960s, the cheaper wet-aging process largely displaced dry aging as dry-aged meat is 15–25% more expensive than wet-aged beef: dry hanging rooms are expensive; meat weight is reduced through evaporation; and some proportion of meat spoils. Dry aging became more popular in the 1980s, and dry aged beef continues to be sold in high-end restaurants around the world.

References

{{Beef Culinary arts

Hanging game

Dry-aging beef

Popularity

See also

References