Here I go again, lifting another article from forbestraveler.com. Last month, I featured some of the world’s most expensive cocktails. This time let’s look at some of the world’s most expensive steaks. This post is also dedicated to a friend who simply loves steaks.

She even says she’s ‘ipinaglihi’ [a mother's food cravings during pregnancy] on steaks! ‘Steak A La Pobre’ in particular, where she apparently got her colour from. So Princess, read on and drool . . . Oooopsss! The diet!

Choice Cuts | Rob Baedeker
First posted in ForbesTraveler.com
Friday, 20 October 2006 | 00:00:00 EDT 2006

The World’s Most Expensive Steaks

It’s a steak with the texture of foie gras, and it comes from cattle that, according to legend, are fed beer and massaged by human hands. In its raw state, the meat is pale–almost white–packed with what Chef de Cuisine David Varley of Las Vegas’ Bradley Ogden restaurant calls “an ungodly amount of fat.”

 

This marbled delicacy is the product of Japanese beef cattle, or “Wagyu,” raised both in and outside of Japan, and it dominates high-end steak menus internationally. We spoke with chefs and managers at fine steakhouses worldwide, as well as beef producers, butchers and meat experts, to compile our list of the world’s most expensive steaks. Wagyu entrees account for all of our top ten.

 

Kobe beef, an appellation that applies to Wagyu cattle raised in Japan’s Hyogo prefecture and adhering to production standards of that region, is perhaps the most famous brand of Wagyu–and the priciest. Chef Varley’s “Triple Seared” Japanese Kobe in Las Vegas runs $33 an ounce, bringing the bill for an eight-ounce serving to $264.00. At Tokyo’s Aragawa, you can expect to pay 30,000 Yen ($301) for a 250 gram (about eight ounces) charbroiled Kobe filet accompanied by mustard and pepper.

 

A few hours by bullet train to the west of Tokyo, the Kobe Renga-tei Steak Restaurant in the city of Kobe covers its Wagyu with a fine Japanese paper before cooking on a copper and iron grill. “This is how professional sumo wrestlers cooked wild boar meat around 200 years ago in the Edo period,” proclaims the restaurant’s Web site, adding, “All of our chefs are women. This provides for an especially warm and cozy atmosphere.” Accompanied by Scottish salmon, seasoned salad and including dessert, the “Select Special Filet Course” goes for a warm and cozy 24,000 Yen ($206).

 

Outside of Japan, cattle with Wagyu genetics (sometimes crossbred with domestic strains like American Black Angus) are now raised in the U.S. and Australia. Wagyu production outside of Japan increased during the 2001 to 2005 U.S. ban on imports of Japanese beef and has continued to gain in popularity since. Chris Albrecht, Chef de Cuisine at New York’s Craftsteak, recently served up an entire Wagyu “103″ rib eye (meaning it had very long rib bones and all of the meat attached, including shortribs) to a large private party for $2,800, a gross price that puts it at the top of our list.

 

At Wolfgang Puck’s new steakhouse, CUT, in Beverly Hills, Chef Ari Rosenson is noticing a steady demand for both Japanese- and American-raised Wagyu. “I’m amazed,” he says. “People are really interested and curious about it. I can’t keep enough in house. And we’re seeing a lot of repeat customers.” Rosenson’s menu features an eight-ounce rib eye of “True Japanese 100% Wagyu Beef from Miyazaki Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan” for $160.

 

According to Bryan Voltaggio, executive chef at Charlie Palmer in Washington, Wagyu cattle are “raised slowly and naturally, which can take up to four times longer than the typical process used in the U.S.” Jay Thieler, executive director of marketing at Snake River Farms, which raises “American style Kobe” in Idaho, describes the same patient method for the Wagyu breeds his company raises on U.S. soil. “You don’t hurry them to market,” he says. He adds that the extended raising period produces more “internal muscular marbling,” the fatty streaks that give Wagyu its unique, rich texture. Extended life spans translate into more costs, which further compound the price of the meat.

 

The preparation at most fine restaurants is a relatively quick combination of initial broiling or searing followed by finishing on a grill or oven for about 15 minutes. CUT’s chef Rosenson says all his steaks get the same treatment: They’re seasoned with salt and pepper, put in a 1200-degree broiler, which sears and caramelizes the meat, and then finished slowly over a charcoal and oak grill.

