Dry aging beef tenderloin - did I ruin Christmas dinner?

[Croissant]

I am preparing beef wellington for only the second time (had a previous post about assembling in advance) ...

I dry aged the tenderloin in the fridge for 48 hours before browning and it's developed this leathery exterior - is this normal?! I don't remember this happening the last time, but maybe my memory is just bad.

needless to say, I know relatively little - ok, nothing - about preparing meats.

[RUNNERFEMME]

rainey is right on. take a sharp knife and shave the thinnest layer of dry beef possible. proceed.

[Croissant]

What a relief! Thank you. So I went ahead and browned the beef with the leathery skin on - should I shave it off and re-brown?

As an aside - I'm following a CI recipe... I'm surprised there's no mention of this in the recipe - I usually find their instructions so thorough.

[scubadoo97]

At 49 hrs. I doubt it was that leathery. I would leave it as it will give you a nice crust when cooked

[Croissant]

Thanks, everyone, for the quick replies. I'll forge ahead and see how everything turns out.

[fourunder]

For a short dry age as you have done, I would not shave off BEFORE browning/preparing.....nor AFTER.

[rainey]

You haven't ruined anything. That's exactly what's to be expected. Take a very sharp knife and shave it off. Proceed as you had planned.

[hotoynoodle]

it's fine. if you're air-drying the meat, moisture has been leaching out of the meat and evaporating. it starts from the surface and works its way down.