Dry Aging Bags: How to Dry Age Steak at Home with a Vacuum Sealer

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Dry aging bags are breathable membranes that let you dry age beef in an ordinary refrigerator. Unlike a vacuum bag, which traps moisture, a dry aging bag lets water evaporate from the meat while protecting it from odors and contamination. You still use your vacuum sealer, but only to pull the membrane tight against the meat and seal it closed. After about four to six weeks, you trim the dried outer layer and cut steaks with concentrated, nutty dry-aged flavor.

The best-known system is UMAi Dry, and its instructions are specific about which sealers work and how to use them. Here is how dry aging bags differ from vacuum bags, what you need, and the full method.

Dry aging bags vs vacuum bags

Wet aging in a vacuum bag is what happens to most commercial beef on its way to the store. It tenderizes meat but does not concentrate flavor, because no moisture leaves. Dry aging removes water, so the beef taste intensifies. UMAi Dry describes the dry aging process as two parts: moisture evaporating from the meat, which concentrates and intensifies the beef flavor, and natural enzymes breaking down connective tissue, which tenderizes the meat.

A regular vacuum bag cannot do the first part. That is the whole reason dry aging bags exist.

What you need

• Dry aging bags sized for your cut. UMAi Dry's Ribeye/Striploin bags measure 12 x 24 in. (300 x 600 mm), come three to a pack with five VacMouse vacuum aid strips and aging labels, and hold about 12 to 18 lb of beef.
• A whole subprimal cut. UMAi Dry recommends boneless ribeye, strip loin (NY strip) or sirloin. Do not use individual steaks.
• A vacuum sealer. A simple manual model is easiest; more on that below.
• A modern, full-size refrigerator with room for air to circulate around the meat. UMAi Dry specifies a modern frost-free fridge that controls humidity.
• A fridge thermometer. Keep the fridge at 40 °F (4 °C) or below, the standard USDA refrigerator temperature for perishable food.
• A wire rack so air reaches all sides of the bag.

Which vacuum sealer works best with dry aging bags?

UMAi Dry's own guidance is unusually direct:

• Easiest: a simple, manual lid-and-latch external sealer, which UMAi Dry says is perfect for its bags when paired with the VacMouse strip. Similar manual FoodSaver-style or channel-type sealers are also easy and reliable.
• Difficult: highly automated vertical FoodSaver models (UMAi Dry names the 3400, 3800 and 4800 series), whose automatic functions can make it difficult to impossible to seal the bags.
• Possible with practice: chamber vacuum sealers, some heavy-duty channel models (UMAi Dry mentions Weston and VacMaster) and retractable snorkel sealers. UMAi Dry notes that any model that draws the lid down to start the vacuum may cut off airflow through the VacMouse strip.
• No sealer at all: UMAi Dry also publishes a no-sealer technique.

In practice, a manual external sealer with a pulse or seal-only button gives you the most control. The Nesco VS-12 Deluxe, for example, has a lid latch, pulse vacuum and a manual seal button you can press mid-cycle; see our Nesco VS-12 review.

The VacMouse strip, explained

Dry aging membranes are smooth, while external sealers need channels to pull air out. The VacMouse is a textured strip you insert into the bag mouth so the pump can draw air through it. You place it, run the vacuum, and seal across the bag below or beside it, following the instructions in the pack. Chamber sealers do not need it, but UMAi Dry says they may need adjustment to get a good result.

How to dry age steak in a bag, step by step

These steps follow UMAi Dry's published method.

1. Buy a whole subprimal. Boneless ribeye, strip loin or sirloin. Keep it cold.
2. Transfer it cleanly. Open the meat's original packaging and slide it into the dry aging bag without touching the inside of the bag mouth. Keep the seal area free of liquid and wipe the opening with a paper towel before sealing. UMAi Dry calls this the clean transfer method.
3. Seal one corner at an angle. UMAi Dry recommends positioning the meat at a 45-degree angle to the sealer, bunching the opening slightly for airflow, and sealing the corner. Because its bags melt at a slightly higher temperature than other drying bags, it advises sealing a second time for 20 seconds. Let the seal cool and check that it is transparent.
4. Insert the VacMouse and vacuum. Reposition the meat parallel to the seal bar, insert the VacMouse strip, and run the vacuum while massaging air out of corners and crevices.
5. Seal. You do not need an absolute vacuum. UMAi Dry says the purpose of vacuum sealing is simply to bring the bag into contact with the meat so moisture can leave efficiently; some air pockets are fine.
6. Label it. Write the start date and target end date.
7. Age on a rack in the fridge. UMAi Dry recommends 21 to 45 days for steak. It says the moisture evaporation stage lasts about 7 to 10 days, and tenderization and flavor development continue as long as the meat ages.
8. Trim and cut. Remove the meat from the bag, cut it into steaks, then trim the dark, dry bark from each steak, which UMAi Dry says is usually easiest after cutting.
9. Seal and freeze extra steaks. Steaks you will not cook within a couple of days go into regular vacuum bags. UMAi Dry says they can then be frozen for up to a year.

Food safety notes

Dry aging at home is a long refrigerator project, so cold is non-negotiable:

• Keep the fridge at 40 °F (4 °C) or below the whole time, and check it with a thermometer.
• Start with fresh, cold, well-handled meat and keep everything that touches the seal area clean.
• Do not open the bag partway through to check.
• If the bag tears, the meat develops a slimy surface under the bark, or it smells putrid rather than beefy when trimmed, do not eat it.
• After trimming, handle and cook the steaks like any raw beef.

Dry aging is a method maintained by bag makers and the meat trade rather than one with USDA processing times, so follow the bag maker's instructions exactly and do not improvise with regular vacuum bags, which create wet aging, not dry aging.

Common mistakes

• Aging individual steaks. Too much of each steak becomes bark. Use whole subprimals.
• Using a regular vacuum bag. That is wet aging. The meat will not dry or concentrate.
• Fighting an automatic sealer. If your machine will not seal the membrane, use a manual sealer, UMAi Dry's no-sealer method, or a chamber sealer with practice.
• Crowding the fridge. The bag needs air around it to release moisture.
• Aging tenderloin for weeks. UMAi Dry suggests only 4 to 5 days for tenderloin, so you do not trim away the most expensive meat.

After aging: storing your steaks

Once the bark is trimmed, dry-aged steaks are ordinary raw beef. Cook them within the normal refrigerator window or vacuum seal and freeze them. Our vacuum-sealed meat storage chart has the times, and our best vacuum sealers for meat covers the machines. If a regular vacuum-sealed steak smells odd when opened, our guide to vacuum-sealed meat smell explains what is normal.

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