Dry age vs. Ice age! **HONEST PANEL!

[@longbowbanjoAL]

wel thanks again for a shout out lol got a slow day finally so heres all my comments for the missed videos, hang in there frank, good muzzle loading matt and next time you have a meat question thats been plaguing you for some time just ask your alabama banjo buddy lol

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

Ok buddy…. Here goes!….. what came first, the chicken or the egg?!? 🤔

[@longbowbanjoAL]

@@McGieHomesteadAdventures the chicken pen lol

[@burntchurch]

That surprised me I figured the one in the ice wouldve been better thank you for sharing friend.We use to fill ice and lil salt in cooler with the meat and ride it in back of truck for few days

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

If you’re traveling to hunt, you’re doing it exactly right!! I love ice aging!

[@jerryhuntjj2885]

Glad to see the comparison. I've always dry aged when weather permits. I also have the same skinning knife and I love it as well

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

That’s awesome Jerry! I’ve got more experiments in mind if I get a chance!

[@pamelapinto2245]

Good morning from Vermont at 5:22 this raining day! I must say, your videos ALWAYS make me hungry! 😇. Hope you all enjoy your day!

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

It’s absolutely pouring rain here as well! Have a great day!

[@thecamocowboyoutdoors5693]

Interesting test for sure Brother! I was surprised by the outcome. Not what I would have expected. Thanks for sharing and have a good day.

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

Thanks brother! When you’re finished trapping come on down for a taste!!😎

[@aguyinthewoods8294]

I was cutting up a deer myself last night. I halved my backstraps. Some will become steaks but the whole family loves the bacon wrapped, cream cheese stuffed backstrap recipe I picked up when I lived in Bama. They devour it right up!!!

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

Yes indeed we love it too!!

[@ronniewilliz153]

I like the deer heart the best but the back strap is killer too.

[@aguyinthewoods8294]

@@ronniewilliz153 Absolutely!! I have the heart waiting for consumption tonight!! But I am the only one that will eat it. I can’t get the family to try it. They have no idea what they are missing!!

[@ronniewilliz153]

@@aguyinthewoods8294 omg it's nothing like a liver and it's nothing like other organs. Honestly it's like cow tongue with out taste buds tho lol. Its so tender it falls apart in ur mouth. 👊 More good meat for you then lol

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

The heart also has nutrition that other meat doesn’t……. And very important cell repairing nutrition!

[@jtadlock2698]

Was not surprised at the result. One of my cookbooks has a short section on dry aging beef. The downfalls of dry aging beef is cost and the demand for a whole or half carcass. The book did mention some people might prefer wet aged just because that is what they’re used to.

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

Thankfully deer are smaller and easy to handle!

[@tennesseelockpicking8803]

That's very interesting. Thanks for the experiment. 👍

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

You’re welcome! I’ve been wanting to try this for a while!!!

[@frankiebaker7769]

I've been a butcher for 25 years and that's the only knife I use like your videos keep up the good work

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

That’s a pretty high recommendation!

[@ReapWhatYouSeauxLeJeune]

Awesome got to have a good cooler. Great video

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

Thanks brother! We’re blessed with awesome neighbors!

[@ChuckisOutside]

Good! I know you have been favoring ice age and I did it for a long time. I think the dry age leaves a little more blood in the meat, but I’m sure not turning down either. Thanks for the video.

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

Bloodshot meat is where I’d say ice aging really wins!

[@RandWFarmstead-TonyWalsh]

That was surprising to me, thanks for doing this Micah.

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

I didn’t know what was gonna happen….. but I definitely enjoyed doing it!!

[@samh6394]

I agree with the dry age process. Have done both ways myself. Irregardless of how it’s aged it’s a better product once aged. Growing up it was harvested field dressed and tossed under cover in truck bed till hunt was over then skinned out and immediately butchered and packaged. When it was cooked it was always buried in seasonings bacon and other things to “help with the taste” aging and proper cooking will do just that without having to bury it in all the other. Use what ever method you have available. If it’s packed on ice allow the melt to drain out don’t let it sit in the nasty bloody water this is the fastest way to ruin your harvest. Anyhow great video as always sir. Y’all have a great day!!

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

I’m really excited about this! It’s really opened my eyes to what the possibilities are!!!

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

That’s a very good place to be these days….. it’s a bad time to be dependent on processing companies!

[@joesoutdoorplaces]

Based upon color, since I couldn’t taste, I would have picked dry aged. Not everyone has the benefit of a walk in cooler, so it’s nice to have a reasonably good alternative.

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

Absolutely!!

