4. Something Is Wrong | The Dry Aged-Beef Machine

[@gerardjohnson2106]

Use a bed of rock salt (NaCl) in a glass dish at the bottom for the drip tray. It will collect the water, release salt ions into the air which will inhibit bacteria and at the same time regulate humidity IF you have proper ventilation.

[@bassoonerfortip]

I doubt salt ions will be released into the air when dissolved in water (Think of desalination process for sea water, water evaporates, salt stays behind). But that salty water would have a lower vapor pressure, so there would be less humidity in the system, if you did coat the drip pan with salt. Also not many bacteria would like to grow in salt water, so I guess it could control bacteria as well?

[@YohanNaz]

"Gerard Johnson" is talking about a bed of rock salt.. not salt water.. Himalayan salt is whats typically used in dry aging beef. Silica packs seems like a bad idea... salt plays a big role in the aging process. Gerard knows what he's talking about. There wouldn't be enough moisture collected from the meat to dissolve the salt if the proper amount is used. You want salt ions.

[@yelnatsch517]

Yea, I don't understand why he doesn't just use Himalayan rock salt instead of the desiccant packets. The packets probably cost more than just using salt...

[@FrenchGuyCooking]

Sounds interesting. Not sure about the salt ions, though

[@samircsabbag]

Gerard Johnson best comment by far!!! that's it!!! hope mr. Frenchman reads it!!

[@Bertoluuuucci]

Im dry aging in an empty fridge and, instead of silica, I've used 1kg of rock salt in a tray. I've had no problems so far! Just grilled a nice ribeye!

[@MrAlesOblak]

Pedro Bertolucci what about ventilation? Do you have fan in your fridge?

[@zishansyed8905]

I did the same, got some good results...

[@zishansyed8905]

@@MrAlesOblak Most fridges have fans and existing provision for airflow. The reason Alex needed to add ventilation, is because he used a Styrofoam cooler with no vent or fan.

[@Seyfo57]

I want to make my very first own dry aged beef with a dryage bag with vacuum. I think thats the best way

[@Alpha-Alpha]

Hey Alex, try hack one of those wine cabinet. It has temperature and humidity control build in. And it has glass door, try it, it should work pretty well!

[@TheWaynecarson]

after seeing your comment I saw a local Butcher at the Mall with a Wine fridge on display drying Beef , it works. good one ALPHA.

[@BeckyStern]

What an emotional rollercoaster! The beef is $$ but the thrills are for free.

[@nateyeoh4989]

Lmaooo at John just go "..." to "wanna see my meat?" 😂 But this experiment is so fun!

[@bcgmktg]

This is a top shelf vlog for the science of cooking! You're amazing!

[@FrenchGuyCooking]

Much obliged

[@t045tygh05t]

The very first thought that occurred to me when you said there was a humidity problem, before you went through all the red herrings, was "he's saturated his silica". I have never attempted to dry-age meat, nor do I think I would be very good at it. But thermodynamics doesn't care about your application. It was so interesting to see that there was a strong parallel in methodology between making meat taste better and phase-change computer cooling! I am loving this series so much! e: Also, you can bake silica at a low temperature to renew its absorptive properties. The go-to solution with sealed environments like sub-zero computer applications, where opening the case causes a huge disruption to your ambient temp/moisture that can mitigate the benefits of the silica being there in the first place, is to have an interchangeable tray setup for the silica packets that doesn't expose much of the system (as with your tape-hinged door and fridge door being all the way open) and that you can quickly swap out, so that any exposure you do have doesn't last long enough to have a catastrophic effect on the stability of the system. You figure out how long it takes to saturate that number of packets, and then keep a dry tray ready and put it in at those intervals. Of course, if you're saturating more often than would allow you to do this and still sleep normally, you either have to make another "FOR SCIENCE..." concession, or automate, which negates the "cheap"/"lower-effort" goal of the project, or make your trays bigger, which negates more of your desiccation effect, which causes you to need more silica... You get the idea. tl;dr: Thermodynamics is fucking complicated.

[@xandrios]

Instead of getting these small silica packets - home department stores sell these in large 200-500 gram bags for next to nothing. They are meant to take down the humidity inside a room.

