Has anyone else tried drying their own meat the way fancy steakhouses do?
I experimented with "dry-aging" my own beef by storing it uncovered and on rack in the refrigerator. I left a ribeye roast alone for a week, during which it turned a dark purple and gained a hard "crust." I sliced off a thick steak, trimmed the crust away, and pan-roasted it -- it was delicious, although it shrunk more than I'm used to, presumably because it had a reduced water content, though it was certainly still juicy. I cut a series of steaks this way, every other day or so, until the roast was gone, and each was great. I did notice that the meat got progressively lighter in weight, and there was a noticeable "gamy" (but not rotten) smell in the refrigerator for the duration. So I happily ate unfrozen, unwrapped meat that was at least a couple of weeks old, with no dire results.
Was I risking food-poisoning? Assuming the answer is no, does anyone know how long I could have safely kept this up? Do steakhouses have a special environment in which to do this?
