There is no steak lover who doesn't know about Japanese Wagyu beef, which has become almost a legend for the beauty of its flavor and its high price. The superior quality of Wagyu beef stems from the fact that its pedigree, feed, and feeding environment are vastly different from those of other cattle breeds. Wagyu is a meat-only breed, a general term for the black-haired Wagyu, brown-haired Wagyu, Japanese short-horned, hornless Wagyu, and crosses between them, and it is not a purebred Japanese cow.
The black-haired breed is not only the best among Wagyu cattle, but also among all beef, and accounts for 90% of Wagyu production. The meat is rich in elasticity and softness, with a fine texture, no excess moisture, and a lubricated feel; the raw, shiny red lean meat has a white fat texture like frost on it, known as frosting; and it seems to melt on the tongue after being eaten - a characteristic unique to the Kurobuta breed. Matsusaka, Kobe, Omi, Yonezawa, Saga, and Ueshu are famous for their brands of black-haired Wagyu beef.
Wagyu cows are very sensitive and should never be mentally burdened in the breeding process. Thorough room-temperature management and a clean feeding environment are all necessary; some ranches listen to classical music, give cows beer and Japanese shochu to boost their appetites, and sometimes give them massages.
Chianina
No.2Italy--Quinine Cattle
Umbria's extensive mountainous and hilly pastures are rich in grass, making it a good pasture, where the world-famous Quinine Cow, Chianina, is kept. The newborn calves are light brown in color and turn white after 4 months. The calves are kept in pens in feedlots for 6 months; the adult cattle are then kept loose in hilly pastures for 6 months and then returned to pens for another 6 months*** for a total of 18 months. The Quinine is currently the largest breed of beef cattle in the world, with females averaging 500 to 700 kilograms and bulls 800 to 1,300 kilograms. The bulls are mainly used for breeding and reproduction and the females are mostly used for food.
No.3 France--Charoli Cow
The Burgundy region is located in northeastern France, and is an ancient wine-producing region of France. In Burgundy, beef has an important place on the menu because it is also the origin of Charolais cattle. Charolais cattle are pure white, and this beef is said to be France's finest.
No. 4 Australia - Grain-fed Angus
Angus is a rough-fed breed of beef cattle that has adapted to Australia's tougher production environments. In the southern temperate regions, purebred Angus cattle show good production performance. In the tropical subtropical north, Angus is crossed with other breeds to improve the meat quality, production and calving performance of their offspring.
Beef cattle are generally raised in two ways, pasture-fed with grass and grain-fed with grain. Grain-fed beef has a more delicate flavor than pasture-fed beef. Fifty-five percent of the Angus bulls currently sold in temperate southern Australia are used for production for export to the Japanese and Korean markets.
Steak grade "code"
The Japan Edible Meat Grades Association (JAMGA) manages strict grade specifications, and the market trades based on specifications such as "A-5," "B-1," and so on.
First, the meat-forming rate is categorized into three grades -- A, B, and C -- using letters of the alphabet, with grade A having the highest meat-forming rate and grade C the lowest. The numbers at the back are based on four items: "fat mix", "meat color", "meat firmness and texture", "fat color and quality", "meat quality", "meat quality", "fat color", "meat quality", and "fat quality". "4 items are divided into 5 grades.
"Mixed fat" indicates the degree of frostiness of the beef; "meat color" is best described as "fresh salmon color", and then the luster of the beef is judged visually; "Firmness and texture of meat" examines the texture and softness of the meat; "color and quality of fat" is white or cream in color, and luster and quality are also taken into consideration. Each of the above criteria is divided into 5 grades, with the higher the number the higher the grade. The grade of meat quality is determined by the lowest score among the 4 items.
One of the most emphasized items is "fat mix", which is subdivided into 12 grades within the 5 grades, resulting in the grade "A-5-11".
Westerners prefer steaks with a more rare flavor, which are tasty due to their moderate oil content and slightly juicy texture. Orientals prefer rare because they are afraid to see blood in the meat, so the less blood the better.
There are many factors that affect the flavor of a steak, such as the speed of consumption, when the steak is served, the speed of enjoying the steak can determine whether the steak is delicious. Because the steak contains both butter and juice, the temperature will reduce the flavor of the steak if it is a little low.
Eating a steak is about fire, not about enjoying a crispy texture, which is the difference between stewed beef and fried steak in Western cuisine. In addition, cutlery also affects the flavor of the steak. The knife for eating steak must be sharp, and you must check whether the teeth are distinct and clear before eating steak. In addition to this, the accompanying sauce also has a great impact on the flavor of the steak.
Side dishes
There are many kinds of side dishes for steak, and the most common pairings are potatoes, mushrooms and greens.
