Dry aged vs wet aged for the customer, which one do you push?

Had a guy order 30 pounds of dry aged ribeye last week and honestly I cringed at the weight loss, but he loved the flavor. I always thought wet aging was the safe sell, simple and consistent, but now I wonder if I'm leaving money on the table by not pushing dry aged harder. What do you tell your regulars when they ask which one is actually better?

2 comments

2 Comments

paulnguyen1d ago

Wet aging doesn't add water back, it just keeps the natural moisture locked in.

jason_knight2d ago

You cringed at the weight loss" got me because I once had a customer order a whole dry aged strip loin and then complain the steaks looked smaller than the wet aged ones next to them in the case. I had to explain the moisture thing like five times, and he still asked if I could just add some water back in. I told him that's basically what wet aging is for, but then he asked if I could inject it with butter instead, which honestly sounded kinda good but also terrifying. Anyway, he came back a month later for another order, so I guess the flavor won him over. I still push wet aged to most folks though, just because it's easier to explain and nobody gets surprised by the shrink.