I:ve bought a sirloin steak at TOPS today.

They claim their Australian beef is imported chilled and not frozen

The meat was precut and in a vacuum pac.

QUESTION...... if I leave it in my fridge unopened for a week will it age and maybee become more tender?

I am guessing that because of a lack of air in the pack it wont.

Generaly the ausie steaks from Tops havnt been bad,I usualy would open the pack and marinade the steak with Garlic and Sesame oil for a few hours before cooking,but even then the beef taste is lacking.... Again I am guessing that since the Mad Cow problems and the regulations on slaughtering the steers before they are older than 3 years ...beef just isnt going to have the taste that the more mature animals had.?

Check this out:

http://www.goodcooking.com/steak/dry_aging.htm

According to that article, after a week in the vacuum pack, it's finished the ageing process.

Check this out:

http://www.goodcooking.com/steak/dry_aging.htm

According to that article, after a week in the vacuum pack, it's finished the ageing process.

Yeah I did this with some beef tenderloin and prime rib a few years back, it was fun, we barbequed it. I did the dry aging with the towels, but first I wrapped it in cheesecloth, I wasn't even sure what that was but found it at a restaurant supply store.

Everybody said it was great, but I was about three sheets to the wind and could barely taste it.

Check this out:

http://www.goodcooking.com/steak/dry_aging.htm

According to that article, after a week in the vacuum pack, it's finished the ageing process.

The article says very specifically you can not age individual steaks. You have to buy the whole loin or top but or whatever but not individual steaks.

Plus you need to have a refrigerator that maintains a constant temperature which is almost impossible in a home unit.

I bought a fridge thermomitor and kept it in the meats drawer with the aging beef, the temp stayed pretty much right where I needed it to be.

But then I was not excessively in and out of the fridge all day long either, it probably depends on your usage habits.

Aging meat to have much effect takes about 30 days. Then you cut the outside of the loin or other cut off and throw it away.

The ageing of meat really needs to be done before the meat is boned out.Once the animal has been slaughtered it needs to be hung on the bone for around about 21 days. Although after that amount of time when you look at the beef you may be put off because it may have turned black on the outside, and maybe even feel a little sticky, please don't worry all you need to do is bone the meat out remove a small thin first slice, and then you will have prime aged beef that will give you the utmost pleasure when you eat it, as long as it is not thai beef ha ha.