Hanging meat at home to obtain unforgettable steaks
To transform a slice of meat in a memorable tasty experience is possible! The secret is to be patient and wait for the hanging period.
Hanging is a technique used to reach the maximum meat softness and a better concentration of flavours, it transforms an anonymous slice of meat to a steak that melts in the mouth with strong and marked flavours. A paradise for the beef lovers.
How to hang meat?
Meat hanging consists in making the slices of meat resting for a controlled period in places with given humidity and temperature and without changes. During this resting time some enzymes have an effect on the proteins, denaturing them and transforming the fibres, making it softer and easier to digest.
Not all the pieces of meat are the same; there are different bovine races and different pieces of muscles that need different hanging times because the substance, the quantity of fats and the structure aren’t the same. The meat that you buy in the supermarkets and butchers has already been subjected, by law, to 72 hours of hanging, however if you want to taste the steak of your dreams, add a hanging period at home.
How to hang meat at home
It is not difficult to hang meat at home, you need a fridge, a gauze bandage, a bowl, a grill and the right steak, to be cooked, possibly, char-grilled.
First, choose the right piece of meat: a first choice steak of 500g, solid with evident marbling fat and be patient, the hanging period lasts 3-4 days.
Set the fridge at 2°C with 80% humidity. Roll the steak in the gauze bandage, which will avoid the contamination with external smells, and place it on the grill – an iron grill, or the fridge grill itself – which allows the airflow. Put the bowl under the grill to collect the liquid that will trickle.
Now be patient and leave the steak to rest for 3-4 days, emptying the bowl to avoid unpleasant smells in the fridge, that shouldn’t be opened that much to avoid the temperature leap.
How looks the meat like after the hanging?
The steak will loose part of its liquids and will reduce its weight and volume. The surface will be oxidised, becoming darker and developing strong smells. The red colour will be less intense, tending to brown and the white of the fat will be amber.
This restrained lapse of time allows an initial oxidation without reaching the phase in which the smell of ammonia is really strong.
An advice? After this long wait char-grill your steak on a cast iron hotplate to taste it better. You will be surprised by the softness, by the concentration of flavours and the richness obtained.
