JohnnyChance
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What do you prefer? Whenever I go to the butcher shop, I always have a tough time choosing, they have so many cuts in a few great grades that the options are nearly endless.
My local (chain) butcher shop has Prime, Dry Aged (Top Choice grade) and Wagyu (not sure what grade, most likely "top choice" or ungraded) all for about the same price. For a New York Strip, the Prime is $20.99/lb, the Dry Aged is a bone in Strip and $20.99/lb. They didn't have Wagyu when I was there this past time, but from what I remember, it was around the same price.
This time around I got one Prime strip and one bone in Dry Aged strip. Each one was about a pound. Dry Aged on the left, Prime on the right:
The Prime cooks up nicer, partially because it is boneless. The bone in cuts always get a bit tricky as the meat shrinks the parts near the bone don't want to sear nicely on the cast iron pan. I cook my steaks slow in a ton of butter on the stove. These took probably at least 15 minutes, turning and basting frequently. The Dry Aged cut ended up being closer to medium as it was a bit thinner, but not too far over.
The Dry Aged also has a bit of a gamey flavor, due to it being (basically) slow rotted in a controlled environment. The Dry Aged was also dryer, partially to being cooked more, and partially due to being, well, dryed. The Prime steak had great marbling, and even after drying, the Dry Aged cut couldn't match the Prime's fat content. Overall, the Prime cut was a much better steak.
Next time I am there, I hope to get the Prime and Wagyu and have those two side by side.
What are your experiences? What do you prefer?
My local (chain) butcher shop has Prime, Dry Aged (Top Choice grade) and Wagyu (not sure what grade, most likely "top choice" or ungraded) all for about the same price. For a New York Strip, the Prime is $20.99/lb, the Dry Aged is a bone in Strip and $20.99/lb. They didn't have Wagyu when I was there this past time, but from what I remember, it was around the same price.
This time around I got one Prime strip and one bone in Dry Aged strip. Each one was about a pound. Dry Aged on the left, Prime on the right:
The Prime cooks up nicer, partially because it is boneless. The bone in cuts always get a bit tricky as the meat shrinks the parts near the bone don't want to sear nicely on the cast iron pan. I cook my steaks slow in a ton of butter on the stove. These took probably at least 15 minutes, turning and basting frequently. The Dry Aged cut ended up being closer to medium as it was a bit thinner, but not too far over.
The Dry Aged also has a bit of a gamey flavor, due to it being (basically) slow rotted in a controlled environment. The Dry Aged was also dryer, partially to being cooked more, and partially due to being, well, dryed. The Prime steak had great marbling, and even after drying, the Dry Aged cut couldn't match the Prime's fat content. Overall, the Prime cut was a much better steak.
Next time I am there, I hope to get the Prime and Wagyu and have those two side by side.
What are your experiences? What do you prefer?