Marbled beef: a recipe for making a tender steak. Marbled beef: technology for raising bulls. Japanese marbled beef (Kobe meat) Marbled meat in the world

It simply cannot, this is due to the fact that raising animals for preparing marbled beef and the cooking process itself is a labor-intensive and expensive task.

Where did such a romantic name come from - marbled beef? The meat owes its appearance to them. The fact is that the veins of fat in the meat are located in such a way that the cut produces a beautiful pattern, reminiscent of the pattern on marble slabs. However, this meat is valued not at all for its interesting appearance, but for its surprisingly delicate taste, uncharacteristic of ordinary beef.

It is important to note that only beef can be marbled. Unfortunately, from time to time, scammers sell marbled pork or lamb tenderloin to naive and ignorant people. Such meat is obtained only through special processing after slaughter. The appearance in this case corresponds to marble, but that’s where the similarity ends.

Initially, marbled beef was produced only in Japan from the meat of young bulls of a special breed of Tojima or Wagiu. Both of these breeds were considered almost sacred in Japan, since, according to legend, higher powers contributed to their appearance. For this reason, they could not be exported from the country; only very recently these two breeds began to be raised for marbled meat in Australia. However, until now it is Japanese marbled beef that is considered the best.

Now about the process of raising animals for marbled meat. This process is costly and difficult. For a positive result, it is necessary to strictly adhere to a certain regime, menu, and special procedures. Animals are kept in narrow stalls to prevent them from moving around too much. The fact is that movements have a harmful effect on the taste of meat. And to prevent bedsores from forming, they are given vibration massage. In addition, they play classical music.

Nutrition also plays an important role. Until the age of six months, the animals are fed only milk, then they are grazed in wild meadows. Afterwards they are transferred to a separate room, where they are fed with selected grains, and for appetite they drink beer and sake.

This is roughly what the growing technology looks like. However, each manufacturer has its own secrets that they do not reveal to anyone. And those treatments to which meat is subjected immediately after the slaughter of animals are protected like the apple of one’s eye. All these manipulations create that wonderful taste, for which all gourmets of the world value it.

How marble is prepared or their details are also kept secret. The peculiarity of preparing marbled meat is that it is fried in the presence of the client. At least that's how they do it in Japan. A special roasting pan is installed next to the client’s table, and he can observe the process. In addition, there is such a popular dish as "Sukiyaki nabe", which is boiled marbled beef combined with bean curd, vegetables and raw egg. This dish is served in an even more interesting way: the client himself cooks pre-prepared pieces of marbled meat, and then eats them with sauce while the rest of the ingredients are cooked in the meat broth. Noodle chowder completes the meal.

There is another interesting recipe: marbled beef steak. For this you will need, in fact, a piece of marbled meat and spices. The thickness of a piece of meat should not exceed 2 cm. The meat should be washed and wiped with paper napkins to get rid of excess moisture. Place pieces of meat on a dry, hot frying pan. They are fried on each side for about 4 minutes. The marbled beef steak is ready.

What side dish to choose for marbled meat is up to everyone to decide for themselves. However, it must be taken into account that there is no point in combining such an exquisite delicacy with ordinary and boring side dishes. It's better to choose something more interesting and tasty.

Meat is the favorite food of most people. Of course, we eat both plant foods and dairy products, but many perceive such food only as an addition to the main menu. Meat food is tasty and nutritious. The most common meat is pork, and the most expensive is beef. And if it is also marbled beef, then it can cost up to $1000. What is special about this meat, and why is marbled beef the most expensive meat in the world?

This is a special type of meat, with many thin layers of fat in the muscle tissue, which not only give the meat an unusually tender and juicy taste, but also its color - pink meat, permeated with white streaks and, in fact, very similar to marble.

During the cooking process, the fat layers melt and fill the meat with juice - due to this, it acquires a unique softness and tenderness inherent only to it.
The more such layers in the meat, the higher its marbling, and therefore the higher the price. The degree of marbling determines which category marbled beef falls into. The highest category is “Prime”, followed by selected meat “Choise”, and then regular marbled meat – “Select”.