[@jamesrobbins3027]

Ciao French Guy Cooking (Alex)! I loved this video, Ive been following your at home dry aging videos and i love that you showed your mistakes because Im a chef and have worked in restaurants all my life and people feel like chefs never mess up, but we do all the time. It was nice you showed that and then overcame it. Way to inspire everyone! Keep up the good work your videos are super cool

[@Crux161]

you didn't replace the desiccant regularly?! that's like digging a hole to remove water. it just stores it

[@FrenchGuyCooking]

Doomed

[@Crux161]

Alex French Guy Cooking keep at it! you will succeed eventually. mistakes are a chance for Everybody to learn :)

[@1968tttt]

Famouse last words at 7:40: "So I dont see how there would be any problem from now on". Alex you just jinxed yourself

[@YouDonkeyfu]

haha, ya, he just jinx himself.

[@intractablemaskvpmGy]

I used Alton Brown's cheapo method years ago and it worked quite well. All I did was destroy a $10 plastic container by drilling holes in it for air circulation. But there are other ways like UMAi Dry® Ribeye/Striploin Packet for dry aging. Expensive though- available on Amazon.

[@Cremantus]

Well done, man! That is what I call a real structured method of problem solving. Simply examine EVERYTHING, take care of the questions behind and draw the right conclusions. If possible and within your budget, think about the use of salt planks as good supporters to control the atmosphere/humidity.

[@TheKSChannel]

Dude, really interested in how this turns out. Science is cooking and it's fantastic. Your videos are awesome, please persevere. Trial and error, lovin' it

[@muhammadramadhan5447]

This is by far the best and most helpful video you've ever made. Really see the burning passion in your eyes for what you do. All da best!!!

[@cowabunka]

Love your exchange on the phone about showing meat to your friend XD

[@hogue3666]

I'm giving this a go for the first time. I'm about a week into my ribeye. The most important lesson I've learned is that thermal mass is very important. I have a dedicated freezer, external thermostat, a fan in the freezer, and the meat. The freezer temperature just shot up each time the freezer turned off. The problem? The fan was creating enough heat to make the freezer want to kill itself. My answer? I threw 4 liters of water bottles in there with everything else. This will help keep the temperature consistent against the heat of the fan.

[@bluedeath996]

You can dry silica in the oven at 70-80 deg C. The colour changing type helps to know when it is wet or dry too.

[@mikeharner3977]

What you really needed to achieve the level of cooling was to convert a small freezer to a refrigerator by using a temperature controller. There are a bunch of models out there, but one of the cheapest/easiest to build is the STC-1000, or you could get an Inkbird for about twice the money that is already prepackaged/built. That's what many of us homebrewers do if we're too cheap to buy an actual kegerator when we start kegging beer. Works great.

[@toportime]

I love how you not only show problems, but also all the failed attempts to fix it and the correct fix. Very educational.

[@fpelegrinelli]

I love it how much you care about all the science involved in the cooking process. Yeah, science!

[@noname_atall]

alex, as some have pointed out here, you can (at least in Brasil and in the US.), buy silica gel in big bags, 4 kg generally. when a found the they are generally sold for cat litter. they are totally clean are reasonably more expensive than common cat litter, but probably cheaper than silica gel bags. you can put it the bottom tray, below the absorbent paper, can control the quantities as necessary, and substitute either part of them or all; you can also regenerate them by gently heating them in an oven or microwave oven.

[@RangodoRafa]

I got as tense as when I'm watching the walking dead... Awesome it's back on track!!

[@FrenchGuyCooking]

Ah man, you're the best.

[@tohafi]

This episode reminded me of The Martian XD

[@Onexpresso]

I wondered why you did not just have a spare of the USB charger and the desiccant as needed?! So worth it, at least a worth while learning adventure. Always wondered about how to dry the desiccant out. Appreciated ALL of the great advice and tips of those that commented! Thanks.

[@IanTheWoodchuck]

I know this is an old video, but I'd love to see you take another swing at this one.... Desiccants meant for long term absorption (like for cellars) are designed to be kept in a multilayered container, where once the moisture is collected, it then drips down through a grid into a collection container. Then you can empty the container and continue to collect moisture. My grandfather used to have a setup that had a tube that ran over to a floor drain.

[@adrianmango958]

I love how these videos remind me of the self-guided science experiments we used to do in high school

[@mochishiki4891]

Major props to you. Problem after problem after problem, but your determination prevails!

