Thread: Ageing vs. wastage

Amateur here but this is what I do.
Hanging whole : Take tenderloins out and age with skin on. Result = bugger all wastage.
Legs and backstraps : Vacuum pack backstraps immediately and hang legs with skin on = only waste is a thin layer of exposed meat on the legs.
Boned out : Vacuum pack backstraps & tenderloins immediately. Micky Duck's double bucket method or mince immediately(if turning it into mince anyway).

7 Days is really a minimum time for aging. at 7 days you should be wasting nothing, the outer surface will only just have started to create a skin. Having said that, the longer you age for, the more waste you will have to trim off. Wet aging does work well and there is no waste, however you are not removing moisture from the meat like a dry age, this lack of moisture becomes important when you get to the cooking part, it is much easier to get a good sear on dry aged meat vs wet aged. One way to reduce the amount of wastage on dry aged meat is to use dry aging bags which create a permeable membrane on the surface of the meat, this has the added bonus of reducing the risk of contamination of the meat and can be done in the family fridge, you wont get funny looks from the Mrs about the smelly fuzz growing chunk of venison.