The short answer
Dry-aging changes flavor; wet-aging mostly tenderizes. Across the board, dry-aged steaks cost more per pound (median $67.94 vs $55.48), but that’s partly grade mix: among Prime steaks it’s $69.22 dry vs $57.58 wet.
Two ways to age a steak
Dry-aged
The beef hangs unwrapped in a cold, humid room with air moving over it. Water evaporates, so the flavor concentrates — nutty, beefy, sometimes funky — and the meat’s own enzymes tenderize it.
The outside dries into a crust that’s trimmed away. Lost water and trim mean less steak to sell, which is much of the premium.
Wet-aged
The beef ages sealed in a vacuum bag, often on its way through the supply chain. Enzymes tenderize it, but nothing evaporates, so the flavor stays milder and closer to fresh beef.
No crust, no trim, no weight lost — which is why it’s the default for most beef sold.
How long is long enough?
Days aged, for the steaks on the board aged any way: 10 dry, 2 dry then wet, 22 wet, 8 method not stated. The days score the same whatever the method; a steak sold aged two ways counts under each.
- 45+ d4 steaks
45+ days
3 dry, 1 dry then wet - 35 d1 steak
35–44 days
1 wet - 28 d13 steaks
28–34 days
2 dry, 10 wet, 1 method not stated - 21 d9 steaks
21–27 days
1 dry then wet, 4 wet, 4 method not stated - 14 d6 steaks
14–20 days
2 dry, 4 wet - ?9 steaks
under 14 days or not stated
3 dry, 3 wet, 3 method not stated
What it costs
Median price per pound by aging method: each steak sold that way counts once, at its best version aged that way.
Within Prime only
How aging moves the Beef Score
Aging is 25% of the score. The days the seller states set it, whatever the method; dry-aging adds 2, and dry-aging on Choice, Choice+ or Select adds 1 more, because it’s rare at those grades. The full rule.
What if the seller just says “aged”?
It’s listed as “Aged, method not stated” (8 steaks on the board) and scored by its days, with no dry-aging premium, the same as wet-aged. Days count only when the seller states them, so “aged” with no number scores as days not stated.
Does dry-aged beef ship frozen?
It depends on the seller: 4 of the 10 dry-aged steaks on our board ship fresh; the rest arrive frozen or flash-frozen.
Is longer always better?
Longer means stronger flavor and a higher price. Past about 45 days the taste turns funky and cheese-like, which not everyone wants.