[@RyanT951]

iv been Dry aging for last year using same type of fridge and a fan... u got that stuff right lol But, not sure where i got the idea, but i put a big pan of Hialeah salt at the bottom and never had a single problem. I dont even bother with humidity, (iv checked it tho, it runs around 20 to 50 %... i live in north canada) Salt man, thats the trick!! Im not sure id want chemicles (sillica) in the formula... dry aging is a natural process

[@CeToxihuitl]

So refreshing to see numbers and measurements that actually make sense

[@jap0nes]

1. For the temperature problem, if the bottom is the coldest part of the fridge, why not move the air intake to the bottom? 2. Silica gel can be dried on the microwave and back to new

[@PKAdventures]

did you consider using a container of salt instead of the desiccant packs? the salt will soak up the moisture from the air, and if it gets too dry in the aging chamber, you can add extra water to the salt. adding water to the salt raises the humidity level. once you have figured out the right ratio of water to salt you can easily keep the humidity in the range you are looking for, and you can easily adjust the humidity lvl up and down by changing how much water you use. this is a common method used by amateur cheese makers, and it works quite well. people prefer to use a rock salt rather than fine table salt, but honestly, either will work.

[@daisybordeaux2877]

Okay Alex you are the coolest! This whole dry aging process is freakin' cool You just elevated the IQ of your street by 100

[@bigpapi3636]

Excellent problem solving technique. Observation, analysis and applying one possible fix at a time. I love it and I'm all in!

[@monwhooperinvasive8064]

Alex French Guy Cooking You have to use the right silica gel..the one you can dry in the microwave...the one for food, the type that is used for nori seaweed (sushi).

[@Iv0ry972]

Super intéressant! Drôle, intelligent et authentique, la partie que la plupart des DIY ne montrent pas!

[@jaycal1920]

Salt and Bi carb soda is also a desicant. Silica can be dried and reused. dont throw them away, thats just so you buy more.

[@alexpeter6626]

You should use Closet Dehumidifier which is Calcium chloride salt, its aggressively draw water. And you can check if its completely dissolved and replace with new one.

[@lukusmalaney4701]

Thank you for being willing to Macgyver through problems. I want to attempt this myself, but wanted to make sure you did it first to work out the kinks.....Thanks for your great content.

[@peremptory]

Stay strong Alex, the journey is the true reward. I loved it!

[@FrenchGuyCooking]

Wisdom

[@sneakyg1250]

you could use calcium chloride, re-dry it, it is also cheap. you can also visually see how much of the calcium chloride is used on the bottom of the tray. you could make it so when the air goes into the drying machine there is a calcium chloride box that filters out the moisture. although it may work too well like when u ordered those extra silica packets..

[@swifteh1780]

John's English has really improved since the last episode.

[@zishansyed8905]

I had designed a dry aging box from an old second hand fridge and a dehumidifier, back in 2010! I also had problem, but it did work- until I moved and threw it out... lol!

[@ziyang4678]

using ice packs and having condensation is not a big deal, since the ice pack is colder, it actually gathers the moisture in the inception fridge making it dryer. The only way that it would increase humidity is if there is water on it before going in.

[@lukasbrngr5433]

You could use those packs used for storing cigars! They keep the humidity at 69% and are reusable

[@devintran9884]

calcium chloride desiccant with activated charcoal filter medium on the fan. if you are going to continue using the silica packs keep them off the bottom and away from the freezer packs.

[@Ashipan99]

One other problem I see is that air circulation is not even in the box. air just comes from the top and leave from the top. Think about a smoker. They don't put smoke in and out on the same side. This is just an idea, but if you drill some holes in the bottom of the box and then seal one hole on the top and put the fan outside the box through the open hole you'll get even circulation. Basically, the fan would be sucking the air out of the box through the holes from the bottom. depending on where you drill the holes on the bottom you can control where the air is coming from.

[@docpedersen7582]

Did anybody ever tell you that silica gell dessicant can be renewed simply by placing it on a baking sheet in a warm (>100C) oven for a few hours? Above boiling point of water, water WILL evaporste. Leaving gell, once cooled, ready to absorb moisture again. It will reduce effectiveness over time, but you can renew it dozens of times before replacing. (This I know from professional experience. We used silica gell to control moisture inside high power television transmission cables between transmitter and antenna. Interiors had to be kept very dry to avoid a very expensive arc. I changed and redried dessicant once a week. Kept dried batch in sealed container. Worked perfectly. {Commercial silica gell turns deep blue when dry and light pink when saturated})

[@joey360m]

These videos are amazing and have taught me so much I didn't know about the process. I have yet to start dry aging but I can't wait to try after watching the videos .

[@shane228]

Use Boveda packets. They're 2-way humidfication packets and can be bought at 84% humidity and re-charged in distilled water over 2-days consistently

[@Lc62195]

Damn you really have the best cooking channel by far on KZbin. This is like Alton Brown level.

