Burger school
Dry-aged beef shows up on premium menus with a premium price. Here's what it actually is — and the honest take on dry-aged burgers.
Dry-aging hangs beef in a controlled cold, airy environment for weeks, which evaporates moisture and lets natural enzymes tenderise it and concentrate a deep, nutty, almost funky flavour. Steakhouses prize it for exactly this reason. In a burger, though, it adds intense flavour at a cost: it's expensive, and the effect is subtle once ground and topped.
Dry-aging is a centuries-old technique that turns good beef into something more intense. Here's the gist.
Butchers store whole cuts at controlled cold temperature and humidity for two to six weeks, sometimes longer. In that time, two things happen: moisture evaporates, concentrating flavour, and natural enzymes break down muscle, making it more tender. The result is a deep, nutty, savoury, slightly funky taste.
For a burger, fresh, well-chosen beef at the right fat ratio usually delivers more value than dry-aged — which is why most burgers, even great ones, use fresh beef.
BB52 grinds fresh Australian beef for juiciness rather than dry-aging it — the right call for a consistently great burger. What beef is best →
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