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County Faretasty fresh (MCT) — Summer is prime time for beef. And if that beef is dry-aged, some say, all the better. new. Years ago, it was standard in the meat indus- try. But today, most beef is simply aged briefly in its packaging. Dry-aging beef is not & Older and better: Prized dry-aged beef Tidbits: Melty slices By AL SICHERMAN Star Tribune (MCT) York City and Chicago," he says. build a 1,000-square-foot meat aging room primarily to serve restaurant clients — the main thrust of his family-owned business. "I've always asked myself, 'How can I make beef better?'" Baratta says. "How can I put a spin on it, age it to perfection and make sure the chef is 100 percent satisfied?" That led Baratta to MCT photo Emmet Barrata shows a freshly cut bone-in New York strip steak that has been dry aged at Fairway Packing Company in Detroit. too warm, the meat will spoil." intense flavor. The process is helped along by a 4-foot-by-6- foot wall consisting of about 250 blocks of pink Himalayan salt. The salt mildly seasons the cool air, helping to draw out mois- ture from the meat and fla- vor it. "To begin the dry-aging process, it takes 11 days minimum after the pack- aging has been opened," Baratta says. "It's after those 11 days that the beef starts to decompose, break down and start changing." Temperature is crucial. The room is kept between 34 degrees and 36 degrees, with humidity under 65%. "When meat freezes, the aging process stops," Baratta says, "and if it's In the temperature- and humidity-controlled aging room, large prime cuts of beef — most earmarked for local restaurants — sit on stainless-steel racks. First they are wet-aged in their packaging for 28 days. Then the packaging is removed and they are dry-aged for another 28 days. Some of the best cuts for aging, Baratta says, are bone-in beef ribs and short loins. Off the short loins come porterhouse, T-bone and New York strip steaks and bone-in filets. The public can buy dry- aged beef and other prod- ucts directly from Fairway. You can even order a cer- tain cut to be aged, Baratta says, and Fairway will keep you updated with weekly e-mails and pho- tos. "Once you eat a piece of dry-aged, there's no other," Tonon says. "It costs more, but it just melts on your tongue." HOW BEEF IS AGED Beef is aged to make it a meat store. Both were about the same thickness and had good marbling. Before grilling, the But dry-aging is gain- ing popularity, says Emmet Baratta, vice presi- dent of national sales and marketing for Fairway Packing in Detroit. "It's trendy in New several varieties of its shredded cheeses blended "with a touch of Philadelphia" cream cheese "for extra creaminess." At the time, Mr. Tidbit noted (with a touch of sur- prise) that although it was a new product (which almost always means it's more expensive), the 8- ounce bags of the new shredded cheese mixtures that include Philadelphia cream cheese didn't cost any more than the 8-ounce bags of the versions that don't. Then he realized that, ounce for ounce, Philadel- phia cream cheese sells for about two-thirds the price of the regular Kraft shredded cheeses, so the combi- nation product should cost a little or a lot less, depending on how much Philly is in there instead of the regular cheese. (Thus endeth the touch of sur- prise.) Now Kraft brings us several varieties of its sliced cheeses with cream cheese blended in. The ads, which say it "makes for an amazing melt," feature this unlikely slogan: "Make something creamier-er- er." Mr. Tidbit was ready to make the same price observation he made for the shredded products: Sure, it's the same quantity for the same price, but it should be cheaper. It's been about 1 1/2 years since Kraft introduced more flavorful and tender. It can be dry- or wet-aged. Most grocery store beef Aged meat comes with a premium price because of the time involved and to make up for shrinkage of the meat. Once aged, there's additional weight loss because the outer, darkest layer is trimmed — "faced