[@FrenchGuyCooking]

Props

[@Davieb116]

Incredible content. Really creative. Much respect. Love it.

[@ignacioolavarria2764]

you can dry the silica gel with a few sec-min in the microwave, awesome series by the way.

[@pingu99991]

Alex - Have you thought about using Calcium chloride instead of silica? It's also a pretty good desiccant + it can just be baked in your oven to dry it out again for reuse. CodysLab has a few examples of how to do it in his videos.

[@xm07]

Alex you did not have to discard the silica gel. It can be regenerated (dried) by heating up to some 100+ deg C for few hours ant it should be ready to go again.

[@midgoog2]

Alex, throw those silica packs on baking paper in a very low oven for a few hours and they are good to go again. Cheers Eric

[@timhyatt9185]

I realize this is a year old....but I thought I'd mention that silica gel can be "dried out" and reused... put the packets on a flat pan and stick them in the oven at about 135C for a few hours....they should dry out and return to their original color (most have a dye that changes color once they're saturated...it will shift back when dried....) You can also get bulk silica gel for drying flowers, instead of buying the packages...

[@rkmugen]

I never would've known that silica gel packets essentially act like sponges and RETAIN the moisture they absorb. Thanks for this!

[@tiberiu_nicolae]

Well certainly water won't just dissappear... it's gotta go somewhere

[@ilyavoldman6508]

I would really love to see new content about dry aging and specially about methods for doing DIY aging fridge from a small fridge. Thanks allot for the wonderful chanel

[@josuevivas]

This a really cool engineering class. Brilliant. well done man

[@SDWNJ]

The silica gel can be refreshed if heated to dry it out again.

[@RebelsHimself]

I'm new to your channel, but I want to say I never met a frenchman who speaks english as well as you

[@killkingkong]

Hey alex, this is months late, but read up on negative pressure drying. I've never dry aged meat, but i've dried other things and I bet that would solve this problem. basically you don't want a intake fan, that adds more moisture than it gets rid of. You want a passive intake and a very powerful exhaust fan. Also, make both carbon filters intake more air tight

[@Nathan-kw2hs]

you can dry silica gell in the oven on low heat, no need to buy new ones when they saturate

[@motab9907]

love the comment section, it's filled w intelligent conversation and people which is rare for a KZbin vid. Fantastic video Alex!

[@lorenzarossi]

It was a lot of fun watching you trying and building the box fridge but bottom line if you want 45 days aged beef you either go to the butchery or buy another fridge!

[@goforvendingtofu]

I know I'm late. The chemist in me spotted the problem when you hung the meat earlier episode. You can dry it desiccant by putting it in the oven at 120C. So you don't necessarily need more.

[@rajaboes6516]

Wonderful series Alex, highly informative and entertaining. Science geeks unite!

[@antoinebenzerara8566]

As a fellow frenchman I am not too fond of your accent :) However I am really interested by the content of your dry aging experience as I am considering to do one myself ! Keep up the good work and keep us updated !

[@marusak72]

Silica gel is recyclable. Put the SG into an oven and "bake" all the water of it. 110C would do the trick

[@skiaaiks7198]

Hey. I really like your passion and obsession :P. Let me help a little bit. First off all why did you use a good insulating material to put it in the fridge. Thats wrong. You want to get cold inside the box, not prevent it from getting cold....You just do it waaayyyy more difficult to the fridge to drop the temperature inside the box. You have to use a bad insulating material, a metal like inox... A better option it would be to buy an electric camping fridge and do all your staff. When you place them at room temperature they are capable to drop the temperature at around 4c. Even better since you like building things you can build a beasty one with thermoelectric element and a thermostat. It will cost around 100 bucks. Also buy desiccant kits for garages and stuff. Its the same thing (silica gel). They are cheaper/mass and they work way better when you have a lot of humidity. Also when they get saturate they drip underneath in a bucket that they have. Inside the dripping bucket you can drop a lot off salt to prevent bacteria growth until you discard it. Also no such thing as ions in the air......

[@hobomnky]

i saw this coming when u said u were using silica gel in the last video.. u can dry the silica packets(by heating) and reuse them. interesting to see this desiccant approach to drying but i think it would be a lot easier if u relied on air circulation to remove the moisture content instead of a desiccant

[@mr.chaossenior6297]

As an Mechanic i really like your Videos :) Great Work

[@dokballack]

Man your channel is awesome, I don't know how I never came across it. Greetings from Mexico, learning a lot with you

[@mochabear1097]

maybe you could use dry ice.. it's practical does not give up too much liquid since it evaporates but it would eventually condense if you put too much but a couple dry ice should compensate the temp fluctuation every time you open the fridge

[@fredberry2394]

Just a thought. The old school way was to put a container of salt under the meat. don't let the meat touch the salt. the salt will work for 45 days or more if you put enough in the container. This is the way to dry cure meat up to 6 to 10 kilos

[@jerrywhidby5259]

The silica probably sucked up a lot of water from the ice packs condensation too. You know some cat litter is made out of silica gel. I use it to make water glass. It's much cheaper than those packets of silica gel.