[@brandonritchey484]

If its below 40 degrees i like mine to hang 3 to 4 days..never tried ice....love your channel..very down home ..famliy oriented..love it

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

Thanks brother! We’re all about family here!

[@msw00]

Dry age has always been my favorite, deer, elk or moose, at least five days or more if possible. My guess would be all red meat is best dry aged, but that's my guess and taste. I grew up in the Catskill mountains of NY in the 60-70's, and folks there hung their deer outside in below freezing temps until it was all eaten, and that was some good venison. Good job testing theories out, that's how chefs are born.

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

We really enjoyed this one! Delicious too!

[@joshuafulgham494]

Wish I had a walk in cooler to try this. Great video brother thank you

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

If the weather is right, you can hang them outside. Even with the skin still on.

[@joshuafulgham494]

@@McGieHomesteadAdventures what temp would be best??

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

Between 30° & 40° I once hung a beef outside and it got up to near 60° at one week in. I worked it up at that point and it was some great beef!

[@ronniewilliz153]

Lol a walk in cooler in his home lol they are not cheap lol. This should be a great vid, I got just enough time to watch this before I have to go start making my lunch and leave for work. 👍

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

Have a great day at work my brother!

[@AaricHale]

Really awesome side by side test ! Looks like you are going to start dry aging a lot more meat in the future . Hopefully your neighbors don't mind you filling up their cooler with all kinds of meat lol . Thanks for sharing and have a great day !

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

By now they know full well what I’m capable of 😂😂😂😂😂

[@briargoatkilla]

When i had access to a walk in i always hung them for fourteen days with the hide on. Best meat you can possibly get.

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

I haven’t seen that done before…….. might just have to try it!!!

[@w4ame]

I need to build a walk in cooler for my homestead. I’d be interested in seeing how that cooler was made. I’m assuming it is run off of a window AC unit and a coolbot controller?

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

It’s like coolbot….. I think….. I’ll let Adam explain!

[@adammerritt]

Hey Andy. I bought a used cooler from a closed butcher shop, but they got it from a piggly wiggly (grocery store) many many years ago. We took it apart and reassembled in the basement, leaving out a set of panels to downsize from 11x16x8 to 11x12x8. We then built a 4.5" thick insulated floor from 3x sheets of 1.5" polyiso foam (polyiso is higher R-value per inch than any other foamboard), topped with 3/4" plywood with anti-slip outdoor floor paint. For the cooling, I used a 28k btu Frigidaire window unit, with two Inkbird temp controllers mimicking a coolbot. Same premise, but a lot cheaper. It easily keeps the room in the mid 30's Happy to answer any other questions..

[@w4ame]

@@adammerritt Thank you sir, that answers all my questions.

[@stevehoover16]

I enjoyed the video thank you

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

You’re absolutely welcome brother!

[@ctech14367]

So now you’ll have to get you a small cooler, like a double door coke cooler

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

😂😂😂 I don’t have electricity…… but I’ve got the best neighbors on earth…….. if I’m nice, maybe they’ll let me hang deer in theirs!😂

[@Keith_Hatter]

Dry age for the win, interesting 🤔 Your getting fancy now with the sous vide. It's amazing on tougher cuts.

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

These guys were very happy and relieved that they chose the dry age 😂😂😂 I didn’t have an agenda other than to make a compelling video that will get 20 million views!!😂😂😂

[@Keith_Hatter]

Especially after dropping coin on that big walk in! Can you imagine if the cooler won? 🤣

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

😂😂😂 exactly the thought process on his part!😂😂😂

[@adammerritt]

@@Keith_Hatter That was exactly my thought. I was going feel a bit silly if we had picked the wet aged meat over the dry!

[@shannons1301]

I aged some on ice but i vacuum packed the cut steaks so they aren't in the ice water, I wonder if that would be better than just in ice, I haven't tried them yet

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

It’ll be interesting to see how you like it! Basically dry aged on ice!

[@ryansowell2277]

I think dry age is better myself but is there a way we can get a video on that walk in cooler cause I want to build one myself and curious about what he did cause I seen a window unit hanging in there that's the idea I was gonna go for.

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

I’ll talk to him and see if he’d willing to do that!

[@ryansowell2277]

Thank you sir. Yeah that one looked about like the size I need to store deer and hogs in for hunting season. I'm currently doing it all in 1 ice box so I don't have to keep on buying ice for ice chest but I run out of room to fast. Lol. Thanks again and keep up the good videos. 👍

[@rafaeltovar2222]

Great video but I would like to know which one you preferred

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

After the camera was off, I ate 6 steaks and couldn’t really tell much difference…… but they were all mixed together at that point, so who knows. These guys have lots of steak experience and they both agreed without hesitation, so I definitely believe them. But I still like ice aging…… especially if it’s got a lot of bloodshot meat.

