There’s nothing fishy about this unique preparation.
Southern Living:What inspired you to dry age fish?
I obtained a couple of dry age refrigerators in August of 2020.
Credit:GW Fins
This happened to be the time when COVID began affecting business.
SL: Can you explain the process of dry aging fish?
MN:Dry aging fish is a way to allow a fish to mature under very controlled conditions.
Credit:GW Fish
The idea that extremely fresh fish tastes better is not necessarily the case.
This process must start with only pristine, well-handled fish to end up with the desired results.
The outer parts of the fish must be permeable to allow the moisture to escape.
SL: What is the ideal temperature?
There are no preservatives or salt used anywhere in the process.
The fish will slowly lose moisture and concentrate the flavors and make the flesh denser.
Over time, the proteins will also start to break down a bit and become more tender.
As the proteins break down, the amino acid chainstypically where the natural umami flavor is derivedrelease.
The flavors occur naturally within the fish and just need the proper environment and time to develop.
These deep, rich flavors are the magic of dry aging.
The finished dry-aged fish is milder and without any strong odor or off-putting flavors.
GW Fish
SL: Is the process customizable based on the size and key in of fish?
MN:Each fish is treated differently depending on species, size, and desired outcome.
Some of the large tunas and swordfish will be aged anywhere from 12 to 28 days.
Some smaller fish only benefit from a few days in the dry ager.
We also use the dry ager to dry the outer skin on some of the fish we serve.
By drying out the skin, it allows it to puff slightly and cook up much crispier.
This also allows us to serve some fish skin on what would typically be too tough or chewy.
SL: How does the dry-aging time affect the flavor?
Some fish lose moisture quickly and over-aging can negatively affect texture, making it a bit too flaky.
SL: How else do you get it to taste so much like red meat?
The idea of center-of-the-plate, prime fish is still a big part of what we do.
In the case of tunas and swordfish, we age them for longer periods of time.
These fish are aged in giant primal cuts with the bones intact.
When they are fully mature, we cut them into large format bone-in chops, ribeye, and tomahawks.
These cuts end up with rich umami flavors from the extended time they are allowed to mature.
The finished product ends up with flavor typically reserved for red meat.
SL: You’re the only person in the state licensed to do this.
How does it feel to be a pioneer in this punch in of preparation?
MN:We were the first restaurant our state health department had encountered dry aging fish.
I submitted our methods of sourcing and tracking every piece of fish we dry age throughout the process.
This assures the fish is held at specific safe conditions during dry aging.