[@jhunkubabu]

Hi Alex! Love your channel. I love DIY projects and cooking, so I like the projects where you improvise equipment for food prep. I have a suggestion regarding the silica gel, it can be dried at ~120 celcius for 12 hours and reused if necessary.

[@justincooper1274]

Try putting the fan at the bottom pulling up the colder air (less moisture) in stead of pushing down the warmer air (more moisture) and maybe a triangle shaped divider between the fan and your exit vent that you would locate at the opposite side also on bottom forcing the airflow up to the meat and back down to exit.... and maybe he bottom shelf on your fridge some sort of mesh screen or somethin of the sort.... to allow air to be extracted from your "coldspot"???? Just a theory.... prob won't make any difference lol

[@ChasingVapor]

Ever think that those wet ice packs sitting on the silica packets may have added a crap load of water directly onto the packets............

[@adamadams6740]

“John I need to show you my meet” that can go two very different ways!! Be careful if you get a text like this,it might not be a pic of a well aged cut of beef!

[@hakos3d]

This what happens when a nerd becomes foodie. Loved it!

[@pknlpr]

most people that I know that dry aged beef use a bowl of Salt Rock in the bottom of the refrigerator, for your case the Box

[@renzovelezthe2]

Alex i know this is late.. but you can re use those wet silica gels by microwaving them.

[@messman10]

What about liquid desiccant: like salt water. Blow the air through a column of salt water: then you can pour it out and boil off the added water.

[@modriorel]

Try to use CaCl salt or other chemical dehumidifier. I would rather use your whole upper part of fridge for dry aging, putting some big transparent foil to insulate whole chamber to insulate immediate air exchange when inspecting and using chemical dripping type of dehumidifier like Ceresit or AIR-MAX. I made once a nice fast dehumidifier combinig Air-max ambiance and large computer fan on top.

[@JanZamani]

I love the combo of engineering and food!

[@tazking93]

if you heat the saturated desiccant packets enough, you should be able drive off additional moisture, and reuse the packets

[@mrtodd3620]

If you run the wire on the hinge side of the seal, you probably won't have to cut a notch.

[@FrenchGuyCooking]

I'll try that. Thanks

[@riddlescom]

You need to put the silica packs in a tray of rock salt. This will help level out humid and you won't need as many packs

[@Justin-hl5zh]

Hey, I've done a few dry-agings myself. Use a pan filled with salt and it will solve the humidity issue

[@Etherovamonas]

Watching this while eating a quiche with mushrooms-spinach-feta cheese.Love from Greece!!!

[@FrenchGuyCooking]

GREECE ! Big love !

[@NagashiChidorii]

Amazing stuff. Keep it up! This is pure entertainment for an engineer like myself. I love all the details.

[@brandonmclovin0709]

You could put some plumbers putty in the gap you had to cut for the charger. It never dries and is very pliable

[@HastesKitchen]

Alex your science behind everything is brilliant 👌 Another awesome video mate. Proper spat my coffee out at the 'want to see my meat' section 😂

[@FrenchGuyCooking]

+Haste's Kitchen 🙏

[@SilverTooth666]

the ice you used to control temperature when melted probably saturated the gel packets

[@hkampman2764]

It may be sounds a bit weird, but you could also use cat litter for the dehydration. It has the same properties, and is also sometimes made from Silica. I would advise an organic cat litter like wood pellets, because Silica can be toxic (especially for your lungs). Definitely going to try out the dry aging when you successful! ;)

[@FrenchGuyCooking]

I did.

[@overseastom]

Dude, I'm loving your videos, and I'm spreading them like butter. Respect for including good music in them too - I grew listening to La Funk Mob, so I dig the style! Good luck with your channel!

[@MR5er1]

I know this is an old video.. but to keep costs down you could try this project again using Peltier modules to make a sort of mini fridge, there are plenty of videos online 😙

[@emilioarambulo6975]

for scienceee. a lot of troubleshooting. props bro!

[@essmene]

You can recycle silica gel by heating it - water evaporates.