On the trail of the most expensive meats

Zubin Dsouza

Food is a tricky and subjective topic. Everyone does not share similar tastes and what works for some may not exactly be what the world may enjoy.

Trying out something gourmet can mean one of several things. It may either mean that the food you are trying is unique and an experience; it could also mean that it contains a part lopped off from an endangered animal from King Kong island and still yet it could mean that it costs you an arm and a leg.

An acquired taste is a somewhat trickier term. It means either that the product tastes really bad but you do not want to admit it for fear of being labelled a barbarian or because you have shelled out too much for it. The other option is that only the chef likes the dish and refuses to back down insisting that all those who do not agree with his line of thought are philistines!

Either way, there is no telling, especially in the culinary world about the prices that a dish can command.

The same holds true when it comes to choosing the right meat.

During the siege of Paris in 1870, the Germans surrounded the city and cut the food supplies. The city had to search for alternatives.

After butchering their last remaining cattle and horses, they moved on to domestic pets and sewer rats.

Butchers were openly selling freshly slaughtered dogs and cats alongside fattened gutter rats. The surprising part was that rats commanded a higher price than dogs or cats.

The Ayam Cemani to the casual observer is just chicken. The difference is that these Indonesian breeds of chickens have a condition called hyper-pigmentation. The chicken’s black colour is not restricted merely to their feathers but travels all the way to their skin, flesh and internal organs. Traditional medicine practitioners hold this in high regard and encourage men with flagging libidos to consume this bird. At a reported cost of $2,500 a chick, it might make the flagging libido work but is sure to give you a heart attack!

Wagyu beef is celebrated the world over for the exquisite texture, unique flavour and marbling of the meat. The beef comes from animals that are pampered with a mix of twice a day massages, soothing music and gourmet feed. The highest level of Wagyu is the Kobe beef where the animals are jealously guarded by armed watchmen. A simple steak could set you back by almost $300. Just in case you feel that the gourmet restaurant down the street is selling Kobe at a comparatively cheaper rate then you could be mistaken. The limited and selected export of this meat means that you may never really experience the real thing if you are not at the source.

Alexandre Polmard is a French master butcher and the sixth generation in his family to follow in the trade. He ups the ante when it comes to expensive meats. He has discovered the almost perfect method of ageing meat so that it becomes surprisingly tender with the flavours infused to the highest degree. His process, that he refers to as ‘hibernation’, involves storing meat in a – 43 degrees Celsius environment with cold winds blowing over them at a speed of 120 kmph. He thus manages to preserve his meats far longer than one would imagine and sells them almost in the same manner as one would order a fine wine. You can order for a ’02 or a ’07 vintage and discuss with your friends the distinctly different textures, flavours and aromas. Of course, your bragging rights do not come cheap. A 2000 vintage of steak can cost upwards of $3,200.

Kevin Turner is also a butcher who had decided that the future was definitely in posh food supplies. He is a master craftsman when it comes to the delicate art of preparing sausages. His $57 a sausage contains the fancy Mangalista pork, truffles, Stilton cheese and vintage port wine. The results are unbelievable and can only be savoured by discerning customers with the cash to burn or without the brains to know any better.

Pork is a prized meat when you speak of Europe. Spain prides itself in creating the best Iberian ham which is prepared from an endemic black pig that is fed a diet predominantly of acorns. The ham or ‘jamon iberico’ or ‘pata negra’ as it is locally known is valued for the deep red colour and unique flavor and can cost upwards $30 for just 100 grams.

In comparison to all these costs, I am going to immediately stop whining to the government about inflation and the high costs that I am currently paying for vegetables due to a truckers strike.