While most restaurants price regular steaks confidently, dry-aged cuts leave many chefs guessing at their true costs. This guesswork costs restaurants tens of euros per steak when they underestimate the hidden expenses. Here's exactly how to calculate what dry-aging really costs, including every expense that impacts your bottom line.
What makes dry-aged steak expensive?
Dry-aging isn't just about time—it's about paying for space, energy, and accepting inevitable losses. Most restaurants only factor in weight loss but miss the bigger picture.
- Weight loss from moisture evaporation (15-30%)
- Cutting loss from removing crust (5-15%)
- Refrigerated space and energy for 21-60 days
- Labor for inspection and maintenance
- Risk of spoilage (2-5% of batch)
⚠️ Note:
Most restaurants only account for weight loss but forget the costs of space, energy, and labor. This oversight can underestimate your cost price by €5-10 per steak.
Calculate total weight loss
You're dealing with two distinct types of loss: moisture loss during aging and cutting loss during processing. Both eat into your margins.
Moisture loss formula:
Loss % = ((Start weight - Weight after aging) / Start weight) × 100
? Example moisture loss:
Ribeye 28 days dry-aged:
- Start weight: 5.0 kg
- After 28 days: 4.0 kg
- Moisture loss: 20%
Cutting loss formula:
Additional loss from removing crust and trimming.
? Example cutting loss:
After dry-aging further processing:
- Weight after aging: 4.0 kg
- After trimming and portioning: 3.4 kg
- Additional cutting loss: 15%
Total loss: 32% (20% + 15% of remainder)
Calculate storage costs
After managing kitchen operations for nearly a decade, I've seen too many chefs skip this step—and wonder why their dry-aged program isn't profitable. You need to divide these costs across your production.
- Refrigerated space: €2-5 per m² per day
- Energy: €0.50-1.50 per kg per week
- Labor for inspection: 15 min per day = €3-5
- Spoilage risk: 2-5% of purchase value
? Example storage costs:
28 days aging for 20 kg meat:
- Refrigerated space: €3/day × 28 days = €84
- Energy: €1/kg/week × 20 kg × 4 weeks = €80
- Labor: €4/day × 28 days = €112
- Risk: 3% × €400 purchase = €12
Total storage costs: €288 for 20 kg
Per kg: €288 / 20 kg = €14.40/kg extra
Calculate the actual cost price
Now you'll combine all costs: purchase, storage, and loss. This is where the real numbers reveal themselves.
Total cost price formula:
(Purchase price + Storage costs per kg) / (Yield % / 100)
? Example complete calculation:
Ribeye 28 days dry-aged:
- Purchase price: €20/kg
- Storage costs: €14.40/kg
- Subtotal: €34.40/kg
- Total loss: 32%
- Yield: 68%
Actual cost price: €34.40 / 0.68 = €50.59/kg
For 300g steak: €15.18 ingredient costs
Determine your selling price
With dry-aged steak, you can apply a higher margin due to premium positioning. Your customers expect to pay more—and they should.
- Standard food cost for dry-aged: 25-30% (vs 30-35% normal)
- Premium positioning justifies lower food cost
- Guests accept higher prices for dry-aged
? Example pricing:
300g dry-aged ribeye:
- Ingredient costs: €15.18
- Target food cost: 28%
- Minimum price excl. VAT: €15.18 / 0.28 = €54.21
- Price incl. 9% VAT: €59.09
Menu price: €59.00
⚠️ Note:
Check your storage costs regularly. Energy prices and rent change. Update your cost price at least quarterly.
Track your numbers with systems
Dry-aging cost prices are complex. Manual tracking in Excel quickly becomes error-prone and time-consuming.
A system like tools for food costing helps automatically include all costs (purchase, storage, loss) in your cost price, so you always know what you're really earning on dry-aged steaks.
How do you calculate the cost price of dry-aged steak? (step by step)
Measure weight loss
Weigh the meat before and after aging. Calculate the moisture loss percentage. Weigh again after trimming and portioning for cutting loss. Total loss = both percentages combined.
Calculate all storage costs
Add up: refrigerated space per day, energy costs, labor for inspection, and spoilage risk. Divide these costs by the number of kilos you're aging at once. This gives you storage costs per kg.
Calculate the actual cost price
Add purchase price and storage costs. Divide by your yield percentage (100% minus total loss). This is your actual cost price per kg of usable meat.
✨ Pro tip
Start with 8-10 kg batches and track every expense for your first 3 aging cycles to establish baseline costs. Only scale up once you've nailed down your exact storage costs per kilogram.
Calculate this yourself?
In the KitchenNmbrs app you can do this in just a few clicks. 7 days free, no credit card.
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Frequently asked questions
How much weight loss is normal with dry-aging?
Can I estimate storage costs instead of calculating them?
What food cost percentage should I target for dry-aged steak?
How often should I recalculate my dry-aged cost prices?
What if I lose meat to spoilage during aging?
Should I age different cuts for the same duration?
Can I use the same aging space for different batches simultaneously?
Sources consulted
- EU Verordening 852/2004 — Levensmiddelenhygiëne (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 853/2004 — Hygiënevoorschriften voor levensmiddelen van dierlijke oorsprong (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 1169/2011 — Voedselinformatie aan consumenten (2011) — Official source
- NVWA — Hygiënecode voor de horeca (2024) — Official source
- NVWA — Allergenen in voedsel (2024) — Official source
- Codex Alimentarius — International Food Standards (2024) — Official source
- FSA — Safer food, better business (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- BVL — Lebensmittelhygiene (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
Food Standards Agency (FSA) — https://www.food.gov.uk
The HACCP standards shown in this application are for informational purposes only. KitchenNmbrs does not guarantee that displayed values are current or complete. Always consult the FSA or your local authority for the latest regulations.
Written by
Jeffrey Smit
Founder & CEO of KitchenNmbrs
Jeffrey Smit built KitchenNmbrs from 8 years of hands-on experience as kitchen manager at 1NUL8 Group in Rotterdam. His mission: give every restaurant owner control over food cost.
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