What's for dinner tonight ?

Hmmmmm, we buy the 58 day aged beef from Thrifty’s in Courtenay.....and LOVE IT. Sous vide with a reverse sear never fails me, SPG only. (Salt Pepper Garlic)
 
Hmmmmm, we buy the 58 day aged beef from Thrifty’s in Courtenay.....and LOVE IT. Sous vide with a reverse sear never fails me, SPG only. (Salt Pepper Garlic)
Not sous vide'd for me but reverse seared. I put the oven on the lowest setting and prop the door open. Those cooked at around 175F for 2 hours, brought them up to 115 internal then hammered them on the charcoal after resting.
 
So my opinion on the 80 day dry age...
Really tender but a little too pungent in my opinion. The guys loved it, me not so much. REALLY nutty, almost coffee like flavor. No longer tasted like beef. I had heard a 45 day was even too much for some people so I was hesitant to buy it. The guy at Beefway said a lot of people loved it though so I gave it a shot. Oh well.
I go out of my way to source really great beef from BC and Alberta and have tried everything from the standard 28 day right up to 70 day aged and honestly I don't go past 35 days any longer. I order in full front quarters at times and have them butchered and aged as well. Like you mentioned in your post, it no longer tastes like beef (in my opinion) after 35 to 40 days or so of cold dry aging. Starts to get a nutty earthy flavor and past 45 days that flavor/smell etc compounds itself exponentially I have found. Especially on the outsides of the cuts where it gains strength the fastest.
For grocery stores I only buy our good cuts of beef from Thrifties as we found it the best by far by doing side by side cook/taste comparisons with the other chain grocery stores including Costco. We found Costco is no longer near as good as it used to be even their "Prime" grade they get in at times is sub par. Just cause a cut reaches "prime" grade because of it's fat content doesn't always mean it has the best sweet beef flavor. I've bought Japanese and Australian Wagyu as well and still find some BC and Alberta AAA or Prime grades better in flavor by far.
Another little tip too is to watch for beef sales (best cuts) at your favorite grocery store and if you don't see good marbling or the cuts you want then get a rain check for the better price and go back often to look for the best cuts and best marbling. When I do that I get the clerk to put a big number like 10 or 15 pcs on the rain check so that if a really great load of beef comes in I can load up on them and vac pack them. We go through good beef like crazy so I make sure I try to get the best deals when possible.
 
I go out of my way to source really great beef from BC and Alberta and have tried everything from the standard 28 day right up to 70 day aged and honestly I don't go past 35 days any longer. I order in full front quarters at times and have them butchered and aged as well. Like you mentioned in your post, it no longer tastes like beef (in my opinion) after 35 to 40 days or so of cold dry aging. Starts to get a nutty earthy flavor and past 45 days that flavor/smell etc compounds itself exponentially I have found. Especially on the outsides of the cuts where it gains strength the fastest.
For grocery stores I only buy our good cuts of beef from Thrifties as we found it the best by far by doing side by side cook/taste comparisons with the other chain grocery stores including Costco. We found Costco is no longer near as good as it used to be even their "Prime" grade they get in at times is sub par. Just cause a cut reaches "prime" grade because of it's fat content doesn't always mean it has the best sweet beef flavor. I've bought Japanese and Australian Wagyu as well and still find some BC and Alberta AAA or Prime grades better in flavor by far.
Another little tip too is to watch for beef sales (best cuts) at your favorite grocery store and if you don't see good marbling or the cuts you want then get a rain check for the better price and go back often to look for the best cuts and best marbling. When I do that I get the clerk to put a big number like 10 or 15 pcs on the rain check so that if a really great load of beef comes in I can load up on them and vac pack them. We go through good beef like crazy so I make sure I try to get the best deals when possible.
Awesome, some sound advice.
 
Our new year’s feast is always awesome!

We did this meal in courses. First I did my seared 16-20 digby scallops, (about a dozen) which had the best sear I’ve ever gotten on them. The pic didn’t work.

Next was my wife’s clams in broth dish served with sourdough bread for sopping up the broth. 7DD37C86-7DB8-4F85-BABF-36730C346818.jpeg These are up there as some of the best clams I’ve had anywhere! It’s composed of a Heineken and chicken broth with garlic, chilli flakes, cherry tomoatoes, chopped onions, and her seasonings and herbs.

Then I got the bbq and did a striploin steak and butterflied some east coast lobster tails.
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The lobster was done in butter and fresh garlic along with a touch of seasoning salt and I added some chilli flakes to mine as well.
The poatato was also unreal as she baked it for almost 2 hours and then made a mix of ranch and sour cream, mixed it in and topped it with bacon,cheddar and green onion.
Also broccolini. That’s all the description broccolini gets!

All this done along side both red and white wines and a Heineken.

After dinner we heard fireworks popping and went out in the back yard with a blanket and were treated to a great show from the park a block away. A nice way to round out the year.
 
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Happy New Beers!

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Candlelight Fondue.
Whitetail Tenderloin, Free range pork tenderloin, free range chicken breast and of course lamb sirloin.
Twas a fitting final meal for 2018.

Cheers,
Nog
 
Seafood has taken a bit of a beating in the news here in Vancouver lately (!) so I thought I'd give local businesses a boost and headed to the Lobsterman down on Granville Island to pick up some Saltspring Mussels for New Year's lunch.

No need to worry about that business it was slammed with happy shoppers.

Anyway as you can see it was Mussels in curry with probably too much Garlic but who's counting.

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This was the Seafood portion of our Christmas Eve dinner for 20.

12 lbs mussels and clams , steamed then chilled and marinated in olive oil , dill, garlic, lemon , chillies

80 oysters ( pink moon, raspberry point , village bay , malpeque )

8 - 2 lb east coast lobsters steamed

8 large dungies steamed

80 Wild Argentinian red prawns - poached and marinated in olive oil lemon zest garlic and dill

4 rock octopus , braised and grilled over charcoal

Not pictured was cold smoked albacore , home made sockeye gravlax ( to die for ) , smoked eel from long liners at Granville island , hot smoked sockeye bellies

As accompaniments I made a champagne vinegar minionette, and also a red wine vinegar, a remoulad , home made cocktail sauce , a dill sauce , and a lemon garlic aioli.

Second course was a German Pork Shoulder Goulash served with egg noodles ( not pictured)

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Wow, awesome, guys. The seafood displays in particular are outstanding. Very high standards that is for sure.
Our attempt for our longtime friends on New Years Eve.
Scallops with Champagne grapes and a mousse dessert. Tasty
 
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