Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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Anyone have details on any nutritional or health implications of dry aging beef?

I imagine that dry aging was not something done by hunter-gatherer societies: Either eat it fresh, cook it, or do some sort of preservation. That said, dry aging improves beef flavor and texture, and I am having a half cow dry aged for 3 weeks for me, and I wanted to see if anyone knew of any science on the health/nutrition effects of this processing.

Thanks.

flag	asked Jul 13 at 21:22 findchris 63●5

miked · Answer 1 · 2012-07-13 21:25:44Z UTC

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what do you think that "some sort of preservation" was? They didn't have freezers or likely tons of salt. Probably their only choices were jerky and dry aging.

answered Jul 13 at 21:25

miked
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	Jerky, yes; dry aging, doubtful. Without carefully controlled temperature and humidity, the meat would spoil. Do you have anything to backup the claim that "dry aging" is a form of preservation? – findchris Jul 15 at 2:43
	Well, I would assume that since the meat doesn't spoil as fast as if you just leave it out on the table that it's being preserved. It's probably not the same as freezing, salting, etc, but it's still preserving it. – miked Jul 15 at 3:43

Brad · Answer 2 · 2012-07-13 21:42:23Z UTC

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The longer meat is aged, the greater the histamine and other biogenic amine content. Not an issue for some, but a big one for those who are histamine/amine sensitive (like myself).

answered Jul 13 at 21:42

Brad
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UncleLongHair · Answer 3 · 2012-07-14 02:52:53Z UTC

Actually I would think that dry aging was one of the first forms of meat preservation. It probably didn't take them long to figure out that taking the blood out and hanging it was a good way to keep it edible for a few weeks.

Dry aging basically takes some of the water out, which decreases the likelihood of spoilage, and the time spent aging increases enzyme activity which starts to break down or "pre-digest" the meat, as long as it isn't spoiling. These are probably all good things for our health.

Nutritional implications of dry aging beef

3 Answers