Age is relative

That was before this career that has taught me so much about the beef side of the cattle business. You see, similar to a good bourbon or fine blue cheese, beef benefits from a little age.

Since I’m by no means an expert in beef aging, I grabbed our very own Dr. Phil (corporate meat scientist Dr. Phil, that is) and I found the answers to these questions:

1-What is aging? Why do we do it?

The “why” is easy. It brings out the flavor of the beef and increases tenderness.

How exactly it works is a little more complicated: It allows the natural enzymes in the muscle (calpains) to break down the fibers. As that happens, the muscle
cells start to lose water and the meat flavor becomes more concentrated.

“To many consumers this is an enhanced, robust flavor sensation,” Dr. Phil says.

Hmm…that kind of makes sense. Like bourbon on ice, instead of paired with a mixer.

2-Can aging make a poor quality piece of beef better? If you don’t age will you ruin a quality piece of meat?

“In almost all cases, aging beef has been demonstrated to enhance the overall beef eating experience,” Phil says. But it only works on the muscle fiber and not on connective tissue. That means certain cuts, like those from the round, will not benefit as much as cuts with a lesser amount of connective tissue, like the rib, for example.

Anybody who wants beef to reach its full potential ages it. But, it’s kind of like genetics and management. Without the right genetics, an animal never has the potential to make CAB, but coordinated management can make sure that those genetics have the chance to be all that they can be. Aging is the same.

“Failure to age will not ruin a piece of meat, but it will prevent the piece of meat from reaching its full potential,” Phil says, especially since it does a lot more to enhance tenderness than it does flavor. “Aging cannot enhance the flavor of a Select piece of beef to the level of a highly marbled CAB steak.”

3-Does CAB have any aging guidelines for those marketing the brand?

Yes. Foodservice distributors must age their middle meats at least 21 days to ensure customers eating at a CAB-licensed restaurant will have an exceptional eating experience.

“Twenty-one days is a point at which most of the middle meats will reach their maximum economic potential,” Phil says. “Meat distributors could age meat longer and have a slight improvement in tenderness and flavor, but science has demonstrated that 21 days is the ideal point for both eating quality and inventory control.”

You can’t have all that meat sitting around, because moving it is what keeps them in business.

That aging rule doesn’t apply to the grocery business.

“The retail business has everything to do with appearance of the product at the meat counter,” Phil explains. “Product that has a lot of age on it will not look as good in the meat case as product with less age, even though the product with more age may be more desirable once cooked.”

As a company, we let that sector figure out what works best for their customer base.

Want to know more about what goes on after your cattle go to harvest? Catch up on the last half of our Beef’s a Trip series.

May your bottom line be filled with black ink,

Miranda

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