This piece is about 4.8kg. My guess was $750 and it turned out to be $800++. I mean the marbling is nice and stuff and if you were to grade this would be 7/8. But I think a grade 5 would be good enough for the best steak. Reason: If you want to cook a medium rare steak, one with grade 6 marbling and above would still have fat left in the meat that has not been rendered down if you want a medium rare or medium steak. So when you cook it medium rare, you'll still find raw fat in the meat. Maybe I don't know the way to do it la.. But who knows. The price is also...
Kagoshima, the prefecture, is home to one of the largest livestock industries in Japan and most gourmands are familiar with the Berkshire-style pork that comes from the region. However, Kagoshima actually produces the highest quantity of beef that comes out of Japan, with almost 20% of Japanese wagyu originating here. Thanks to the temperate climate and the Japanese black cattle breed, the meat that comes from Kagoshima is known for its tenderness as well as its well-balanced marbling. Kagoshima beef is the preferred beef at Robuchon a Galera in Macau, where Le Boeuf Kagoshima is a signature dish. Executive chef Francky Semblat grills the sirloin part of the beef to give it a light smoked flavour that complements the grey shallot garnish, while also preserving the integrity of the meat's flavour.
I was told Australians grade beef from grade 1-9 while Japanese grade their beef A1-5. I bet all of you only heard of grades 1-9 right... Haha joking. Well, it's my first. & it's my first time knowing of kagoshima, while being an amateur, they only know the popular beef but not some that are popular in Japan itself like Kagoshima, Matsuzaka, Kumamoto and Miyazaki. Some very simple differences are: Matsuzaka comes from female cows only, while Kobe meat comes from bullock or bulls.
Maybe other than knowing the cities of US, we should get to know a little about Japan since all the premium, weirdest and priciest ingredients comes from there. Kagoshima is a Prefecture of Japan. What is a prefecture? The prefectures of Japan are the country's 47 first-order subnational jurisdictions on a state or provincial level: one "metropolis", Tokyo; one "circuit"/territory, Hokkaido; two urban prefectures, Osaka and Kyoto; and 43 other prefectures. Prefectures are governmental bodies larger than cities, towns and villages. The former provinces of Japan were converted into prefectures in the 1870s.
Realize, ingredients from US don't come with the name of the city in front while Japan's does? Kagoshima beef, Kumamoto beef, Miyazaki beef, Hokkaido Scallops and the lists goes on. Well, the famous Kurobuta pork which is a Berkshire pig bred in Japan(Kurobuta=Black) as compared to its big origin from the English county of Berkshire. Herds of the breed are still maintained in England by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust at Aldenham Country Park, Hertforshire, and by the South of England Rare Breeds Centre in Kent. The Berkshire is listed as 'vulnerable', as in 2008 fewer than 300 breeding sows were know to exist. Some pigs of the breed are also kept in New Zealand, but it is estimated that there are now fewer than a hundred purebred sows there.
Kurobuta Pork is the most highly prized pork in Japan and comes from the ancient breed of pig known as Black Berkshire. The meat from the pure oriental strains of Black Berkshire, found in Japan, is regarded as the highest quality pork in the world.
Speaking about Pork, I wanted to share about Mangalitsa pigs. It was new to me last year when I came to know about it while watching F Word by Gordon Ramsay. Mangalitsa (US spelling), Mangalitza (UK spelling) or Mangalica (original Hungrian spelling) To read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangalitsa
I'll touch on Dexter cows, the smallest breed of cows in my next post. It's 1.28 AM now, got to catch some sleep before the sun rises. Cheers! Hope you guys enjoyed this post.