Sure, some of you may have a comfy movie room in your house, or a room you’ve turned into a slick home office, or even a library for your books (you classy fella, you).

But how many of you have a room dedicated to dry aging steaks? That’s a guaranteed zero.

But while you may not be living the dream life of unlimited dry-aged steaks on demand, you CAN live vicariously through Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors and their larger-than-life meat locker, the largest dry-aging meat room in the entire world.

Lucky for us, Bon Appétit went behind the scenes at Pat LaFrieda to deliver up your new favorite video. Seriously, it’s just 20 minutes of learning about meat.

For the uninitiated, maybe now is a good time to revisit why dry aging is so d*mn great. And, perhaps, how you can get into it yourself.

We’ll turn to a trusted source around here… you guessed it, Serious Eats has got exactly what we need to know about dry aging.

Why dry age your meats?

  • Moisture loss = greater flavor. Dry aged beef can lose 30% of its volume in water loss, so the flavor becomes highly concentrated.

  • Tenderization. The meat’s enzymes break down the connective tissues, making the steak more tender.

  • New flavors. Dry aged meat develops all sorts of new, complex flavors.

Can you dry age your meats at home?

Yes. But it ain’t exactly quick. Once again, we return to Serious Eats for the answers we need.

Turns out there’s a fine line between eating a delicious dry aged steak and eating an old, dry piece of “Hey, this tastes like a stale refrigerator.” You’re going to need:

  • Dedicated fridge space. Or, preferably, a separate mini fridge.

  • A fan. To keep air moving inside your fridge and promote even drying.

  • A rack. Elevate the meat so it can dry on both sides.

  • Time. Probably something like 2 weeks to a month.

Whether you choose to do it yourself or pick up some of the best professional dry aged meats from a place like Pat LaFrieda’s, it’s certainly something worth experimenting with.