Procedure
- grab a costco prime ribeye slab
- clean the outside of the costco bag to avoid contamination
- open the costco bag and deposit the contents (including the juice) into your umai bag
- evacuate the bag using the water immersion approach or a vacuum sealer
- stick the cloth wick in the neck of the bag, but make sure that the bag is tightly sealed at the neck. The only stress I have had involved me using a single ziptie and hence the bag taking on more air (less skin contact). The bag does not have to be taut, but you will be second guessing your aging a lot less if you just make sure the neck is well sealed. (while wicked)
- put the meat on a wire rack in a functional fridge for upwards of 40 days and relish the benefits
- use a nice high end filleting knife for bark removal, which will enable you to minimize meat loss
- the bark can either be ground up and included in other processed meat products or rendered to make some grade A tallow.
There really is nothing more to it; umai bags do make the whole process pretty idiot proof. I am an idiot, and I can attest to this with upwards of 10 yields now, with zero failures. The standing wisdom on the internet is that if the meat smells good, you are golden. Clearly keep an eye out for aberrations and exercise caution.