My old boss called our shop's dry aging room 'a mold farm' and now I can't stop thinking about it
He said that when he walked past our 45 day ribeyes last Tuesday, and it made me realize most customers at my Boston shop don't actually want funk, they want tender and beefy, so I've been pulling my primals at 28 days instead and my regulars say the steaks taste cleaner, but am I losing the people who come in asking for that aged blue cheese punch?
45 days on a ribeye isn't a mold farm, that's where the good stuff comes from. Pulling at 28 days means you're basically selling wet aged beef with extra steps, and those regulars saying it tastes "cleaner" are just telling you they never liked real dry aged steak in the first place. The folks asking for that blue cheese punch are your actual steak people, and they will notice the drop off fast. You don't build a name in Boston selling the safest possible steak, you build it by having something the guy down the street can't match. Keep a few primals going the full 45 and let the 28 day ones be the gateway drug for the folks who aren't ready yet.