The technology for producing such meat is quite complex, time-consuming and expensive, so it is not produced on an industrial scale.

This most expensive meat on the planet comes from a special breed of Wagiu cows, which for many centuries were raised only in Japan and were not exported to other countries of the world. And although in modern times these valuable animals are bred in Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, and even in Russia, prices for marbled meat have not become lower.

The exceptional taste of marbled meat is due to the special technology of growing bulls. The lives of these thoroughbreds are enviable! Just imagine: up to 4-6 months, calves are fed milk, then slightly matured calves graze on ecologically clean meadows, and they live a free life, without human intervention. The bulls are then placed in individual apartments with soundproof walls, where they are suspended by reins. This seemingly strange procedure is done so that the animal cannot move, but also does not lie down, which is very important! Indeed, in order to evenly distribute layers of fat in muscle tissue, the muscles of bulls must be tense.

Throughout this period, the animals are not only fed with selected grain, but also given high-quality beer to improve their appetite. The longer the bull is fed grain, the greater the marbling quality of the future meat. On average, the grain feeding standard is 200-300 days.

But that's not all! To ensure that the fat from such a good life is not deposited anywhere, but goes into the meat and forms thin marble veins, the bull is given a vibration massage, reminiscent of beating, and Japanese classical music is played to improve digestion for the horned beauties. Is it any wonder that in the end the meat of such a bull turns out to be tender, juicy, melting in the mouth like butter. It is not for nothing that in Japan they say about marbled beef that it is “meat that does not require teeth.”

By the way, Nikita Khrushchev was the first to appreciate the taste of marbled beef in Russia. He had a chance to try marbled beef steak during a business visit to the United States. Khrushchev liked this unusual, tasty, tender dish so much that upon returning to Russia, the General Secretary asked his personal chef to prepare beef for him using the same technology. However, in terms of its taste, the resulting dish could not replicate the American steak. It was then that it turned out that marbled beef has its own secret, which lies not in the recipe for its preparation, but in a special type of meat, which allows this dish to convey all the best taste sensations.

After this, by decree of Khrushchev, a specialized livestock farm was equipped, to which bulls of a special breed were supplied from Europe, which later served as the main sources of marbled meat for the Soviet leader. For a long time in Russia, marbled beef was a delicacy for the elite. And only in the last decade has it become possible to taste this amazing meat in restaurants in the largest Russian cities.

Due to the uniform distribution of fat in the muscle tissue of young bulls, when cut, the meat resembles marble, and in a frying pan, the “marble” layers melt, giving the tenderloin extraordinary tenderness and taste. The Japanese say that even a toothless person can eat marbled beef - it is so soft...

Beer and reins

However, the Japanese say a lot about marbled meat and they have the right to do so: cows of a special breed were raised exclusively in the Land of the Rising Sun for a long time and were not exported to other countries! The “growing” of marbled meat is overgrown with juicy myths and legends. The Japanese claimed that young calves are fed milk for 4-6 months, then released to graze on ecologically clean meadows - and certainly without any “human presence”, after which the calves are placed in soundproof (!) apartments, suspended on reins (so that the muscles of the calves are under constant tension to ensure even distribution of fat). They feed them selected barley and drink beer to improve their appetite; in addition, they regularly give them massages and... play Japanese classical music.

When Japanese bulls were crossed with the equally “marbled” Scottish Aberdeen Angus, new valuable breeds began to be bred in Australia, Argentina, the USA and other countries, without beer or music. The imported marbled beef breeders had one thing in common: a strong belief that Russia would never be able to handle such complex “livestock technology” in its life and we could only buy meat at the price of real marble. This is how it was for a long time: we relied on the production of chicken and pork, but few people wanted to tinker with beef, especially elite beef. But with the introduction of sanctions, it turned out that we not only can “make” marbled beef no worse than foreigners, but, it turns out, we have been doing this for a long time - in Lipetsk, Voronezh, and the Leningrad region. Imports simply prevented development...

Photo: Shutterstock.com

The envy of Dolly the sheep

How did you decide to produce such “complex” meat? - I ask Alexander Brazhnik, general director of the Sputnik breeding plant (Leningrad region).

