Dry-age your own steaks at home with the Steaklocker?

Skip the expensive butchers and stuffy steakhouses. According to the founder of a new device called the Steaklocker, the process of dry-aging steaks could be a reality in the average home.

A fridge of sorts, the Steaklocker is about the size of a regular 50- to 60-bottle wine chiller and claims to be the world’s first at-home appliance that properly dry-ages beef. Nadia Bruno, Steaklocker founder and former restaurant marketing executive, insists that dry-aging is the only way to go when it comes to great steaks.

Dry-aging involves hanging beef or placing it on a rack to dry for several weeks. Dry-aging evaporates the moisture from the muscle, concentrating the flavor, and the beef’s natural enzymes break down the connective tissue in the muscle, which tenderizes the meat.

This process is often extremely expensive, as the beef shrinks in weight. Furthermore, only high-quality meats should be dry-aged because the process requires meat with a large, evenly distributed fat content.

Because of this, dry-aged beef is seldom available outside of steakhouses and upscale butcher shops. And it comes at a steep price, specifically $30 to $50 a pound.

By bringing the dry-aging process home, Bruno claims users will save at least 50% on beef that is equal in quality, and she says her Steaklocker’s patent-pending sensors ensure a safe aging environment.

Steaklocker has a matching smartphone app that provides instant feedback regarding the temperature and humidity of the fridge at any given time. The sensors in each fridge are connected via Bluetooth with a smartphone, giving consumers accurate data regarding their meat.

Bruno and Steaklocker Inc. are currently hunting to fund this new device through Kickstarter. She needs about $70,000 by mid-July to get her project going and hopes to send out the first Steaklockers to customers in November. Each appliance is priced between $555 and $675.

Her Kickstarter page includes a 5-minute video and pages of additional information about the steak fridge, including a detailed layout of the device, explanations of each component and background on the entire Steaklocker team. It also includes a link to the Steaklocker website, where you can preorder a fridge for yourself.

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