Stopped by a butcher shop in rural Kansas that made me rethink my whole method

I was hauling a load through western Kansas last Tuesday and saw a sign for "Bob's Custom Cuts" off exit 143. Figured I'd grab a snack but ended up talking to the owner for 45 minutes. He showed me how he hangs his beef for 21 days minimum in a cooler he built himself out of an old shipping container. His ribeye caps had this deep marbling I never get with my 14 day hang at the shop. I asked him his secret and he said it's all about controlling airflow not just temp. Has anyone else messed around with longer hanging times or is 14 days the standard for everyone else too?

2 comments

2 Comments

finley_flores281mo ago

Man that airflow thing is huge and nobody talks about it. I tried a 28 day hang once on a whole ribeye primal after reading some old school butcher forum and the difference was night and day. The meat got this almost nutty flavor and the fat rendered way better in the pan. But I had to rig up a little fan in my walk in because otherwise the outside would get this weird tacky slime before the inside was ready. Bobs totally right that temp alone wont get you there. I think a lot of guys are scared to go past 14 because they dont have the humidity and air movement dialed in so they end up with bad spots. Your 21 day sweet spot sounds right for most setups.

faithg261mo ago

Did you try dialing back the fan speed or just let it run full blast the whole time? I found that using a low speed oscillating fan on a timer really helped me avoid that tacky slime without drying out the crust too fast. My first 28 day attempt I had to trim off almost a quarter inch of hard pellicle because I didnt cycle the air right. After I switched to 15 minutes on 30 minutes off it evened out the moisture loss way better.