“Why decide,” Alexander shrugs. - By the way, the Aberdeen Angus breed is quite unpretentious, quickly acclimatizes and is resistant to diseases. It all started with the fact that in 2006 we brought 200 heads of bulls and began to fatten them. Then another 300, and then 300 heifers were brought from America and began selection. All our animals are high-breed, with almost royal pedigree. We don’t feed them with beer, but we grow them with the utmost care and using the most modern technologies. We feed only environmentally friendly, natural feed: barley, corn, cake, drink clean water, we prepare hay ourselves - it is of the highest quality. In addition, to fatten “1 head” you need 1 hectare of pasture - we diligently comply with this norm, although, of course, there is not enough land. The number of our herd is 1500, and it could be more if “the land allowed”.

The breeding plant practically resembles a space station - everything is so modernly equipped. Every cow and bull has a chip in its ear. A mega-modern slaughterhouse was recently built - so that precious marbled meat reaches customers in vacuum packaging. It has its own boiler room and cultivated areas where environmentally controlled hay is grown. And the main thing that amazed me is that they are doing such miracles with selection that Dolly the sheep would be jealous. Several breeding plant specialists were trained in the USA to transfer and... wash out embryos. Well, this is when the embryos of a “fashionable” cow, inseminated from an elite stud bull, are washed out in a special way and implanted into surrogate mothers. What's the focus? The surrogate mother of “unremarkable appearance” carries and gives birth to an elite calf... And it was also femininely upsetting that cows have no names - only numbers, and only stud bulls have nicknames. Why such discrimination? It turns out that stud bulls are an “elite squad”... “We are constantly working to improve the breed,” A. Brazhnik concludes the tour. - We sell some bulls, buy others, and cross them. Work is in full swing from 6.30 am to 8 pm, and now we leave even later - haymaking. We work hard, but the state helps - subsidizes for the offspring, for the safety of the herd. We sell marbled beef for 360 rubles per kg, in a restaurant for this price they will serve you 50 grams... What else are you interested in? Do I eat my “wards” myself? I'm sorry, but I eat. The marbled beef is very tasty!”

“Typically Russian guys”

In the Voronezh region, there are several enterprises for breeding Aberdeen Angus cows and producing marbled meat, and they started just a few years ago, but quickly and powerfully - the regional authorities there are very helpful with land, electricity, water and subsidies. In addition, as Voronezh farmers say, confirming the words of A. Brazhnik, despite the “Japanese fairy tales” about the exceptional pampering of marble bulls, they turned out to be “typically Russian guys.” They don’t mind any frosts, they can spend the whole year in the open air, they have a rapid increase in meat, so it’s already difficult to meet a “non-elite” cow in the Voronezh region.

And the famous Lipetsk company Albif (now occupies about 20% of the Russian marbled beef market) generally began producing premium meat because of... corn. “In 2004,” says co-owner of the company Nikolay Bobin, - a holding company that grew grains had a pleasant surprise - a gigantic corn harvest. There was simply nowhere to put it! And I just returned from Canada, where they showed and told me that corn is an ideal feed for raising marble bulls. We bought 5 thousand bulls in Australia, built a farm (part of the interest rate on loans was subsidized by the state) - and the business took off.” Now there are so many cows that we even had to build our own processing complex.” Sanctions have also boosted production in the Voronezh, Lipetsk, and Leningrad regions - the demand for domestic marbled beef has increased significantly. “Previously, marbled beef was brought to us from Australia,” sums up Oleg Rybakov, assistant to the chef of the culinary studio of Yulia Vysotskaya, - and recently received it from the Voronezh region. It looks and tastes inimitable.” Like this. And without any Japanese classical music. I would like to say in Japanese: “Bite the mow!”...

June 27th, 2017

Yesterday we talked about it, and today we continue the topic - marbled beef.

Marbled meat simply cannot be cheap, this is due to the fact that raising animals for preparing marbled beef and the cooking process itself is a labor-intensive and expensive task. Where did such a romantic name come from - marbled beef? The meat owes its appearance to them.