[@donaldist7321]

Can you please explain how you dry-age? Thanks for this awesome channel!

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

The meat needs to stay just above the freezing point…… this allows the protein to begin breaking down without bacteria forming. It will continue to break down until you remove it and freeze it after processing. A smaller animal like a deer should hang 10 days to two weeks……. The thicker parts such as the hind quarters can go a bit longer as I did with these.

[@fldays6798]

Dry aged has it good video thanks for sharing keep the cameras rolling from Florida

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

Thanks Ken! What a fun experiment!

[@fldays6798]

Fun experiment and tasty I bet lol

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

Absolutely! I’ve been wanting to do this one for a long time!

[@chadrexwinkle7868]

My family and I are dry aged fans too bud. But a cool will sure work if a fella doesn't have access to a cooler. Either way aged does make better eating

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

That absolutely true brother!! It’s necessary for it to be really good!

[@jdriver1419]

Wait a minute! You gotta do this over, cause one deer was killed a day before the other. Just kiddin' 😄. Thanks for the test. Amazing that both guys thought it was distinctly quite different.

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

😂😂😂 I knew that was coming 😂😂😂 Yes I was happy it was clear and convincing!!

[@donvincent895]

Good video Micah!!!

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

Thanks brother! I really enjoyed this myself!!

[@timothymerritt659]

I have aged my deer meat both ways but myself and family prefer the dry aged if not cold enough I use my fridge but if no room in fridge I will Ice age if I absolutely have too but definitely don't prefer it

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

This is the first year we’ve dry aged….. and I have to say, I like it!

[@stevecray8282]

Both looked beautiful, And the steaks didn't look bad either. 😂😉👍🏻

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

😂😂😂 I resemble that remark!😂😂😂😂

[@chrishenicke2052]

Dry age definitely the way to go. I’ve dry aged lots of deer in the cooler… Totally changes the flavor of deer. Take them dry aged backstraps and cut into filet mignons, wrap them in that mangalista bacon and grill them medium rare…. You’ll be shocked at how good it is. I used to just cut the backbone out with the backstraps still on the bone and just hang it in the cooler. You can age the hind quarters too but there’s to much dry loss on the rest. Just make sure the cooler temp is below 40 degrees or you will get some mildew and mold growth. It wouldn’t scare me to age them pigs for a week or so as well. 👍

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

That’s absolutely true! I’ve got a pig in there hanging now…… minus the bacon and ribs!

[@adammerritt]

The first Mangalitsa we hung in the cooler was planned for 2 weeks. Got busy and half was processed at 2 weeks and the other half at 4 weeks. Not a single spec of mold/mildew/etc. The walk-in averages ~35 degrees. We also used bleach water to sanitize every surface/floor/ceiling/wall before putting it to use as well, which I'm sure helped out.

[@beeamerica5024]

Wouldn't know about the wet I've always dry aged 7 days before I started cutting up 🐝

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

It’s good stuff!

[@OGBRADASS]

Ideally you would of had backstrap from each deer in each location. Some will say "well it was a different deer, of course it tasted different"

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

Of course, but I’ve killed 132 deer and only a few big bucks tasted different…… doe of similar size (especially from the same farm) are gonna be same.

[@OGBRADASS]

@@McGieHomesteadAdventures I agree with you, they won't tho!

[@DanielCook-ol1fv]

That would be the real test though-same deer dry vs wet.

[@southernstylehomesteadAL]

good job on the taste test I was surprised that dry age won

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

I didn’t know which would win…… I believe with bloodshot meat the ice would win.

[@southernstylehomesteadAL]

@@McGieHomesteadAdventures I would think it would ice age sure pulls the blood out

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

It definitely does!

[@campfireguitars]

Always dry age when possible

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

I’m a believer!

[@ronniewilliz153]

Dry aged is great for meat tho, but nothing wrong with using a ice chest of that's all you got, just marinate the meat. Deer meat I'd really tender anyways well the good parts are anyways lol.

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

It’s truly a wonderful meat no matter what! How people can make it taste bad is beyond me!!

[@jimjohn1002]

Man ol son

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

That was fun!

[@CampDogOutdoors]

Dry aged has to be better in my opinion

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

It definitely concentrates the flavor!

