Aged strip prior to cooking.

Dick Silver and Don Penn.

One of the steak samples.

Mister Brisket

written by Hank Kornblut

When my Mom taught 2nd grade, she frequently played classical music in the classroom. She would name the piece and its composer while exposing the children to Beethoven, Mozart, Bach and Brahms. Every now and then, she'd hold a contest. She'd stop class, play a riff, and have the children vote on which they thought was the correct composer. Then she'd tally the votes and inform the class of the right answer. One day, a majority of the students thought a particular piece was Brahms when in fact it was Mozart. When the result was announced, a confused little boy raised his hand.

"Yes, Billy", she answered.

"But the other guy got more votes!" he stammered.

Enter the world of foodies. Most passionate fans of cuisine will tell you as an article of faith that dry-aged beef is superior to wet-aged. Food writers such as Sam Gugino have written well-received articles that insist the differences are obvious. Sanford Herskovitz, a Cleveland area butcher known as Mister Brisket, who specializes in USDA Prime cuts of meat, has long held that this belief has no basis in fact. When a passionate steak customer, Don Penn, insisted that he would easily be able to tell the difference between dry-aged and wet-aged, Herskovitz decided to put him to the test.

To properly age meat, one needs a cooler with a controlled temperature. The cut of meat being aged needs to have a fat cover and bone. And it needs to be left untouched with air circulating around it. Herskovitz had all these elements in place.

Next, he took a USDA Prime Shell, the cut of meat from which boneless strip steaks originate (often known as sirloin strips on the east coast) and allowed it to age for six weeks. At the end of the time frame, he had his butchers trim away the excess fat and bone from the shell in the presence of Mr. Penn and his friend, Dick Silver. What was left was the eye of the meat, well marbled and red. The meat had no foul smell as can happen if meat is overly aged and the blood has spoiled. Indeed, after the trimming was complete, the meat looked no different than it normally appears after this process.

Next, Herskovitz took a vacuum-sealed USDA Prime boneless strip loin, the same cut of beef with the same grade, except that it was already boneless, and had it trimmed in a similar fashion. He turned the meat over to Mr. Silver. Silver was the only one aware of which strip had been aged and which hadn't.

The following evening, several couples, including Mr. Herskovitz, Mr. Penn and their spouses, went to Mr. Silver's home for dinner. The strips were prepared identically in the kitchen to medium rare doneness.

The meat was then brought out in six flights. Each flight had two samples that were placed in front of each diner. One was marked "A" and one was "B". Each individual had six ballots. Each ballot asked which strip did you prefer--A or B?

The results were conclusive. Of thirty-six ballots cast, twenty-six votes named the wet-aged strip as superior. That's seventy-three percent. Penn was flabbergasted.

The diners discussed the results and the conclusion reached was that while both pieces of meat were USDA Prime, the wet-aged strip appeared to have better marbling-hence more tenderness and more flavor. Herskovitz has long contended that this is the most important factor in the quality of beef.

So, why have so many in the food community long insisted that dry aging has some sort of magical affect on the flavor? Herskovitz thinks it's because that's what they're pre-disposed to believe. He cited famed New York steakhouse, Peter Luger, as an example.

"People walk in there from all over the world and they're awed by the ambience," stated Herskovitz. "Then they're told the steaks are better because of aging. And since the meat is already good to begin with, they believe it."

After the beef tasting concluded, each diner was offered a full portion of steak for dinner. Prior to ordering, Mr. Penn graciously conceded.

"I was so certain that dry-aged beef tasted better," he stated. "I was wrong."

Then he asked for one of the dry-aged strips anyway.

Conclusion: the "other guy" will likely continue to get more votes.

to contact the author, send an email to jhkornblut@yahoo.com

	Mister Brisket® The Highest Quality Meat, Poultry & Seafood Delivered Right To Your Door! 2156 South Taylor Road • Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44118 (216) 932-8620 • Fax (216) 321-6556 • Toll Free • 1-877-BRISKET (274-7538) E-Mail Your Order to Mister Brisket: misterbrisket@earthlink.net
	Home  •  Who is Mister Brisket?  •  Quality Products  •  Current Price List  •  Recipes