The fact is that the veins of fat in the meat are located in such a way that the cut produces a beautiful pattern, reminiscent of the pattern on marble slabs.

However, this meat is valued not at all for its interesting appearance, but for its surprisingly delicate taste, uncharacteristic of ordinary beef.

It is important to note that only beef can be marbled. Unfortunately, from time to time, scammers sell marbled pork or lamb tenderloin to naive and ignorant people. Such meat is obtained only through special processing after slaughter. The appearance in this case corresponds to marble, but that’s where the similarity ends. Initially, marbled beef was produced only in Japan from the meat of young bulls of a special breed of Tojima or cows of the Wagiu breed.

Both of these breeds were considered almost sacred in Japan, since, according to legend, higher powers contributed to their appearance. For this reason, they could not be exported from the country; only very recently these two breeds began to be raised for marbled meat in Australia. However, until now it is Japanese marbled beef that is considered the best. Now about the process of raising animals for marbled meat. This process is costly and difficult. For a positive result, it is necessary to strictly adhere to a certain regime, menu, and special procedures. Animals are kept in narrow stalls to prevent them from moving around too much. The fact is that movements have a harmful effect on the taste of meat. And to prevent bedsores from forming, they are given vibration massage. In addition, they play classical music.

Nutrition also plays an important role. Until the age of six months, the animals are fed only milk, then they are grazed in wild meadows. Afterwards they are transferred to a separate room, where they are fed with selected grains, and for appetite they drink beer and sake. This is roughly what the growing technology looks like. However, each manufacturer has its own secrets that they do not reveal to anyone. And those treatments to which meat is subjected immediately after the slaughter of animals are protected like the apple of one’s eye. All these manipulations create that wonderful taste, for which all gourmets of the world value it. How is marbled beef prepared? Recipes, or rather their details, are also kept secret. The peculiarity of preparing marbled meat is that it is fried in the presence of the client. At least that's how they do it in Japan. A special roasting pan is installed next to the client’s table, and he can observe the process. In addition, there is such a popular dish as "Sukiyaki nabe", which is boiled marbled beef combined with egg noodles, bean curd, vegetables and raw egg. This dish is served in an even more interesting way: the client himself cooks pre-prepared pieces of marbled meat, and then eats them with sauce while the rest of the ingredients are cooked in the meat broth. Noodle chowder completes the meal.

There is another interesting recipe: marbled beef steak. For this you will need, in fact, a piece of marbled meat and spices.
The thickness of a piece of meat should not exceed 2 cm. The meat should be washed and wiped with paper napkins to get rid of excess moisture. Place pieces of meat on a dry, hot frying pan. They are fried on each side for about 4 minutes. The marbled beef steak is ready. What side dish to choose for marbled meat is up to everyone to decide for themselves. However, it must be taken into account that there is no point in combining such an exquisite delicacy with ordinary and boring side dishes. It's better to choose something more interesting and tasty.

When talking about beef, Steak immediately comes to mind. Steak (from the English steak - piece of meat) is a thick piece of fried meat. A steak made from the best cuts of beef is usually called simply steak (sometimes also beef steak).

The history of steak.

Sometimes the history of steak dates back to the times of Ancient Rome, “where in temples, during the ritual of sacrifice, priests fried large pieces of beef on grates in order to place them on the divine altar.”

In medieval Europe, beef had a low reputation: it was almost exclusively the meat of old cows and bulls. Excess cattle were slaughtered at an early age, so veal was quite common in the cuisine of the wealthy.

The widespread practice of castration of young bulls and their intensive fattening for meat began in England and only later spread throughout Europe, which explains the fact that almost all European languages, including Russian (via German), borrowed the basic names of fried cuts of beef from English: steak and roast beef.

In Great Britain, steak gained recognition only in the 15th century; in 1460, its description appeared in a recipe book, and three centuries later, the technology for preparing a piece of meat fried over an open fire became known on the mainland. The starting point for the birth of the modern beef industry in America is considered to be the moment when Columbus brought Longhorn cattle to the New World across the Atlantic.

