The only important thing to do post water aging is the BLOOMING PROCESS where you let the meat breath in air for about 30 minutes or it kind of keeps an off irony taste.
important safety tip... thanks Egon in all honesty though, thanks I would not have thought of that... I'm not sure I could do this though, because I don't have a separate fridge to devote to aging...
This by 💯. Expecting angel to disappear from videos for 2 months soon. Angel has been fattened long enough. BTW this coming long pig does NOT forgive for the nearly ruined rusty pan in backyard!
I'm from Korea, and I always thought Guga doing a Korean wet/water aging experiment would only happen in a parallel universe. My worlds have collided. Thank you Guga! Btw, its also very common to water age pork cuts as well like samgyeopsal (pork belly) which makes them very juicy and flavorful.
Sounds like the difference between aerobic vs anaerobic respiration at the surface of the meat. One makes funk, one makes sour. I wonder if the water is simply acting as an extra barrier against oxygen transfer that likely occurs through thin plastic. A better experiment would have been to leave the "wet age" meat in the thick gauge vacuum packaging material that it comes in from the processing plant that does a better job of inhibiting oxygen transfer. I've "wet aged" meat still in the sub-primal vacuum packaging for 50-60 days many, many times and it also comes out with a slight sour smell similar to what is being described here.
@TB-ni4ur same exact experience working at a butcher shop when we open a subprimal that's been in the walkin for a month or 2 usually after getting in too much product. Never tried eating it when it got that sour smell though, assumed it would taste funky in a bad way
@@matthewroberts6119 There's sour, then there's rancid that will give you the eye squint reflex when you smell it. Rancid is a no go, but the "slight" sour smell is par for the course, you just have to rinse and message the surface with cold water after opening up. Any residual sour smell cooks out under high heat. I've opened tens of thousands of subprimals in a previous life, and the only time I experienced rancid is when product was out of temp for an extended period of time, or if it had lost its seal in the case.
@TB-ni4ur yeah it was never rancid except for a grass-fed tenderloin that was apparently under a pallet in the walkin for over a year, cut that open and the whole place reaked lol
Enjoyed the video. A couple of thoughts - 1. If you have people taste testing three "same' things, don't insert a totally different taste (the seasoned appetizer) between two of them. That was a trick I think it was Coke did when doing coke / pepsi comparisons. They could give the person a saltine in between and the dry salty cracker made the second product (their coke) taste better. 2. How does this technique work on cheap cuts of meat? For example a Sous Vide can make pretty tender meat but where I've really been blown away by it was how it can make a cheap roast taste more like an expensive one.
I think there is something to be said for, say, cleansing the palate with a drink or water or something at least. But I trust these guys to tell the truth.
Completely agree, the whole experiment was shot the moment they ate something entirely different between steaks. I'm not convinced at all, the 'water' aged steak looked less attractive and by their reactions did not seem to taste significantly better, and if anything they probably were still tasting deep fried pork anyways.
Comparing water age to dry age would be interesting. Also interesting would be comparing the cost of each. You lose a lot of the outside of the steak when trimming dry-age, but I wonder how much extra electrifity you had to spend to keep that other one in constantly circulating cold water for so long!
Those aquarium bubbler pumps usually consumes between 2 to 5 watts, so technically I would say that it cost exactly the same both techniques in terms of electricity bill.
If you don't have to cut off the outside pelicos with water aging, and if it tastes as good, then that seems like a way more efficient/economical way to age things. Definitely need more info on this Guga!
@@itsblunt8163 true, but hopefully that was overkill and Guga will find a practical way. I mean it's vaccum sealed and in water, how much bacteria could really get in there from a regular filled fridge?! Even opening the door here and there will not change the temperature of the water much at all.
@@pa-mothat is true I water cool pc and water needs alot to change its over all temp simply opening the door grabbing something and closing it back will not be enough to change the over all water temperature inside a fridge
That violin as Angel tried to grasp a wonton from the plate as it left his reach and then he pretended to scratch an itch was so perfect, so hilarious!
For what it's worth: I have been experimenting with dry-aging for a few years after seeing it on this channel. After numerous experiments, my best results have come from rinsing and drying the cut, patting it dry and using a hot-air gun to remove all external moisture, then wrapping it in a thin cloth and painting it with melted lard to form an artificial fat cap. The cap is almost water-tight (the meat will still dry out a little with time), while being air-permeable, allowing for the aging process with minimal moisture loss (provided you have a humidified fridge.) This has given me the best results, with the meat remaining juicy and tender, the only wastage being trimming the edge of the cut to remove the outer sheath. Those trimmings are put through the mincer and turned into flavour-enhanced burgers. But the water-aged method seems to be superior, involving less fuss. One question: What are the steaks bagged in? I presume it's the dry-aged membranes that Guga has previously used, but he doesn't specify.
@GugaFoods, Take a sample of the juices before and after water aging, and send each one to a lab to see what compounds are present in each step. You may find out more that way what the exact changes are.
I think it would be really interesting to compare dry aged and water aged to really see the differences Maybe even wet, dry, and water aged all together
Tried a water aging pork in a Korean BBQ in Singapore a couple of months back and was mindblown by it!! Was surprised Guga only found it about it during his recent trip. Was really looking forward to this video and share the awesomeness with the rest of the viewers! Cheers everybody!!
One other thing to note about water aging is the buoyant force. It lets the meat not be squashed by its own weight and so the juice in the meat is more evenly distributed
If anything the increased pressure acts as a force to keep the juices in the mean and not allow them to seep out. That tough to quantify though, the pressure of vacuum packaging is far more than the pressure of 6 inches of water.
I know you generally stick to beef, but if you get a chance, I would suggest trying some certified Karoo lamb from South Africa. It is absolutely amazing. There are a set of strict requirements that need to be followed in order for lamb to be certified as karoo lamb in South Africa, but the flavour is worth it. My suggested method of cooking it is to get hold of some lamb chops, coat them with some olive oil, grind some salt on both sides of them(no pepper, as it may overwhelm the flavour) and cover with FRESH rosemary leaves, then put them in a hot steel pan (no need for cast iron for this one) and cook until you get a bit of browning on either side. Serve with some nice garlic mashed potatoes.
That "WHY" coming out of guga had me rolling XD Bro I was nervous when I heard the "sour" part thinking it'd be spoiled but I completely forgot about the fermenting process. This is wild!
Water aging seems to be better than dry aging. Now you need to do a water age vs dry age video and see which one comes out on top. Water age has no lose of meat so this is already one big plus over dry age.
@@tvsA. He made 3 steaks. A control, a wet age and a water age. No dry age here, lol. Guga even took the time to explaine that all steaks in the supermarket are wet aged for 28 days. Wet age and dry are are not the same thing. I think you need to rewatch the video. Never seen someone post something so confidentially and be wrong at the same time, lol.
Guga, you need to keep us posted about any finding and technique to be used with this ageing method. I think you found an old world secret. Keep up the good work
@Guga I have always wondered what it would taste like to age Brisket. The issue is that in doing so, you would loose so much as pelicose. Could you try age a Brisket using this water aging and let us know how it turns out?
I do it all the time it’s called wet ageing. I just leave it in it’s vacuum seal unless it’s loose then I might reseal it then just leave it in the fridge for up to 8 weeks. It has an almost blue cheese like flavour note too it and is much more tender. You also don’t have to trim anything off like you do with dry ageing.
I just love these guys so much! I bought my SnS because of your channel. I have switched almost ALL of my grilling to charcoal (over gas grill) because of your channel. Now I'm going to jump into trying my own aged steaks... again because of your channel. I just love when the alert goes off that Guga has a new video. :D
I tried this when I was stationed in Korea. It is pretty good, very beefy but I can’t get past the subtle taste of sour. After so many pieces I’m done. Flavor starts to linger and build like a hot sauce
I still don't understand why it ferments in the first place. The bag is vapor proof is it not? What's the difference between 35f water and 35f air if it's just keeping the temperature of the steak at 35f?
@@desertrat7634 different bacteria like different environments. Sauerkraut is made by using salt and lack of oxygen to make an environment favoring lactic acid generating bacteria. Vinegar and kombucha are formed by yeast and bacteria colonies with oxygen present, which could also be used to ferment flavorful sauces. So each method does something which favors or inhibits specific bacteria or other micro organisms. It could be as simple as maintaining a specific water content through the steak via buoyancy vs gravity changing the environment, or some other variable I'm not considering.
@@Unsensitive I get that part, but what confuses me is the idea that the environment inside this bag seem to change even though both the water and wet method are still at the same temp. It's vacuum sealed the same way. So what did the water do that the air didn't when both remained outside the sealed bag.
Holy hell Guga, you’ve taken me to many places on this culinary journey. Now I have to figure out “wet aging”…I will brother! Love the show, love the content, thank you!
~0:45 when i saw the temperature i said aha! refridgeration brining in water to produce a more stable temperature. the vacuum seal also means the brine is constantly around the steak and not just pooled underneath
Fun fact, "water aging" is how Native American's used to store meat. Keeping the meat submerged in cold/cool water (like literally just keeping a cleaned carcass underwater in a cold lake or river) prevents the bacteria that causes meat to spoil, allowing them to keep meat for up to a year without needing to cook/pickle/preserve it first.
@@MrSoarman Oh cool, you found it. Never sure if posting links in RUclips is gonna get my comment deleted or something. We learned about it in my Homesteaders class back in highschool (immersive class on early homesteaders, also did basic blacksmithing, rendering tallow to make candles, learned basic wood working with old tools, sewing/knitting and that kinda thing). We didn't actually test preserving meat in water though, just discussed it and read some University Professor's study on it.
I’m wondering what exactly makes it different from the wet age. I think it’s a combination of things. First, the water keeps if from not only getting above 32 degrees, but it keeps it from getting below 32 degrees as well. The ice on the water would’ve been the outside of the steak had it not been in water. Also, if the steak is 12 inches under water, it’s under an extra ~0.5 psi of pressure. Not sure if that is affecting anything, but it so, it would be interesting to experiment with the depth of your water container. Putting a steak under 1ft of water, 3 ft, and maybe 5 ft if possible with your fridge. They could all go in the same container if you tape them to the wall at their specific depths.
My first thought was also the ambient pressure altering the growth conditions. Maybe a variety of refrigerated pressure chamber settings to see how much difference the pressure makes. The water submersion keeping it juuuust over the freezing point definitely helps keep the environment consistent, but as pressure goes up, the freezing temperature also drops... can bacteria survive below freezing temperatures as the pressure rises? and what's the theoretical limit to the bacterias environmental tolerances?
Vacuum sealing bags can diffuse moisture. Keeping it under water keeps the temperature stable and prevents any moisture from escaping. The cointainer doesn't have to be in the fridge, you can just cool the water itself, that's what the korean butcher did.
water temp is not a stable 32, there is a 5 degree range. water depth is not a factor either, as professionally they are kept in larger vats and there is different depths for each cut of meat, which would create variances in quality if this was actually a factor, and be a problem for commercial production. So not water pressure. Get a FEATHER, rub it on a spot on your arm for 1 minute, nothing happened. Now rub that feather for 24 hours, you skin will be red and raw. GENTLY AGITATION is the magic. Its a 50 day gentle massage. And for a business, you get similar results as dry aging, WITHOUT THE WEIGHT LOSS, thus price points for the product can be kept lower to appeal to more people.
I think it's a combination of two factors: First, the water tank keeps an extremely steady temperature. Normally a refrigerator has a cooling cycle, where ice crystals form in the meat, and a period the compressor isn't running where the meat gradually gets warmer and allows for more bacterial growth. Insulating it in a huge water tank avoids both temperature "extremes". Second, the aquarium pumps produce a gentle agitation that will slowly tenderize the meat over a long period of time. This is similar to the ultrasonic water bath, just much weaker. It also keeps the water bath at a more even temperature by causing some circulation. I don't think the water pressure has much to do with anything because it's fairly low. That said, one could easily test it by changing depth like you suggest, or just throwing a heavy weight on top of a steak.
in a good regular fridge (wet aging) case the temperature fluctuates quite a lot and hits freezing every so often, discouraging bacteria growth. water bath aging forces the temperature to be above freezing, stimulating bacteria growth. The same concept is used in Kimchi fridge where more refined temperature control mechanism is used to maintain very fine temperature range, promoting healthy fermentation in Kimchi for optimum taste. You could technically get a Kimchi fridge and age your meat there instead of using water bath.
@guga hey, one variable problem I see, shouldn't you have left the wet aging steak in the same refrigerator to contol the temp like you did the water age steak? Or did I miss that they had different temperature requirements? The shot of the wet steak in the family fridge looked less cared for (consistent) than your water aged...
im noticing that you mentioned circulation while showing airstones but those are two different things. Airstones oxegenate the water, and while they do provide a bit of circulation due to the effect of the water bubbles, their purpose is not circulation of water.
A tshirt with "A Good Amount of Salt" written on it somewhere among whatever other pictures of you, steaks, etc seems like it could be such a win! We'd buy.
I remember reading an old National Geographic about how Indians used to store meat. The guy put a buffalo leg into a pond and had it stay submerged. Over the course of a month or so he would take the buffalo out, cut a piece off, cook and eat it. After a while the meat started to turn greenish but was still edible. Very interesting story from decades gone
When I was a kid, we'd go camping for weeks at a time. My dad would put the meat in a freezer/watertight bag, inside a cooler filled with ice, at the bottom of a hollow in a glacial stream. In hindsight, he was probably poaching but this was back in the 70s. We'd eat fresh wild meat all summer like that.
Guga, thanks to you we just ordered a cast iron hamburger griddle, the smasher, the paint scraper, and your BOOK!! They're coming tomorrow and we're super-excited. I always wondered why our bbq burgers always resemble shoe leather, so I hope those days are over. Anyway, my all-time favorite thing to smoke is brisket. I'd love an episode where you show each grade of brisket, and smoke them, and compare them. I always wondered if you could tell once they're smoked. Thanks for all you do!
It will be gross... judging by the color I feel like 50 days is already over. It sounds like if you keep a steak towards the end of it's expiry date or even a bit longer. I noticed they become more tender but also sour. If you do that for too long it gets a cheesy smell 🤢
@@superfuss1984 no.. not like blue cheese. Sour, feety... weird. It was very strong disgusting... had to bin it. Actually I threw it out of the window so foxes and rats can have it.
@@l3138 It can get oversour in Wet Aging... Usual past Week 4- 5 after Slaughter. Its Lacto Acid Bacteria. Red Meat usual has to ferment/age or it would be inedible...
For a Steakhouse to serve Water Aged Steaks, you’ll probably need about more than 50 Fish Tanks equipped with Fish Barometers, one tank per day, and a single Walk-In Cooler specialized for Water Aging. It may be tricky, but I think it can be done, especially if you’re gonna charge customers about $75-$300 per certain cuts of Steak, maybe even more.
I do a dry age followed by wet age. I have no idea what I did the first time I did it, but I've never had a steak like that again... it was insanely good! Actually, now I think about it, that first steak is the reason I was poached by a chef to be his meat prep guy and business partner.
MAN! Koreans really are making some huge innovations in all fields, especially food. Such lovely people! If you havent gone to Korea, id highly recommend the trip
I wonder if bigger bubbles would be better. There would be less contact with the steak, but the contact would be 2-3x stronger, so that's one test you could try...
Hey Guga, I think you should know this, but in Brazil it is a kinda old process to age called Maturada. In the açougues is fairly easy to find it. There are big meat brands who do it at scale. You should go back to Brazil more often bro 😘
The only thing different about putting it in water, in my opinion, would be more stable temperature control. I can't imagine it does anything else. You should have put the normal wet aging steak in the fridge you never open, also. That would have been a fairer comparison. The oxidation and sourness makes me think that maybe it wasn't as clean as the other one.
Even fridges that are never opened will still fluctuate several degrees as the motors cycle on and off. Maybe the more consistent temp plus constant vibrations from the flowing water agitates the meat just enough to speed fermentation? I’m totally stumped.
Smelling “sour” is something I would not even attempt to eat….. I am still trying to understand the aging process of these not so inexpensive meats! (Without meat going bad) Ty for your channel & also your amazing sides recipes!!!
=HMMMMPH......AGREE THAT THIS WAS OVERDONE AND STARTED TO DETIREORATE,THAT'S WHY SOURNESS WAS THERE BUT 30 DAYS OR SO WILL DO PRETTY MUCH BETTER......BC OF MEAT DOES AGE TO SOME POINT AFTER WHICH IT JUST ROT =BUT A VERY INTERESTING TECHIQUE INDEED BC OF....WHAT IF WATER AGE WITH A SOY SAYCE???...HEHE
I would try to put more air bubbles in the tank with the water aging! A lot of aeration! And see if that makes a substantial difference in the aging process! Great video none the less!
This is awesome. I'm literally in Korea right now on vacation from the US and just found out about water aged meat. Was wondering if you ever heard of it!
Most steakhouses use wet ageing unless they specifically use dry aging method which uses a lot of space, time and prep, in comparison wet, dry and water, water ageing produces the most intense flavours that's why she said 'fermenting the meat' in korea.
I wonder if it's the slight pressure of being underwater that keeps the juices inside of the steak when you wet age them like that. Now I wonder what would happen if you did a wet age in a pressure vessel.
Water will keep the temperature more stable and prevent the escape of the moisture you are trying to get rid of in Dry Aging. As the Korean guy said, this is a form of mild fermentation, which as we know, fermentation will soften the meat and a little sourness will enhance the savory flavors. A pressure vessel would probably not make any difference as the beef is already under pressure through vacuum sealing. It might be worth an experiment but I wouldn't expect any significant results.
@@Puzzlesocksit’s vacuum sealed so no moisture loss anyway. Any decent fridge will keep the temp stable too anyways. Once the steak is down to temp it doesn’t matter if it’s cooled in water or air.
@@notcoleman711you can buy it directly from the farmer that grew them for the company. That's the main reason that shortage of whatever you wanna call it occurred. The farmer felt like they were being taken advantage of and is selling it themselves
even top steak houses dont charge $30 for a side dish, in the low 20's at most at expensive places. Might see a $30 side, but it would be seafood based, not pork or beef. Pork too cheap to charge $30 for.
What I want to know is, did the water aged steak he bought in Korea have the slightly sour/fermented flavor as well? Also I noticed he wasn’t aerating his water like the tank in Korea; no bubbles.
The point of the bubbles is just to prevent the water from stagnating. In Korea the tanks were more open to the environment and thus at more risk, whereas Guga really just needed some minor movement to 'stir' the water and maintain an equal temperature. Fridges have colder and warmer spots so it's necessary for temperature control in such a long experiment.
@@SpiritProf That's just not true at the temperatures and environment he was aging this in. Even a moving river freezes when it gets cold enough. Fridges don't maintain a constant temperature but rather fluctuate between cooling and defrost cycles to stay near your desired temperature. It's close enough it doesn't matter in most situations, but in long term experiments like this one it matters.
Small correction, at 1:50 you said that water is a great (heat) conductor, but it's the opposite: it only slowly conducts heat which is why it is considered an insulator. It still conducts heat much faster than air, though. What's the key difference between them is that water has a higher heat capacity which means once it's heated/cooled it retains that temperature very long as you need a lot of energy to warm it up. Pretty sure wet aging when submerged in water will just make sure that the temperature stays leveled throughout the whole time without freezing (which is why you need to keep the water moving to prevent crystallization) compared to air insulation even when opening the fridge for a moment.
A question Guga: When you do these videos, are you using by freshly butchered meat, and you're starting the aging on day 1? Or is the beef at least a few days old by the time you get it? Because there might be a mix of aging methods going on from time to time. Just curious. EDIT: You could also experiment with combining aging methods. Suppose you both wet age AND dry age a steak.
Seems pretty clear to me that he bought it from the store. It wouldn't be reasonable to expect the average viewer to have access to a farm-fresh butcher.
@@synthetic240 You don't want to eat freshly slaughtered beef. Red-blooded animals go through a period of rigor mortis which makes the flesh tough and irony. So all commercial beef is aged for at least a week as primal cuts prior to butchering to sub-primals and finished cuts.
Hi guga, there is a method in south India that called in Tamil "UppuKandam". which is sun dried meat mostly mutton. Try that if you can. I ate when I was child it's delicious.
You should do like an ultimate steak prep tier list mega episode. Like directly comparing all the best methods you've tried over the years. You'd probably have to get ALL the boys together since there'd be so much food.
Hi Guga ! You always use garlic powder to season your steak, but I was wondering if it would not be better to use other garlic seasoning like fresh garlic, garlic paste or some kind of garlic compound better ? Would you make a video about testing different kind of garlic seasoning to find out the best way to use garlic with steak ? Love you
Garlic powder is much easier to distribute evenly in small amounts. If you use fresh garlic or garlic paste then you will need to use a large amount of garlic to evenly coat the surface of the steak, which is usually not the goal. So, you will end up with way too much garlic or unevenly distributed seasoning. It is the exact same reasoning with salt: if you use coarse rock or sea salt instead of flake or fine grained salt, you will end up with a steak that is not evenly seasoned or with a very salty steak. So, stick with garlic powder for steaks and keep the fresh garlic to large pieces that are usually seasoned with a lot of garlic, such as lamb roast.
Despite being korean, I've not known this technique my entire life until last year😂 I stumbled upon it during a trip to Jeju Island and had some magical water-aged pork bellies. Maybe you should try this on pork too!
Guga, you should buy 12 steaks, one each week and put it to water age at the top of each week. At the end, we'll know exactly at which point water steak peaks flavor
This seems pretty promising from everything I've seen on it. But I definitely would want to get a small, dedicated dorm/apartment refrigerator that can stay closed/chilled for the proper duration. Of course, I've said the same damned thing about getting a dry aging dedicated fridge too... 😆
I'm a little confused on the wet aged steak process. Did you add any water into the bag before you vaccum sealed it? And how many days in the fridge? Talking about the wet aged, not the fish tank aged one
Local grocery store sells vacuum packed wet-aged rib roasts around certain holidays. They cost anywhere from $7.99 to $9.99 per pound. I buy 4-5 of them and freeze them to use over a 4-5 month period.
1:50 FYI water is a horrible conductor, especially purified water. I think you mean that water has a high specific heat capacity meaning the water can gain (or lose) a lot of energy before the temperature of the water changes.
Since all of them were in vacuum plastic bags, I suppose the only two variable left are: water pressure and temperature equalization. So to duplicate the pressure effect you can try to age it inside an inflated balloon. Also in the vacuum bag, of course. Maybe do another one with 3 times the pressure to really amplify the effect
The steak was immersed in container that is ~20cm deep or less. At a depth of 20 cm, the pressure of the water column will add less than 2% to the atmospheric pressure. Since the steak was not placed horizontally in the container but vertically, only a small part of it was subject to that very small pressure increase. However, since the steak is immersed, the (atmospheric) pressure will be more evenly distributed across its surface than when stored outside water. The water bath certainly allows for better temperature equalization and stability. So, I would expect that the water age steak will remain at a near constant temperature during the aging process, whereas the steak in the bag will have very slight temp fluctuations due to the normal operation of the fridge. However, in a good quality fridge the temperature is not expected to deviate more 0.5C from the target. All in all, it is not obvious why the fermentation progressed so differently in the water bath...
I absolutely love your videos! But I'd really love to see a lot more videos on how to cook types of meat that aren't just high grade beef steaks. It's pretty fool-proof to have a great experience with high-grade expensive cuts of beef no matter what you do. But it is extremely difficult to cook an amazing porkchop, chicken breast or fish filet. Folks who have been watching you for years and actually look to you for legimate meat cookery tips would also like to learn a little more about cooking various more budget friendly forms and cuts of meat rather than another repetitive video about aging/marinating a high-grade cut of beef most folks don't even have access to even if they could afford to buy it. We have no doubt that you can help us with that and we're wishing you'd break away from the same old cut of meat every video. Please
@@Anon-mx5iyTotally agree. I love to sous vide as well! I was just hoping to see Guga sharing his amazing knowledge of meat cookery to help folks out who either don't prefer steak or just can't afford it. He has shared a select few amazing recipes for other cuts and types of meat. I just think a few more of those would be super helpful and appreciated.
I'd assume the sourness theyre tasting is only because the steak was so small when water aged. Typically you would age whole primals not individual steaks. So the sour flavour is more pronounced on the small piece.
tip for food safety: make sure there's always someice in the water(ice lasts for days in the fridge when water aging, don't worry about costantly changing it) which keeps the water below 1°C meaning it's not gonna go bad, even if you have a relatively warm and/or unstable fridge
my theory on water aging is the steak in undergoing lacto fermentation. That's why you get that funky smell. any food you buy has good bacteria used for lacto fermentation. So I think water aging gave the steak the perfect environment for the fermentation to take place.
One important factor might be the water pressure, similar to when you use the displacement method. Try to find a bigger vessel to see if it makes a difference.
Bro, it's just vacuumed sealed refrig temps, which 0-4 degrees Celsius is. So 50 days in the reefer and it slightly ferments. I think Korea can not ship that meat to the U.S. because of how the steer is treated.
I would go 34-36f. getting the meat cold enough to leave ice on the top means slower enzyme production. you want it chilled but slightly closer to the "danger zone" than normal. I'd love to see you do a test of 2-degree integers from 30-38 and see which one really comes out the best.
Been reading up and still looking for more. This is certainly more achieveble at home than wet and dry aging (Those are really high-risk low reward for BFUs). You need to not just filter the water. but also pre-chill in the fridge. The main benefit of this method is that circulating water is much cheaper per heat capacity and volume - with enough water you can add and remove meat in larger batches.
The main difference is water permeation - over days the water and oils gets exchanged slowly even through the sous vide bags. It accounts for the quicker aging. That said I still believe the biggest advantage is easier engineering - There is no good way for people to maintain both dry and wet aging at home. Molecular sieves are expensive, moister traps require very low temperatures, fridges do not get cold enough. It is a lot of work to turn a affortable chest freezer to age just one sirloin.
The sour description is probably pretty close because that's the best way for me to personally describe taste differences with fermented foods. It's not soured but sour - like an intriguing tang. If we end up getting a second fridge this may be something I need to try!
Also I loved that collab with NFTI it would be so awesome to see more sciency collabs with youtubes in that spectrum! Like I'm sure NileRed would absolutely do some weird collabs, you could probably get ZeFrank to do a cameo narration, there's a whole heck of a lotta nerds on here that would make for wonderful collabs and cross-pollination of chanels :D
The only important thing to do post water aging is the BLOOMING PROCESS where you let the meat breath in air for about 30 minutes or it kind of keeps an off irony taste.
Ohh learnt something, hope guga sees this, he wants to know more about this anyways
Oh the irony
important safety tip... thanks Egon
in all honesty though, thanks I would not have thought of that... I'm not sure I could do this though, because I don't have a separate fridge to devote to aging...
Breathe.
@@JamesThatcher less Egon and more a steakhouse assistant manager XD there is always something to learn in steak cooking. That is why I follow Guga 😄
I heard that Guga has been building a new swimming pool. I think we all know what he'll use it for.
Water aged Angel here we come!!
😂 no comment 😂😂😂
@@GugaFoods When are you gonna collab with Ordinary Sausage?
loads of meat will be swimming in the pool soon
This by 💯. Expecting angel to disappear from videos for 2 months soon. Angel has been fattened long enough. BTW this coming long pig does NOT forgive for the nearly ruined rusty pan in backyard!
@GugaFoods when should we expect this pool party video?
I'm from Korea, and I always thought Guga doing a Korean wet/water aging experiment would only happen in a parallel universe. My worlds have collided. Thank you Guga!
Btw, its also very common to water age pork cuts as well like samgyeopsal (pork belly) which makes them very juicy and flavorful.
Same time for beef and pork?
Why would you think that
@@gimlee44222 because he certainly already done that thing?
Where Can I buy the machine for this ?
its a fish tank and pump system for fishes
@@MITCHCZ1
It sounds like water aging does similar things to the meat like dry aging without all the waste. Definitely need a dry age vs water age video!
Sounds like the difference between aerobic vs anaerobic respiration at the surface of the meat. One makes funk, one makes sour. I wonder if the water is simply acting as an extra barrier against oxygen transfer that likely occurs through thin plastic. A better experiment would have been to leave the "wet age" meat in the thick gauge vacuum packaging material that it comes in from the processing plant that does a better job of inhibiting oxygen transfer. I've "wet aged" meat still in the sub-primal vacuum packaging for 50-60 days many, many times and it also comes out with a slight sour smell similar to what is being described here.
@TB-ni4ur same exact experience working at a butcher shop when we open a subprimal that's been in the walkin for a month or 2 usually after getting in too much product. Never tried eating it when it got that sour smell though, assumed it would taste funky in a bad way
@@matthewroberts6119 There's sour, then there's rancid that will give you the eye squint reflex when you smell it. Rancid is a no go, but the "slight" sour smell is par for the course, you just have to rinse and message the surface with cold water after opening up. Any residual sour smell cooks out under high heat. I've opened tens of thousands of subprimals in a previous life, and the only time I experienced rancid is when product was out of temp for an extended period of time, or if it had lost its seal in the case.
@TB-ni4ur yeah it was never rancid except for a grass-fed tenderloin that was apparently under a pallet in the walkin for over a year, cut that open and the whole place reaked lol
Honestly I don't like the funky taste that comes with dry age so I'll pass on wet aging
Enjoyed the video. A couple of thoughts - 1. If you have people taste testing three "same' things, don't insert a totally different taste (the seasoned appetizer) between two of them. That was a trick I think it was Coke did when doing coke / pepsi comparisons. They could give the person a saltine in between and the dry salty cracker made the second product (their coke) taste better. 2. How does this technique work on cheap cuts of meat? For example a Sous Vide can make pretty tender meat but where I've really been blown away by it was how it can make a cheap roast taste more like an expensive one.
Very true. This whole video and many other he does come across as unauthentic to me.
you're both thinking too hard about it
I think there is something to be said for, say, cleansing the palate with a drink or water or something at least. But I trust these guys to tell the truth.
Completely agree, the whole experiment was shot the moment they ate something entirely different between steaks.
I'm not convinced at all, the 'water' aged steak looked less attractive and by their reactions did not seem to taste significantly better, and if anything they probably were still tasting deep fried pork anyways.
Good point. I know if you have a glass of real dry red wine before eating a steak then , within seconds, you will wonder where that steak went. 😊
Comparing water age to dry age would be interesting.
Also interesting would be comparing the cost of each. You lose a lot of the outside of the steak when trimming dry-age, but I wonder how much extra electrifity you had to spend to keep that other one in constantly circulating cold water for so long!
Those aquarium bubbler pumps usually consumes between 2 to 5 watts, so technically I would say that it cost exactly the same both techniques in terms of electricity bill.
funkiness vs sourness.... easily distinguishable but definitely like to see which one wins out
@Ismsanmar Don’t forget the cost of running the fridge too! That would be most of the electricity cost.
@@Sniperboy5551 So that cost is free on the dry-aging? Do you dry-age on free air?🤔
Yeah he probably used alot of elecrifity.
If you don't have to cut off the outside pelicos with water aging, and if it tastes as good, then that seems like a way more efficient/economical way to age things. Definitely need more info on this Guga!
If you’ve got the money to empty a spare fridge out and leave a pump on for nearly 2 months you’ve got enough money to cut the outside pelicos off
@@itsblunt8163 true, but hopefully that was overkill and Guga will find a practical way. I mean it's vaccum sealed and in water, how much bacteria could really get in there from a regular filled fridge?! Even opening the door here and there will not change the temperature of the water much at all.
@@pa-mothat is true I water cool pc and water needs alot to change its over all temp simply opening the door grabbing something and closing it back will not be enough to change the over all water temperature inside a fridge
videos like this is what i say very practical long termly. consider theres so many options out there that we rarely ever hear of or even come across
@@pa-mo Indeed it was overkill. Any fridge can do this.
That violin as Angel tried to grasp a wonton from the plate as it left his reach and then he pretended to scratch an itch was so perfect, so hilarious!
Caught me off guard😂😂😂
Sad Angel was killing me. LOL
For what it's worth: I have been experimenting with dry-aging for a few years after seeing it on this channel. After numerous experiments, my best results have come from rinsing and drying the cut, patting it dry and using a hot-air gun to remove all external moisture, then wrapping it in a thin cloth and painting it with melted lard to form an artificial fat cap. The cap is almost water-tight (the meat will still dry out a little with time), while being air-permeable, allowing for the aging process with minimal moisture loss (provided you have a humidified fridge.)
This has given me the best results, with the meat remaining juicy and tender, the only wastage being trimming the edge of the cut to remove the outer sheath. Those trimmings are put through the mincer and turned into flavour-enhanced burgers. But the water-aged method seems to be superior, involving less fuss. One question: What are the steaks bagged in? I presume it's the dry-aged membranes that Guga has previously used, but he doesn't specify.
@GugaFoods, Take a sample of the juices before and after water aging, and send each one to a lab to see what compounds are present in each step. You may find out more that way what the exact changes are.
I'd be curious about that, fermenting is a cool process
Dominion 2018
I think it would be really interesting to compare dry aged and water aged to really see the differences
Maybe even wet, dry, and water aged all together
Dominion 2018
Or dry age the steak after water aging it
Hope to see comparisons like this in the future
Tried a water aging pork in a Korean BBQ in Singapore a couple of months back and was mindblown by it!! Was surprised Guga only found it about it during his recent trip. Was really looking forward to this video and share the awesomeness with the rest of the viewers! Cheers everybody!!
May I know where you tried that in SG? Curious to try it myself!
@@katana292 It's at Um Yong Baek near Telok Ayer MRT. Enjoy!!
Dominion 2018
ive been to a ton of korean BBQs and can't say I've ever seen water aged before haha i wanna try T-T
Pray tell where is this place?
One other thing to note about water aging is the buoyant force. It lets the meat not be squashed by its own weight and so the juice in the meat is more evenly distributed
but also being under pressure from the water at all times, like a very low constant tenderizing action.
If anything the increased pressure acts as a force to keep the juices in the mean and not allow them to seep out. That tough to quantify though, the pressure of vacuum packaging is far more than the pressure of 6 inches of water.
Also, by putting it in the dark, the lack of moonlight will enable the proteins to bond more tightly to the oxidized surface.
@@TB-ni4ur vac pak have less than normal atmospheric pressure. It's literally a vacuum. Definitely less pressure than 6 inches of unsealed water
@@TheBrandonMeekLol
I know you generally stick to beef, but if you get a chance, I would suggest trying some certified Karoo lamb from South Africa. It is absolutely amazing. There are a set of strict requirements that need to be followed in order for lamb to be certified as karoo lamb in South Africa, but the flavour is worth it. My suggested method of cooking it is to get hold of some lamb chops, coat them with some olive oil, grind some salt on both sides of them(no pepper, as it may overwhelm the flavour) and cover with FRESH rosemary leaves, then put them in a hot steel pan (no need for cast iron for this one) and cook until you get a bit of browning on either side. Serve with some nice garlic mashed potatoes.
That "WHY" coming out of guga had me rolling XD Bro I was nervous when I heard the "sour" part thinking it'd be spoiled but I completely forgot about the fermenting process. This is wild!
It's so incredible how much we're always learning from you Guga. Thanks alot ✌
He just copied someone else 🤷🏻♂️
@@tomevers6670Who? Name, or it didn't happen.
Water aging seems to be better than dry aging. Now you need to do a water age vs dry age video and see which one comes out on top. Water age has no lose of meat so this is already one big plus over dry age.
@@tvsA.He compared water aged steak with WET aged steak in the video.
Nice of you to be rude only to immediately self-own 😂
@@tvsA. He made 3 steaks. A control, a wet age and a water age. No dry age here, lol. Guga even took the time to explaine that all steaks in the supermarket are wet aged for 28 days. Wet age and dry are are not the same thing.
I think you need to rewatch the video. Never seen someone post something so confidentially and be wrong at the same time, lol.
Water age the dry age ? Dry age the water aged ?
@@tvsA. confidently incorrect.
@@tvsA. lol, feel like the smart guy now?
In Italy we do this in some city in the North, there is also a old famous butchery whit resturant that made ACQUA AGED (waterager) their speciality
Where?
@@TexanInItaly”some city” in the “North” of Italy.
@@TexanInItalysearch meateatery online, as RUclips deletes my comment, however is in Bolzano province Valdaora Town, and they have an online shop too
@@TexanInItalygoing by your username I'm guessing this is very, very relevant to your interests
@@wisdon Thank you!
Is there something you can buy that keeps the tank at the perfect temp outside the refrigerator?
Guga, you need to keep us posted about any finding and technique to be used with this ageing method. I think you found an old world secret. Keep up the good work
@Guga I have always wondered what it would taste like to age Brisket. The issue is that in doing so, you would loose so much as pelicose. Could you try age a Brisket using this water aging and let us know how it turns out?
He's done dry aged briskets, they were awesome but like you said, you lose alot to pelicose, I imagine "I water aged everything" is probably en route
I do it all the time it’s called wet ageing. I just leave it in it’s vacuum seal unless it’s loose then I might reseal it then just leave it in the fridge for up to 8 weeks. It has an almost blue cheese like flavour note too it and is much more tender. You also don’t have to trim anything off like you do with dry ageing.
I just love these guys so much! I bought my SnS because of your channel. I have switched almost ALL of my grilling to charcoal (over gas grill) because of your channel. Now I'm going to jump into trying my own aged steaks... again because of your channel.
I just love when the alert goes off that Guga has a new video. :D
What's an SnS?
I tried this when I was stationed in Korea. It is pretty good, very beefy but I can’t get past the subtle taste of sour. After so many pieces I’m done. Flavor starts to linger and build like a hot sauce
I still don't understand why it ferments in the first place. The bag is vapor proof is it not? What's the difference between 35f water and 35f air if it's just keeping the temperature of the steak at 35f?
@@McP1mpinbecause bacteria is already present in meat. That’s why it ferments
@@dustf1nger118That doesn't explain why the bacteria isn't as noticeable when wet aged.
@@desertrat7634
different bacteria like different environments.
Sauerkraut is made by using salt and lack of oxygen to make an environment favoring lactic acid generating bacteria.
Vinegar and kombucha are formed by yeast and bacteria colonies with oxygen present, which could also be used to ferment flavorful sauces.
So each method does something which favors or inhibits specific bacteria or other micro organisms.
It could be as simple as maintaining a specific water content through the steak via buoyancy vs gravity changing the environment, or some other variable I'm not considering.
@@Unsensitive I get that part, but what confuses me is the idea that the environment inside this bag seem to change even though both the water and wet method are still at the same temp. It's vacuum sealed the same way. So what did the water do that the air didn't when both remained outside the sealed bag.
Holy hell Guga, you’ve taken me to many places on this culinary journey. Now I have to figure out “wet aging”…I will brother! Love the show, love the content, thank you!
~0:45 when i saw the temperature i said aha! refridgeration brining in water to produce a more stable temperature. the vacuum seal also means the brine is constantly around the steak and not just pooled underneath
Fun fact, "water aging" is how Native American's used to store meat. Keeping the meat submerged in cold/cool water (like literally just keeping a cleaned carcass underwater in a cold lake or river) prevents the bacteria that causes meat to spoil, allowing them to keep meat for up to a year without needing to cook/pickle/preserve it first.
Interesting, but please post source references please, sounds odd.
Found it in Michigan news
@@MrSoarman Oh cool, you found it. Never sure if posting links in RUclips is gonna get my comment deleted or something.
We learned about it in my Homesteaders class back in highschool (immersive class on early homesteaders, also did basic blacksmithing, rendering tallow to make candles, learned basic wood working with old tools, sewing/knitting and that kinda thing).
We didn't actually test preserving meat in water though, just discussed it and read some University Professor's study on it.
@@EarlLeeByrdSimilar to preserving fresh, unwashed eggs with saltpeter
@@EarlLeeByrd when you post a link owner of the channel must approve it because it goes into spam.
Wow thnx for the fun fact
I’m wondering what exactly makes it different from the wet age. I think it’s a combination of things. First, the water keeps if from not only getting above 32 degrees, but it keeps it from getting below 32 degrees as well. The ice on the water would’ve been the outside of the steak had it not been in water.
Also, if the steak is 12 inches under water, it’s under an extra ~0.5 psi of pressure. Not sure if that is affecting anything, but it so, it would be interesting to experiment with the depth of your water container. Putting a steak under 1ft of water, 3 ft, and maybe 5 ft if possible with your fridge. They could all go in the same container if you tape them to the wall at their specific depths.
My first thought was also the ambient pressure altering the growth conditions. Maybe a variety of refrigerated pressure chamber settings to see how much difference the pressure makes. The water submersion keeping it juuuust over the freezing point definitely helps keep the environment consistent, but as pressure goes up, the freezing temperature also drops... can bacteria survive below freezing temperatures as the pressure rises? and what's the theoretical limit to the bacterias environmental tolerances?
Vacuum sealing bags can diffuse moisture. Keeping it under water keeps the temperature stable and prevents any moisture from escaping. The cointainer doesn't have to be in the fridge, you can just cool the water itself, that's what the korean butcher did.
water temp is not a stable 32, there is a 5 degree range.
water depth is not a factor either, as professionally
they are kept in larger vats and there is different depths
for each cut of meat, which would create variances in quality
if this was actually a factor, and be a problem for commercial production.
So not water pressure.
Get a FEATHER, rub it on a spot on your arm for 1 minute,
nothing happened.
Now rub that feather for 24 hours,
you skin will be red and raw.
GENTLY AGITATION is the magic.
Its a 50 day gentle massage.
And for a business, you get similar results
as dry aging, WITHOUT THE WEIGHT LOSS,
thus price points for the product can be kept lower
to appeal to more people.
I think it's a combination of two factors:
First, the water tank keeps an extremely steady temperature. Normally a refrigerator has a cooling cycle, where ice crystals form in the meat, and a period the compressor isn't running where the meat gradually gets warmer and allows for more bacterial growth. Insulating it in a huge water tank avoids both temperature "extremes".
Second, the aquarium pumps produce a gentle agitation that will slowly tenderize the meat over a long period of time. This is similar to the ultrasonic water bath, just much weaker. It also keeps the water bath at a more even temperature by causing some circulation.
I don't think the water pressure has much to do with anything because it's fairly low. That said, one could easily test it by changing depth like you suggest, or just throwing a heavy weight on top of a steak.
in a good regular fridge (wet aging) case the temperature fluctuates quite a lot and hits freezing every so often, discouraging bacteria growth.
water bath aging forces the temperature to be above freezing, stimulating bacteria growth.
The same concept is used in Kimchi fridge where more refined temperature control mechanism is used to maintain very fine temperature range, promoting healthy fermentation in Kimchi for optimum taste. You could technically get a Kimchi fridge and age your meat there instead of using water bath.
@guga hey, one variable problem I see, shouldn't you have left the wet aging steak in the same refrigerator to contol the temp like you did the water age steak? Or did I miss that they had different temperature requirements? The shot of the wet steak in the family fridge looked less cared for (consistent) than your water aged...
im noticing that you mentioned circulation while showing airstones but those are two different things. Airstones oxegenate the water, and while they do provide a bit of circulation due to the effect of the water bubbles, their purpose is not circulation of water.
A tshirt with "A Good Amount of Salt" written on it somewhere among whatever other pictures of you, steaks, etc seems like it could be such a win! We'd buy.
I love seeing you use these interesting techniques to make steaks better. I hope you’re able to make steaks forever, Guga! Great video today.
I remember reading an old National Geographic about how Indians used to store meat. The guy put a buffalo leg into a pond and had it stay submerged. Over the course of a month or so he would take the buffalo out, cut a piece off, cook and eat it. After a while the meat started to turn greenish but was still edible. Very interesting story from decades gone
When I was a kid, we'd go camping for weeks at a time. My dad would put the meat in a freezer/watertight bag, inside a cooler filled with ice, at the bottom of a hollow in a glacial stream. In hindsight, he was probably poaching but this was back in the 70s. We'd eat fresh wild meat all summer like that.
There is a Chilean mapuche recipe named Buna potato ("papa Buna") thst seems similar
Wonder if Irish bog butter is related
As an Indian, I can assure you we never did this, historically.
@@thelungilife6057 Maybe he meant american indian as in native americans
Finally! I did already mention to try water aging like a year ago! Deffo keep on going it is amazing!
Guga, thanks to you we just ordered a cast iron hamburger griddle, the smasher, the paint scraper, and your BOOK!! They're coming tomorrow and we're super-excited. I always wondered why our bbq burgers always resemble shoe leather, so I hope those days are over. Anyway, my all-time favorite thing to smoke is brisket. I'd love an episode where you show each grade of brisket, and smoke them, and compare them. I always wondered if you could tell once they're smoked. Thanks for all you do!
ありがとうございます！
definitely need a 100 day vs 50 day water aging. this technique has given guga more content and ideas and i'm ready for it all
It will be gross... judging by the color I feel like 50 days is already over.
It sounds like if you keep a steak towards the end of it's expiry date or even a bit longer. I noticed they become more tender but also sour. If you do that for too long it gets a cheesy smell 🤢
It smells Cheesy because its the Same Bacteria doing the Fermentation... And its allways Blue Cheese Flavor for Beef... 🤷♀️
@@superfuss1984 no.. not like blue cheese. Sour, feety... weird. It was very strong disgusting... had to bin it. Actually I threw it out of the window so foxes and rats can have it.
@@l3138 It can get oversour in Wet Aging... Usual past Week 4- 5 after Slaughter. Its Lacto Acid Bacteria. Red Meat usual has to ferment/age or it would be inedible...
I'd venture to guess that the guy in Korea has already tried different time experiments. He's chosen 50 days for a reason.
For a Steakhouse to serve Water Aged Steaks, you’ll probably need about more than 50 Fish Tanks equipped with Fish Barometers, one tank per day, and a single Walk-In Cooler specialized for Water Aging. It may be tricky, but I think it can be done, especially if you’re gonna charge customers about $75-$300 per certain cuts of Steak, maybe even more.
Lobster tank
You dont need the circulator. It does nothing if you are going to submerge it and stick it in a fridge.
but cheaper then dry age loss
I do a dry age followed by wet age.
I have no idea what I did the first time I did it, but I've never had a steak like that again... it was insanely good!
Actually, now I think about it, that first steak is the reason I was poached by a chef to be his meat prep guy and business partner.
I thought you would wet age and then dry age, as you would need to remove the pellicles?
I remember when Guga Foods wasn’t just Guga Steaks. Missing when he cooked various dishes
When I open a really nice steak I immediately start narrating with your accent!
MAN! Koreans really are making some huge innovations in all fields, especially food. Such lovely people! If you havent gone to Korea, id highly recommend the trip
They’ve been stealing culinary dishes and techniques from all over the world for quite some time 😂
@@cody3335you just wanted to say this. Contrarian.
@@Rigatoniheart people didn’t like my comment for no reason 🤷
Supposedly Delmomicos Steakhouse in NY trued this years ago. They even bought a giant tank from some afamous aquarium builder.
Delmonico's is great!
I wonder if bigger bubbles would be better. There would be less contact with the steak, but the contact would be 2-3x stronger, so that's one test you could try...
are you suggesting that air bubbles provide some kind of massaging effect on the meat over time?
i am begging you, please do a series on your side dishes, i love them so much. hell some of your sides i serve as mains they are so good
Water aging is common in Korea. I've seen butchers doing it with fancy Hanwoo cuts. I didn't expect the water to be that cold, tho.
Hey Guga, I think you should know this, but in Brazil it is a kinda old process to age called Maturada. In the açougues is fairly easy to find it. There are big meat brands who do it at scale. You should go back to Brazil more often bro 😘
Maturada vs dry vs wet age taste test time? 🙂
The ”WHY” reaction got me lmao. You didnt expect it did you?
Questioning the meaning of life xD
The only thing different about putting it in water, in my opinion, would be more stable temperature control. I can't imagine it does anything else.
You should have put the normal wet aging steak in the fridge you never open, also. That would have been a fairer comparison.
The oxidation and sourness makes me think that maybe it wasn't as clean as the other one.
It could also be tenderizing the steak slightly with the water circulation
Even fridges that are never opened will still fluctuate several degrees as the motors cycle on and off. Maybe the more consistent temp plus constant vibrations from the flowing water agitates the meat just enough to speed fermentation? I’m totally stumped.
Right. Liquid is 23x more thermally conductive than air. Thus, sous vide cooking.
Smelling “sour” is something I would not even attempt to eat….. I am still trying to understand the aging process of these not so inexpensive meats! (Without meat going bad) Ty for your channel & also your amazing sides recipes!!!
=HMMMMPH......AGREE THAT THIS WAS OVERDONE AND STARTED TO DETIREORATE,THAT'S WHY SOURNESS WAS THERE BUT 30 DAYS OR SO WILL DO PRETTY MUCH BETTER......BC OF MEAT DOES AGE TO SOME POINT AFTER WHICH IT JUST ROT
=BUT A VERY INTERESTING TECHIQUE INDEED BC OF....WHAT IF WATER AGE WITH A SOY SAYCE???...HEHE
@@robotnikkkk001 you don't have to scream man jesus we hear you correctly
@@xan187 .....WHEN I *DO* I USE LIKE *_THIS_* .......
....BUT AT LEAST U VE GOTTEN TO WHAT I'VE TRIED TO SAY AND THAT ALL THAT MATTERS
@@robotnikkkk001huh?
HEHEHEHEHE
I would try to put more air bubbles in the tank with the water aging! A lot of aeration! And see if that makes a substantial difference in the aging process! Great video none the less!
This is awesome. I'm literally in Korea right now on vacation from the US and just found out about water aged meat. Was wondering if you ever heard of it!
may i recommend garak market for eating korean beef. you order from the butcher and they cook it (or yourself) upstairs
@@jhpak I'll have to try to get there! Thanks for the recommendation
WAKE UP THE KING OF steak HAS POSTED❤
Never stop learning Guga. I love seeing your curiosity at play =]
0:42 Why does guga look like he is 8 years old in this shot
Most steakhouses use wet ageing unless they specifically use dry aging method which uses a lot of space, time and prep, in comparison wet, dry and water, water ageing produces the most intense flavours that's why she said 'fermenting the meat' in korea.
I wonder if it's the slight pressure of being underwater that keeps the juices inside of the steak when you wet age them like that. Now I wonder what would happen if you did a wet age in a pressure vessel.
This. I am so curious.
Water will keep the temperature more stable and prevent the escape of the moisture you are trying to get rid of in Dry Aging. As the Korean guy said, this is a form of mild fermentation, which as we know, fermentation will soften the meat and a little sourness will enhance the savory flavors. A pressure vessel would probably not make any difference as the beef is already under pressure through vacuum sealing. It might be worth an experiment but I wouldn't expect any significant results.
It’s only 0.5 psi at that depth though.
The weather changes atmospheric pressure by more than that regularly so it seems like it shouldn’t matter.
@@Puzzlesocksit’s vacuum sealed so no moisture loss anyway. Any decent fridge will keep the temp stable too anyways. Once the steak is down to temp it doesn’t matter if it’s cooled in water or air.
@@Chevsilverado but the wet aged and the water aged did look and smell different. what is the water doing that air is not?
Guga: "We're steak guys here!"
Also Guga: *makes yet another "side dish" that an actual restaurant would charge $30 for*
Guga’s excellent sides are just unbelievable icing on the cake, he could totally have another channel called Guga’s Sides!
Maybe more with the cost of Sriracha these days
@@liesalllies my first thought was 'where did these guys find Sriracha'
@@notcoleman711you can buy it directly from the farmer that grew them for the company. That's the main reason that shortage of whatever you wanna call it occurred. The farmer felt like they were being taken advantage of and is selling it themselves
even top steak houses dont charge $30 for a side dish,
in the low 20's at most at expensive places.
Might see a $30 side, but it would be seafood based,
not pork or beef.
Pork too cheap to charge $30 for.
What I want to know is, did the water aged steak he bought in Korea have the slightly sour/fermented flavor as well? Also I noticed he wasn’t aerating his water like the tank in Korea; no bubbles.
The point of the bubbles is just to prevent the water from stagnating. In Korea the tanks were more open to the environment and thus at more risk, whereas Guga really just needed some minor movement to 'stir' the water and maintain an equal temperature. Fridges have colder and warmer spots so it's necessary for temperature control in such a long experiment.
@@Puzzlesocks If he had been using air for circulation, ice would not have formed on the top.
@@SpiritProf That's just not true at the temperatures and environment he was aging this in. Even a moving river freezes when it gets cold enough. Fridges don't maintain a constant temperature but rather fluctuate between cooling and defrost cycles to stay near your desired temperature.
It's close enough it doesn't matter in most situations, but in long term experiments like this one it matters.
@@PuzzlesocksCirculation is to prevent freezing.
Small correction, at 1:50 you said that water is a great (heat) conductor, but it's the opposite: it only slowly conducts heat which is why it is considered an insulator. It still conducts heat much faster than air, though. What's the key difference between them is that water has a higher heat capacity which means once it's heated/cooled it retains that temperature very long as you need a lot of energy to warm it up. Pretty sure wet aging when submerged in water will just make sure that the temperature stays leveled throughout the whole time without freezing (which is why you need to keep the water moving to prevent crystallization) compared to air insulation even when opening the fridge for a moment.
Well, now you’ve gone and done it. We need a Dry Age VS Water Age steak video, now 🤔
A question Guga:
When you do these videos, are you using by freshly butchered meat, and you're starting the aging on day 1? Or is the beef at least a few days old by the time you get it? Because there might be a mix of aging methods going on from time to time. Just curious.
EDIT: You could also experiment with combining aging methods. Suppose you both wet age AND dry age a steak.
All beef is at least 7 to 10 days old before it's sold.
@@Phyde4ux that's important to know then for Guga's experiments.
Seems pretty clear to me that he bought it from the store. It wouldn't be reasonable to expect the average viewer to have access to a farm-fresh butcher.
@@synthetic240 You don't want to eat freshly slaughtered beef. Red-blooded animals go through a period of rigor mortis which makes the flesh tough and irony. So all commercial beef is aged for at least a week as primal cuts prior to butchering to sub-primals and finished cuts.
I was thinking the same. Water age then dry age would be interesting to see!
Its a great vibe when bro blesses us with his majestic meat
Bro got me on the floor
They need to try Semen Aged Steak.
ayo
Hi guga, there is a method in south India that called in Tamil "UppuKandam". which is sun dried meat mostly mutton. Try that if you can. I ate when I was child it's delicious.
You should do like an ultimate steak prep tier list mega episode. Like directly comparing all the best methods you've tried over the years. You'd probably have to get ALL the boys together since there'd be so much food.
Perhaps do it with eye rounds so it wouldn't be to expensive to setup.
Hi Guga !
You always use garlic powder to season your steak, but I was wondering if it would not be
better to use other garlic seasoning like fresh garlic, garlic paste or some kind of garlic
compound better ?
Would you make a video about testing different kind of garlic seasoning to find out the best
way to use garlic with steak ?
Love you
Garlic powder is much easier to distribute evenly in small amounts. If you use fresh garlic or garlic paste then you will need to use a large amount of garlic to evenly coat the surface of the steak, which is usually not the goal. So, you will end up with way too much garlic or unevenly distributed seasoning.
It is the exact same reasoning with salt: if you use coarse rock or sea salt instead of flake or fine grained salt, you will end up with a steak that is not evenly seasoned or with a very salty steak.
So, stick with garlic powder for steaks and keep the fresh garlic to large pieces that are usually seasoned with a lot of garlic, such as lamb roast.
Despite being korean, I've not known this technique my entire life until last year😂 I stumbled upon it during a trip to Jeju Island and had some magical water-aged pork bellies. Maybe you should try this on pork too!
Did they use 50 days for the pork belly, too?
Really love seeing you take something you saw and try it yourself! This is how food innovations are discovered. :D
Guga, you should buy 12 steaks, one each week and put it to water age at the top of each week. At the end, we'll know exactly at which point water steak peaks flavor
Guga is the International Steak King! Your videos over the years have made my family demand I cook all the family get together meals.
That BGM during the grilling sounds straight out of Duck Dynasty. I half expected to see Si shooting an imaginary snake in the background.
This special method is just phenomenal.
This seems pretty promising from everything I've seen on it. But I definitely would want to get a small, dedicated dorm/apartment refrigerator that can stay closed/chilled for the proper duration. Of course, I've said the same damned thing about getting a dry aging dedicated fridge too... 😆
Day one of asking guga to marinade steak in in-n-out special sauce
The one video in which Guga uses a Korean method, then uses Sriracha instead of Gochujang for the garnish. 4:24 😂❤
I'm a little confused on the wet aged steak process. Did you add any water into the bag before you vaccum sealed it? And how many days in the fridge? Talking about the wet aged, not the fish tank aged one
You should’ve done a regular dry age as a comparison. Great video tho 🤙🏾
Nothing better than waking up to this
My only question is: How did you keep the water-pump going in the fridge?
It's battery powered.
@@daniel_trang 50 day battery life pump?
Connect it to the inside light
@@moltderenou wont the voltage be different?
@@crusade6918 A small transformer would do the trick
Local grocery store sells vacuum packed wet-aged rib roasts around certain holidays. They cost anywhere from $7.99 to $9.99 per pound. I buy 4-5 of them and freeze them to use over a 4-5 month period.
1:50 FYI water is a horrible conductor, especially purified water. I think you mean that water has a high specific heat capacity meaning the water can gain (or lose) a lot of energy before the temperature of the water changes.
Since all of them were in vacuum plastic bags, I suppose the only two variable left are: water pressure and temperature equalization.
So to duplicate the pressure effect you can try to age it inside an inflated balloon. Also in the vacuum bag, of course. Maybe do another one with 3 times the pressure to really amplify the effect
The steak was immersed in container that is ~20cm deep or less. At a depth of 20 cm, the pressure of the water column will add less than 2% to the atmospheric pressure. Since the steak was not placed horizontally in the container but vertically, only a small part of it was subject to that very small pressure increase. However, since the steak is immersed, the (atmospheric) pressure will be more evenly distributed across its surface than when stored outside water. The water bath certainly allows for better temperature equalization and stability. So, I would expect that the water age steak will remain at a near constant temperature during the aging process, whereas the steak in the bag will have very slight temp fluctuations due to the normal operation of the fridge. However, in a good quality fridge the temperature is not expected to deviate more 0.5C from the target. All in all, it is not obvious why the fermentation progressed so differently in the water bath...
Please do a video with Ordinary Sausage!
I absolutely love your videos! But I'd really love to see a lot more videos on how to cook types of meat that aren't just high grade beef steaks. It's pretty fool-proof to have a great experience with high-grade expensive cuts of beef no matter what you do. But it is extremely difficult to cook an amazing porkchop, chicken breast or fish filet. Folks who have been watching you for years and actually look to you for legimate meat cookery tips would also like to learn a little more about cooking various more budget friendly forms and cuts of meat rather than another repetitive video about aging/marinating a high-grade cut of beef most folks don't even have access to even if they could afford to buy it. We have no doubt that you can help us with that and we're wishing you'd break away from the same old cut of meat every video. Please
agreed
For lower grade cuts, sous-vide is your savior
@@Anon-mx5iyTotally agree. I love to sous vide as well! I was just hoping to see Guga sharing his amazing knowledge of meat cookery to help folks out who either don't prefer steak or just can't afford it. He has shared a select few amazing recipes for other cuts and types of meat. I just think a few more of those would be super helpful and appreciated.
Sketchy meat = well done, it's got no room for added sketch.
Guga, your side dishes are so genius, sometimes I watch your vids just for the sides.
I'd assume the sourness theyre tasting is only because the steak was so small when water aged. Typically you would age whole primals not individual steaks. So the sour flavour is more pronounced on the small piece.
That's not what the Korean guy in the video had in his tank.
@@convincedquaker I would rewatch, those pieces are not single steaks but likely roasts. Google Mul Gogi water aging and you'll see they age roasts.
I watch this video while I am eating one 🥩
Lucky
What kind of steak?
I hope I could try a steak soon
This mf eating videos
i watch videos of cooking while eating too
Clicked faster than my dad when he left for the milk
WATER AGE?! WTF IS WATER AGING?! 🤯
Istg this man never stops cooking, (metaphorically and literally)
like actually 😶
Masturbation Aged Steak seems rather surprising.
@@seveneightnineten6901 haha lol 😂
@@seveneightnineten6901 🦤
tip for food safety: make sure there's always someice in the water(ice lasts for days in the fridge when water aging, don't worry about costantly changing it) which keeps the water below 1°C meaning it's not gonna go bad, even if you have a relatively warm and/or unstable fridge
I always wondered how I could keep an eye on my steak temp after I leave the house with the grill going.
Pretty cool device 👍
my theory on water aging is the steak in undergoing lacto fermentation. That's why you get that funky smell. any food you buy has good bacteria used for lacto fermentation. So I think water aging gave the steak the perfect environment for the fermentation to take place.
Guga yet again proving that he is the only one who can use memes in his videos without it being cringe
One important factor might be the water pressure, similar to when you use the displacement method. Try to find a bigger vessel to see if it makes a difference.
Bro, it's just vacuumed sealed refrig temps, which 0-4 degrees Celsius is. So 50 days in the reefer and it slightly ferments. I think Korea can not ship that meat to the U.S. because of how the steer is treated.
I would go 34-36f. getting the meat cold enough to leave ice on the top means slower enzyme production. you want it chilled but slightly closer to the "danger zone" than normal.
I'd love to see you do a test of 2-degree integers from 30-38 and see which one really comes out the best.
I wish I had the money to try foods like this
You don't have to wish. Go work for it.
@@llllogix I know people who work 80 hour weeks and can barely afford pork and chicken lol.
BJ'S Wholesale has great meat.
@@BEder-it4lfIs that in Germany? Never heard of it.
@@FlorianGuitar85 NE USA. They are like Costco. Or Sams Club.
Been reading up and still looking for more. This is certainly more achieveble at home than wet and dry aging (Those are really high-risk low reward for BFUs).
You need to not just filter the water. but also pre-chill in the fridge. The main benefit of this method is that circulating water is much cheaper per heat capacity and volume - with enough water you can add and remove meat in larger batches.
The main difference is water permeation - over days the water and oils gets exchanged slowly even through the sous vide bags. It accounts for the quicker aging. That said I still believe the biggest advantage is easier engineering - There is no good way for people to maintain both dry and wet aging at home. Molecular sieves are expensive, moister traps require very low temperatures, fridges do not get cold enough. It is a lot of work to turn a affortable chest freezer to age just one sirloin.
I always wondered if the water meat from One Piece could be a real thing. I think this is the closest one that exists in reality.
water aging, earth aging, air aging, but the fire aging attacked
The sour description is probably pretty close because that's the best way for me to personally describe taste differences with fermented foods. It's not soured but sour - like an intriguing tang. If we end up getting a second fridge this may be something I need to try!
Also I loved that collab with NFTI it would be so awesome to see more sciency collabs with youtubes in that spectrum! Like I'm sure NileRed would absolutely do some weird collabs, you could probably get ZeFrank to do a cameo narration, there's a whole heck of a lotta nerds on here that would make for wonderful collabs and cross-pollination of chanels :D