For over 30 years, SmithCo Meats' dry age room has produced meat with a distinctive dry age flavor recognized by chefs as the best in the Northwest.
Aging beef allows the natural enzymes in beef to break down connective tissues delivering a tender and flavorful product. Since the adoption of vacuum packaging in packing houses, most beef is now wet aged in plastic bags. This delivers a tender product that is suitable for most applications.
For something special, removing the product from the bag and carefully dry ageing the beef enhances the flavor in ways wet aging cannot achieve. The evaporative loss of water intensifies the flavor of the beef the same way reduction improves a sauce. The enzymes in the musle cells transform some of the proteins, fats and carbohydrates into flavorful acids and sugars. This delivers a flavorful product with what some describe as a nutty flavor.
Some restaurant patrons prefer the taste and price of a lightly dry age steak while others prefer the robust flavor of a fully dry aged steak. SmithCo will with you to develop custom fully dry age or a wet and dry age programs to suit your unique needs.