Aged Meat

Appears in
Professional Cooking: 8th Edition
Professional Cooking

By Wayne Gisslen

Published 2014

  • About

Enzyme action continues in muscle tissue even after meat is no longer green. This tenderizes the flesh even more and develops more flavor. Holding meats in coolers under controlled conditions to provide time for this natural tenderizing is called aging.

Beef and lamb can be aged because high-quality carcasses have enough fat cover to protect them from bacteria and from drying. Veal has no fat cover, so it is not aged. Pork does not require aging.

Aging does not mean just storing meat in the refrigerator. There is a difference between aged meat and old meat. Conditions must be carefully controlled so the meat becomes naturally tender without spoiling. There are two primary methods used for aging: