José Luis Sáenz Villar, nicknamed Pepe Chuletón, reveals the secrets of one of the highest quality and most expensive meats in the world. The meat of the Wagyu breed, of Japanese origin, is one of the most select for its particular care and treatment of animals.
Pepe Chuletón considers that the quality of the meat is due to the breed, the feeding of the animals and the tranquility in which they spend their entire lives. They have wide spaces to develop, they do not have to compete for food and they even grow up with classical music to be more relaxed. “They add wine to the food, the animal is constantly listening to quiet music, so imagine how good that meat must be,” explains the butcher. The same pattern occurs in the Kobe region, as farmers in the area establish a direct relationship between the taste and the reduction of stress in the animal.
Few people can taste the real Wagyu Kobe meat, because in some of the most select restaurants in the world a 150-gram fillet can reach around 250 dollars. In Spain, family businesses such as Pepe’s, sell Wagyu meat and state that this meat is characterized by its great tenderness, its sensation on the palate and its flavor, which differentiates it significantly from other steaks. Wagyu meat is beginning to be highly appreciated in Spain, after consolidating its reputation worldwide for its particular taste. In fact, many already place it as the most succulent meat on the planet.
Spain is the second country in Europe with the highest consumption of meat, only behind Luxembourg. Nationally, we consume an average per capita per year of 5.19 kilograms of beef. In addition, Spain represents 8.2% of European beef production. As for the export of the Japanese Wagyu, this was not allowed until 2015. Currently, international sales have led to this breed also being found in the United States, Argentina, Australia, Canada or Spain, among other countries.
To maintain the maximum quality of the ribeye, Pepe Chuletón provides some recommendations for treating the national Wagyu, for example: leave a long dry maturation time (depending on the size, fat and marbling of the animal). “We mature the meat with very little moisture so that when we eat it it has that buttery flavor that we like so much,” says the butcher.
However, the fraudulent sale of this type of meat, which does not come close to the true Wagyu specimen, is common in several countries. In some restaurant menus we easily find the name “Kobe beef” at a low price. Most do not correspond to this type of cow or ox. To avoid fraud, Pepe Chuletón affirms that the most important information to take into account is that which comes from the labeling.
His butcher shop, located in the Riojan municipality of Calahorra, sells Wagyu meat for 79.50 and 99.80 euros per kilo (depending on the marbling), due to being one of the highest-end products.