off," in meat- cutting terminology. The thick fat cap also is trimmed, and any bones are squared off. rib-eye steak, called a cowboy cut, retails for about $26 a pound, Barat- ta says. New York strips range from $15 to $22 a pound, depending on the cut. In the end, a long-bone Dry-aging: Beef is set on racks to air-dry at a humidity-controlled 34- 36 degrees. After about 11 days, enzymes begin to break down. Moisture is lost, and the meat shrinks and turns dark. Flavors become more concentrat- ed, and the beef becomes very tender. Wet-aging: Beef is stored in its vacuum pack- aging. Moisture isn't lost, but the meat is tenderized. The flavor is not as intense as dry-aged beef. TASTE TEST is aged just a short time — typically the time it takes to get from process- ing plant to store. Many upscale markets wet-age their beef for several weeks. Cafe Cortina in Farm- ington Hills buys aged beef from Fairway. Owner Rina Tonon loves the The Free Press Test Kitchen grilled a 56-day- aged (wet- and then dry- aged) bone-in beef rib steak called a cowboy cut from Fairway Packing and a bone-in rib eye from Both were grilled about the same amount of time to medium-rare. Tasters loved the aged steak's deep beefy flavor and melt-in-your- mouth tenderness. wasn't as tender and its flavor wasn't as pro- nounced, but in all fair- ness, it was still darn tasty. The store-bought steak 8049 Hwy 99E, Los Molinos, CA We Accept EBT BLACK CANYON ANGUS BEEF WE FEATURE Fresh, Fryer Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts $199 lb. Red or Green Seedless Grapes We appreciate your business - and we show it! HOURS: 7AM - 9 PM DAILY "Your Family Supermarket" SPECIALLY CUT MEATS AT NO EXTRA CHARGE Prices good June 20 - June 26, 2012 Meat Specials Boneless Beef Top Sirloin Steaks Center Cut, Boneless Pork Loin Chops Beef Short Ribs Bone-In Gamehens 22 oz. Patti Jean obvious difference was in the color. The aged steak was a deeper red, almost purple. We seasoned both steaks with just a little olive oil, kosher salt and fresh-cracked black pep- per. the regular sliced cheeses contain 8 ounces of cheese. The bags of creamier-er-er slices contain 7 ounces. And part of that 7 ounces is cream cheese, which is cheaper-er-er. Except it's not even the same quantity. The bags of ber of flavored coffee creamers, come three flavors of iced coffee "sweet & creamy coffeehouse drink," sold in half-gallon (eight 8-ounce serving) cartons in the refrigerated case. The obvious product for compari- son is Starbucks Frappuccino, the 9.5-ounce bottles of which, sold unrefrigerated, are labeled more sim- ply as "coffee drink." Frappuccino is somewhat sweeter than the Interna- tional Delight drink; the International Delight drink contains several more thickeners — and is notably thicker. At one store, where a four-pack of Frappuc- cino (38 ounces) is $5.69 (15 cents an ounce), the 64- ounce International Delight carton is $3.99 (6.2 cents an ounce). ICED COFFEE New from International Delight, maker of a num- 384-1563 STAMPS ACCEPT FOOD WE REQUIRED FOR EVERYDAY LOW PRICING OR SALE ITEMS NO CARDS Wednesday, June 20, 2012 – Daily News 5A $399 lb. Strawberries 1 lb. clamshells Fresh, Ripe Salads 10 3/4-13.9 oz. Supreme $169 lb. Potato Chips 8-9.5 oz. bags Ruffles 3 for $500 24 pk. 1/2 Liters Crystal Geyser Water Butter 1/4's 16 oz. 2 for $ 5 Angel Soft Bathroom Tissue 12 Roll $299 +tax Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce 18 oz. 3 $349 +crv Western Family Briquets 8.3 lb. 2 for $5 10 for $ 5 Gatorade Thirst Quecher 32 oz. for $ 10 2 for $ 5 $ Van Camp's Pork & Beans 15 oz. can 59¢ 299 American Singles Cheese 12 oz. 2 for $ Coors, MGD, Bud or Michelob Beer +crv $1299 18 pk, 12 oz. +crv 4 $199 Soft Drinks 2 Liters Pepsi 3 for $4 Find us on Facebook! facebook.com/nuwaymarket +crv 2 for $500 $129 Grocery Specials Sourdough 32 oz. sliced San Luis Lofthouse Frosted Cookies 13 1/2 oz. Ketchup 40 oz. $299 Heinz lb. $179 $229 lb. $299 Produce Specials Tomatoes Vine Ripe, Cluster Cantaloupe Large Size lb. 2 for $ 5 ea.