There is an opinion that classic steaks are a purely American national dish and perhaps the only valuable contribution of the United States to world cuisine. It is no coincidence that it was here that a real cult of steak was created, which became part of the national culture. And today this country is one of the leading exporters of beef. In the USA, its production is under government supervision. There are very high criteria for selecting meat for steaks: strict gradations and strict standards for fattening, slaughter and veterinary control of livestock. In addition to the United States, Australia and Argentina are major beef producers.

Steak meat

Steak meat is always a product of elite animal husbandry. To obtain a high-quality dish, only meat from young bulls (from one to one and a half years old) of certain breeds is suitable. The best meat breeds are Hereford and Angus, and the most valuable is pure meat. certified angus beef.

Animal fattening

The method of fattening animals is of great importance. Grain-fed steers are the most prized (in America, corn is preferred, in Australia - wheat), since they develop delicate fatty layers inside their muscle fibers. This type of beef, called marbled beef, is more tender and juicy during cooking than grass-fed bull meat. Of the marbling standards, preference is usually given to the highest (prime) and choice (choice) categories.

Carcass cutting

Pieces for steaks are cut from those areas of the animal carcass that were not involved in muscle movement. The meat is separated into thick (no less than 3 and no more than 5 cm) slices in the transverse direction. Such cutting will then allow the heat to pass evenly through the “pores” of the fibers, quickly heating the meat to the desired temperature.

Meat aging

Steaks are never cooked from fresh meat; beef should be aged for 15 to 23 days. This period is necessary so that during the fermentation process the muscle tissue becomes looser and more tender.

Types of steaks

Beef steaks themselves are an expensive dish, since the meat for them is taken from the best parts of a bull carcass. About 7-10% of the entire animal carcass is suitable for their preparation. Modern cuisine distinguishes the following types of steaks, the name of which depends on which part of the carcass the meat was cut from:

• ribeye steak, cut from the subscapular part of the carcass and having a large number of fatty streaks;


• club steak, cut from the back at the thick edge of the longissimus dorsi muscle and having a small rib bone;


• T-bone steak (T-bone steak), cut from a section of the carcass on the border between the dorsal and lumbar parts in the area of ​​​​the thin edge of the longissimus dorsi muscle and the thin edge of the tenderloin, therefore consisting of two types of steak meat at once - filet mignon on one side bones and “New York” on the other;


• Porterhouse steak, cut from the lumbar region of the back at the thick edge of the tenderloin;


• striploin steak (New York strip), cut from a boneless strip of the lumbar region;


• sirloin steak, cut from the lumbar back in the area of ​​the head of the tenderloin;


• roundramb steak, cut from the top piece of the thigh;


• filet mignon - a transverse thin cut of the central part of the sirloin with the most tender meat, not cooked “rare”;


• chateaubriand - the thick edge of the central part of beef tenderloin (fried whole or portioned, most often for two), essentially the same large filet mignon, but not served standing up, but laid out lengthwise on a plate;


• tornedos - small pieces from the thin edge of the central part of the tenderloin, used to prepare medallions;


• Skirt steak is not the most tender, but a very tasty piece of meat from the diaphragm.

Cooking steaks

At first glance, steak appears to be a rather simple dish in the form of a piece of meat fried on both sides. But not all chefs know how to cook this dish correctly. The process of working on it hides many subtleties, starting with the correct selection and preparation of meat and ending with the technology of frying it.

The equipment for cooking steaks is an oven or charcoal oven, where heat coming from all sides creates pressure inside the piece. In order for the meat to turn out tasty and meet the wishes of the guest, it is necessary to maintain the required degree of frying of the steak, which meets a certain temperature regime.