 

For non-Wagyu steak varieties, dry-aging is what enriches the flavor — and price. (Most restaurants on our list also feature dry-aged options for their non-Wagyu selections.) According to Dennis Kelly, author of The Complete Meat Cookbook, dry aging, where steak is hung in a climate-controlled chamber for up to six weeks, “causes enzymatic changes in the meat; moisture evaporates, and the meat takes on a different, gelatinous texture–the flavor gets more beefy. Like cheese, steak as it ages takes on tremendous character.”

 

The moisture loss involved in dry aging–along with a resulting outer crust that needs to be trimmed away–result in a substantial loss in mass (up to 25%), thus increasing costs. For this reason, according to Bradley Ogden’s chef Varley, most chefs will generally not dry-age the already-pricey Japanese Kobe steaks. Instead, they are seared, grilled, and shuttled directly to the plates of well-heeled diners, where the meat yields like butter under the knife.

And now for the choicest of all cuts . . .

Private-order “103″ Wagyu rib eye at Craftsteak New York
The Price Tag: $2,800

The Details: This 40-pound steak (about 20 lbs. after cooking), was prepared for a private party at Craftsteak New York. Oven roasted in its entirety, the steak was served medium rare with a golden-brown crust. Although not listed separately here, Craftsteak New York’s Japanese Kobe filet, at $30 an ounce, works out to $240 for an eight-ounce serving and could comfortably rub haunches among our top ten. More info at www.craftrestaurant.com

Charbroiled Kobe Filet, Aragawa, Tokyo, Japan
The Price Tag: $258 for a roughly eight-ounce (250 gram) serving

The Details: Aragawa charges a base price of 20,000 Yen for a 150 gram serving, and 5,000 Yen for each additional 50 grams. The steak is charbroiled and served with pepper and mustard sauce. More info at 011 81 78 221 8547

Select Special Kobe Filet at the Kobe Renga-tei Steak Restaurant, Kobe, Japan
The Price Tag: 24,000 Yen ($246) for a 160 gram filet with salmon, salad and dessert.

The Details: The all-female chef team at Renga-tei browns their Kobe filets on a one-inch thick copper and iron grill; the meat is covered with a fine Japanese paper, a method inspired by professional sumo wrestlers of yore. The steaks are served on “tachikui-yaki,”the Hyogo prefecture’s traditional pottery. More info at www.kobe-rengatei.co.jp

Australian Wagyu Striploin at the Al Muntaha restaurant, Burj Al Arab Hotel, Dubai The Price Tag: AED 620 ($169)

The Details: Al Muntaha’s executive chef Jean Paul Naquin selects the highest-grade Australian Wagyu, which he says is “exceptionally tender, juicy and flavorful.” The striploin cut weights in at 300 grams (10.5 ounces). The Burj Al Arab’s beach restaurant is also home to the Wagyu burger, which is sold for AED 419 ($114). More info at www.jumeirah.com

Japanese Wagyu Rib Eye at Wolfgang Puck’s CUT in the Beverly Wilshire
The Price Tag: $160, eight-ounce filet ($40 for each additional two ounces).

The Details: Chef Ari Rosenson seasons the filet (“True Japanese 100% Wagyu beef from Miyazaki Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan”) with salt and pepper, then sears the meat under a 1200-degree broiler and then finishes it slowly over a charcoal and oak grill. More info at: wolfgangpuck.com/rest/fine/cut/

“Wagyu no sumibiyaki” at Zuma, London
The Price Tag: £ 70 ($132)

The Details: Zuma’s Robata grill serves this Wagyu beef filet sliced, with soy and wasabi, atop a hoba leaf. More info at www.zumarestaurant.com

Sendai Sirloin at the Ekki Bar & Grill, Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Marunouchi
The Price: 15,000 Yen ($129)

The Details: Chef de Cuisine Edward Higgins grills and slices this 150-gram Wagyu sirloin from Japan’s Sendai region, then serves it alongside a vegetable pissaladiere and tops the meat with black truffle jus. More info at www.fourseasons.com/marunouchi/dining.html

Australian Wagyu Fillet Mignon at the Polo Club, in the Marriott Royal Aurora, Moscow
The Price Tag: RUB 2720 ($101)

The Details: This 12-ounce fillet mignon is grilled to order and served with tomato sauce on the side. More info at: marriott.com/property/abouthotel/restaurants/mowdt

Smoked Salt American Kobe Rib Eye Cap Steak at BLT Prime, New York
The Price Tag: $95.00

The Details: The top of the rib eye is surrounded by fat. When trimmed, the meat in the middle is called the cap. Chef de Cuisine Laurent Tourondel prepares this fatty delicacy by marinating it in smoke liquid, then grilling it and seasoning it with BLT’s house-smoked sea salt. More info at: www.bltprime.com

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