[@jimjohn1002]

Not John Wayne....it's Wayne Christian 😅

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

I’m glad you are finding a few videos to watch! I’m having fun seeing which ones you are digging up!😂😂😂

[@ozz5350]

👍👏👏👏

[@joeyhunt5512]

Keep meat dry brother. Dry aging is the absolute way to go. That’s why dry aged steaks cost so much more. They may have less yield but the flavor is far more concentrated than the “green” meat that isn’t truly aged. The ice/water robs the meat of its flavor. Albeit it does make the meat tender, I’ll give you that.

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

Very true……. It also takes care of the deer that are badly bloodshot.

[@joeyhunt5512]

@@McGieHomesteadAdventures yes sir. I hate wasting meat. Especially when it’s my fault lol. What caliber are you flinging? I think it would be neat to showcase some of your hunting equipment and firearms more. You do great on the knives, grinding and mixing equipment, ect. Happy hunting brother. As soon as I get out of this hospital bed and healed up I’ve got to fill the freezer lol.

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

Sorry KZbin held your comment for review and I just found it! I guess because of the word “fire-arm ….. they are nuts…… and that’s why I don’t showcase them. But our muzzleloaders are all .50 cal. CVA’s!

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

Also….. hope you get out of that hospital bed soon!!! Sorry to hear you’re in there!!

[@jaygee999]

Micah, don't waste your time and breath with the fascistic censors of KZbin ! -- It's made clear in the Bible : Proverbs 1:7 -- "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction." Please Keep Your Family Safe And Healthy For The Christmas Season !

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

You’re absolutely right! Just put out the truth and let it go!

[@bearclawbill8064]

should have compared a no aged,,cut up as fasr as possible.

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

We all know how that would be……. But you’re right…… for the ones that say it doesn’t make a difference………. No wait, it wouldn’t change their minds whatsoever. Never mind.

[@bearclawbill8064]

@@McGieHomesteadAdventures for 50 years,,we have cut up as fast as possible and can't be any better...

[@OGBRADASS]

Sous Vide is a very estrogenic way to cook. It's probably why we have people identifying as salamanders with purple hair now.... Be careful, I would recommend to never cook that way again.

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

😂😂😂😂

[@OGBRADASS]

@@McGieHomesteadAdventures Check out the book "estrogeneration" it goes through, on the DNA level, basically exactly that.

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

I see evidence of what you are saying, but I also found this. I’m glad you put this on my radar so I’ll be sure to always use the proper bags, which my neighbors do already! Copied: the plastic that touches the food is made of 100% polyethylene, contains no plasticizers or estrogen-like compounds. the foodsaver bags are 5 layers of polyethylene with an outer layer of nylon. while you might get bpa from your cans of coconut milk, there is simply no bpa that will get into your food from sous vide. the temperatures of sous vide are also low (polyethylene doesn’t begin softening until 195f), although i would imagine that a very small amount of polyethylene would still make it onto the surface of your food through diffusion. polyethylene, however, is considered biologically inert, and scientists have been unable to detect any toxicity in animal tests (unlike bpa). it passes the ames test and other studies of damage to dna, and doesn’t have a similarity to estrogen. at this point, i’m unaware of any evidence at all that polyethylene poses any harm. as always, it’s up to you, but for me the taste and health benefits (less age production, nutrient loss, and protein degradation, and more retention of fatty acids) that sous vide provides far outweighs what seems to me to be an almost arbitrary possibility that it will harm me.

[@OGBRADASS]

@@McGieHomesteadAdventures BPA is old news tho. There is literally BPeveryletter now. I don't know if you read, but it's a very good book. It actually changed my life.

[@Jamestrent9]

As a chef, you should have used the same deer using the two different methods! One of your deers could have eaten diferent foods or ran around more than the other deer so its in conclusive as all animals are different just as all pigs are different! but yes you could say it was a close test that you did.

[@McGieHomesteadAdventures]

I figured someone would come up with something!😂😂😂 both deer were in the same group, killed in the same field. But I guess they could have had different diets, but I doubt it.

[@Jamestrent9]

All creatures on this earth that god created are not equal! by just having different parents and diffrent blood lines and the way they are brought up everyone grows up in a different way! and like us we like diferent foods to other people!

[@ronniewilliz153]

Lol c'mon that stuff don't really matter that much in deer. Idk how many deers you have skinned but most of the does and bucks are the same so it's a very close comparison. You gotta be joking cus of what he said in the beginning. Lol

[@Jamestrent9]

But you were close enough! 🦌🦌🦌

[@ronniewilliz153]

​@@Jamestrent9how many deer and hogs have you cut up cus they are in fact mostly the same inside lol