Yeah, it’s spoilage, just without the pathogens that can’t penetrate that deep. I worked for a butcher shop for a while and tasted a 420 day dry-aged steak. It tasted like it was dipped in acetone. Now, a steak aged that long is waaay outside the realm of what you’d get in a steak house, but it brought to the forefront the major flavor differences in fresh vs dry-aged and highlighted that you’re really tasting spoilage contaminants.
Also, even hinting that people should try dry-aging is terribly irresponsible. There is no non-commercial appliance that can maintain the proper environment to do it safely. Yeah, Kenji followed up with an article showing how you can fry age at home, but it requires a) using whole sub-primal cuts and b) a dedicated appliance that won’t be opened to get the ketchup or pickles.
‘Tis. It’s the meat version of the celebrity private jet scandal.