Degrees of doneness

According to the American classification system, there are seven degrees of doneness for steaks:

• extra-rare (from English . extra rare, Also blue rare or English . blue) - heated to 46-49 °C and quickly “closed” on the grill, moist, but not cold;


• with "blood" (red juice) rare) - uncooked meat (fried on the outside, red on the inside) with red juice, heated to 49-55 °C (cooked for 2-3 minutes at 200 °C);


• medium rare . medium rare) - uncooked meat, with bright pink juice and heated to 55-60 °C (cooked for 4-5 minutes at 190-200 °C);


• medium rare . medium) - medium-roasted meat with light pink juice inside and heated to 60-65 °C (cooked for 6-7 minutes at 180 °C);


• almost cooked medium well) - meat with clear juice and heated to 65-69 °C (cooked for 8-9 minutes at 180 °C);


• fried well done) - fully fried meat with almost no juice, heated to 71-100 ° C (cooked for 8-9 minutes at 180 ° C with additional cooking in a combi oven);


• deep fried too well done, overcooked) - fully fried meat without any juice and heated to a temperature of over 100 ° C.

Sources:
wikipedia.org

Marble beef It is considered a gourmet type of meat. It got its name because when cut it really resembles a stone. The impression is created by small veins and thin layers of fat, which make this meat unusually tasty, juicy and tender. Per 100 g beef accounts for 18 g of protein and only 10 g of fat, as well as contains significantly more than usual substances that strengthen the secretory function of the digestive organs, easily digestible iron and substances that prevent the formation of cholesterol, B vitamins, phosphorus, sulfur, zinc and other metals.

It has been established that marble meat prevents the development of cancer.

How marbled beef is raised
The veins that distinguish marbled beef are formed as a result of a special regime of feeding and raising young bulls.
Several factors play a major role in obtaining real marbled beef:
1. Choosing the right calf breed. The meat breeds genetically prone to the formation of veins are Aberdeen, Hereford, and others.
2. A special way of fattening calves throughout their lives.
The nutrition of animals, depending on their age, is organized according to certain patterns.

One of the schemes is "grass-fed".
1. from birth to six months, bull calves feed on milk,
2. then for up to 15 months they are on pastures with organic grasses, gaining weight,
3. From 15-19 months, bulls are kept in stalls, restricting their movement. At this time they are fed corn mixed with wheat and alfalfa with the addition of vitamin complexes and microelements.
It is on the basis of such nutrition that inclusions of light fat are formed in the muscle structure, and the meat takes on a resemblance to marble.

Bull calves are slaughtered at the age of 9-30 months. The meat turns out quite lean.

The second method of fattening is grain feeding.
1. From birth to six months, calves are given milk,
2. The bulls then receive exclusively grain and quickly gain weight.
The bulls are slaughtered at 10–11 months.

Third way - ancient Japanese technology "Kobe". It produces the most valuable types of marbled beef. This technology is used to fatten calves of the special Wagyu breed, which is a national treasure of Japan.
Meat from fattened bulls has certain grades of quality, of which the highest categories are Prime, Choise, and then several categories of regular marbled meat - Select, Standard, Commercial. Meat of lower categories is used for processing.

Features of preparing dishes from marbled beef
In Japanese restaurants, marbled meat is prepared in front of customers. It is fried in vegetable oil with sesame seeds and spices.
Beef is used to prepare shabu-shabu - a dish of boiled thin pieces of meat, vegetables and noodles, as well as sukiyaki - also of boiled meat, vegetables and noodles with the addition of bean curd and raw egg.
In other countries of the world, marbled beef is used to prepare steaks with a side dish of vegetables or green salads.
Tender marbled beef does not require long-term heat treatment.

The meat is prepared for frying in the following sequence:
1. defrost without removing from the refrigerator at a temperature not higher than + 4,
2. remove the vacuum packaging, wipe with a napkin (do not wash in water), let the meat stand for 15 minutes,
3. cut across the grain into pieces at least 2–2.5 cm thick.
The steaks are not pounded, quickly fried with a small amount of oil on all sides, then salt and pepper.

How marbled beef (semi-finished products) is sold
To preserve and sell marbled beef, it is cooled or frozen.
Semi-finished products - steaks - are prepared from frozen meat, which is stored at a temperature not lower than -1.5°. In this case, the quality and properties of the meat are completely restored after defrosting.
To increase the shelf life to 8–10 weeks (maximum 120 days from the date of slaughter), storage of chilled meat in vacuum packaging with inert gas is used.
Properly raised marbled beef is very expensive. The delicacy is supplied mainly from the United States and Australia, where fattening technology is simpler and cheaper than in Japan.