Asparagus is rich in vitamins, as are mushrooms, while being very chewy and flavorful, and potatoes can be used as a main course instead of rice.
Sauces
After the steak is done, mixing the sauces is a work in progress. Sauce has a great impact on the flavor of the steak, such as cream sauce, pepper sauce, red wine sauce, butter white wine sauce, mushroom sauce, fennel sauce and so on. Beef bone-in sauce is made by first browning the beef bones until they are black, then simmering them over low heat for an hour with onions, water, and red wine. Black pepper sauce is made by sautéing chopped onion in olive oil, adding black pepper for 2-3 minutes, adding red wine and brandy, then pouring in the beef bone juice and simmering for two hours. The mushroom sauce is similar to the black pepper sauce, except that the mushrooms replace the black pepper and the red wine is replaced with white wine. The result of this attention to detail is a difference in flavor.
Charcoal grilling
The natural leguminous shrub has a distinctive vanilla-like aroma, and because its main ingredient is lignin, it reaches high temperatures very quickly compared to the usual cellulose-containing wood, and the flavor comes out very quickly, making the mouth even more enjoyable to munch on at a BBQ.
Special attention: "Waking" the beef
Before grilling the steaks, let the refrigerated beef sit at room temperature for two hours. This is the first step in the "waking" process, so that the meat will be tender. When it's cooked to medium rare, it's left to rest for two or three minutes before continuing to be cooked, so that the steak will be pink when you cut into it, but with no blood visible.
Steak with red wine
Steak with red wine, which is the most popular with the culture of the Western dinner table, even if you understand the wine, do not quite understand the classification and characteristics of grape varieties, just look at the color can also be associated with the steak and red wine, that is a natural match, based on the two sides with the point of the bright red, which will be undoubtedly.
In fact, red meat with red wine, white meat with white wine, this is the simplest principle of the table, it seems that every drink wine with meals, the first step of the introduction of the first step is to start from here. Use red wine to match beef, mainly for beef to remove fishy and unctuous. Western beef steak is not like Chinese food, almost no fully cooked products, beef taste tender but more or less a little fishy. At this time, a strong flavor of the wine is almost a relief. Bordeaux region produced Cabernet Sauvignon wine brewing wine is very strong, of course, the flavor to a variety of fruity aroma-based, is a good partner to lift the greasiness of the meal. When cooking steak, in order to maintain the original flavor of the steak, only a small amount of salt and pepper seasoning, so with a slightly peppery taste of the stimulation of Silk Ha (Shiraz) to go well with the Shiraz also has a taste of animal leather, is very seductive and very aphrodisiacs of a class of wines. Native to the Rhone Valley region of France, this grape has flourished in Australia, producing high quality, consistent and affordable wines. All that said, the simplest principle of wine pairing at the table is, however, to follow the tastes and characteristics of the food and find the corresponding tastes and characteristics in the wine.
As a foodie, do you dare to say you know the world's top steaks? I come to popularize, Japan "frost" Wagyu, Italy quinine cattle, France Charolais cattle, Australia grain-fed Angus cattle is currently the world's top four steaks.
In the eyes of many diners, "frost" Wagyu beef is the best of all beef, its meat is rich in elasticity and soft, detailed texture, no excess moisture, feel lubricated; raw bright red lean meat on the texture of white fat like frost in general, known as frost; after the entrance as if to dissolve in the tongue in general. Wagyu beef is very sensitive and must not be allowed to have any mental burden during the breeding process. Thorough room temperature management, clean feeding environment are necessary; some ranches will give the cattle to listen to classical music, in order to promote appetite for cattle to drink beer, Japanese shochu, and sometimes give the cattle a massage, this living environment makes me very envious ah.
In the Angus steak, rib eye is a more classic one. It is selected from the outer spine of the cow, with tendons with oil (sirloin eye meat), taken from the front waist of the cow 3-6 or 4-10 bones between the parts of the meat, the best taste; meat eye steak, like pork with a little bit of fat to be tasty, this eye steak generally refers to the tender meat and tender tendons of beef with oil flower, from the back of the cow along the outer ridge of the most tender beef, meat tenderness is second to the most tender beef, the meat is not the most tender, but the most tender, and the most tender, and the most tender, and the most tender, and the most tender, and the most tender, and the most tender beef. The meat is tender after the filet, the fat is a little more than the filet, the taste is characterized by the meat is moist and delicious.
Eaters please note: affect the flavor of the steak a lot of factors, such as eating speed, when the steak on the table, enjoy the speed of the steak can decide whether the steak is good. Because the steak has both butter and juice, if the temperature is a little low, the steak's freshness will be reduced. One thing that is often overlooked by diners is that cutlery can also affect the flavor of the steak. Eat steak knife must be sharp, in eating steak before you must first check whether the teeth of the knife is clear.