DRY AGED FISH - THE 'IT' DISH OF 2023

When one thinks of dry aged, the image of a burgundy-colored Prime steak often pops into the head. What is not often associated with being dry aged is fish - that is until now. Dry aged fish is suddenly a growing trend in culinary hot spots, like Los Angeles. So much so that Alton Brown predicted that “dry aged fish will be the 'it’ dish of 2023” (Huddleston, 2022).

Fresh is Boring
Liwei Liao (aka @dry_aged_fish_guy) of the Joint Eatery in Sherman Oaks, CA is an early adopter of dry aging fish. The misconception starts in the name of the technique since the fish is not really being dried. “We’re just keeping it in a dry environment over time… the fish is just being conditioned so it’s cleaner and purged of a lot of its impurities, basically anting that makes it taste fishy. The protein is essentially the same. It’s just conditioned to be better than it was fresh” (Trinh, 2022).

Handle with Care
It is essential that the fish one chooses to dry age is handled properly from the start. Fish must not be under too much stress when they are caught, or the risk of a chemical reaction can result in the undesirable fishy taste and a less than ideal outcome with dry aging. In the DRYAGER cabinet, the whole, cleaned and scaled fish are hung from their tails by hooks for days, or even weeks depending on the size, with proper airflow, temperature, and humidity control. This results in excess moisture being drawn out and the muscles broken down, revealing prominent fat and leading to a more tender, flavorful, and rich product.

Many prominent and well-respected chefs have fully converted to the technique of dry aging and have incorporated DRYAGER into their operations with much success for such purpose, including Liwei Liao of The Joint Eatery, Michael Cimarusti of two-Michelin Star Providence, and Daniel Son of Shingao Sushi. As Colin Whitbread of Fiish in Culver City sees it ”[dry aged fish] will be so normal and commonplace that people aren’t going to bat an eye about it” (Trinh, 2022).

You can read more about the emerging culinary trend of Dry Aged Fish in Eater Los Angeles’s full article

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