$450/kg: The most expensive Wagyu beef steak sold in Australia
IT’S officially the most expensive meat ever sold in Australia. [Substitute images]
IT’S officially the most expensive meat ever sold in Australia and at $450 a kilogram, it brings a whole new meaning to the term “cash cow”.
Aizakura Wagyu beef can trace its lineage back to the best beef in Japan and along with its hefty price tag, can also lay claim to being the best meat ever produced here.
And with only one 423kg carcass currently available for sale — named Aizakura H178 — it’s potentially worth a staggering $190,000.
That’s good news for Anthony Puharich who will sell the prized cuts from Vic’s Meat Market in Pyrmont and Victor Churchill butchery in Woollahra.
Just four hours into the first day of sale, Victor Churchill’s Woollahra store sold all of its sirloin — adding up to about 20kg.
“This one it hit the mark in every way shape and form,” head butcher Dennis O’Rourke said.
The beef is produced by premium Wagyu breeder David Blackmore and son Ben, who say the carcass is the progeny of exceptional bloodlines and its origins can be traced back to Japan’s most famous cow — Kikutsuru from the Hyogo Prefecture, home of Kobe beef.
Once processed at a slaughterhouse in Pakenham, Victoria, the animal was tested, between the 10th and 11th rib, and the one-off quality identified.
As well as having incredible pedigree it achieved the highest scores in all of the measurements of quality including, marbling, meat and fat colour.
In quality terms, the Aizakura Wagyu beef is comparable to Japanese A5 Wagyu which is the highest grade achievable and only given to the finest beef in Japan with a score of 11.
Australian stock can only score a 9-plus.
The resulting beef has a tender, buttery taste with a soft texture and is best eaten as thinly sliced carpaccio.
For South Sydney five-eighth Luke Keary who tried a $112 sliver of the special Wagyu with his brother Ben at Vic’s Meat Market in Prymont this week, it was both an eye-opening and mouth watering experience.
“I’m used to the old rump steak at the pub, so it’s a bit of a change up today,” the premiership-winning player said. “It melts in your mouth, and the taste is spot on.”
But would he pay for such a steak?
“Depends on how much I was earning,” he joked.
The Wagyu & Penfolds Grange Bar, Vic’s Meat Market, at Sydney Fish Market holds regular Wagyu tasting of Blackmore Fullblood Wagyu, Rangers Valley and AACo Wagyu cooked by Teppan chef Eric Chan.
To make a booking, phone 8570 8570.
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