Last Wednesday marked the first day of “Hida Beef Week” in New York City—a festival and publicity tour for ultra-premium Hidagyu—presented by Gifu Prefectural Government, Japan. For the next week and a half, “or while supplies last,” a selection of renowned Japanese restaurants in New York will feature Hidagyu in dishes and tastings.
It was just last October that the meat provided by JA Hida Meat (Hida Meat Agricultural Association) was approved for American markets, thus making Hidagyu now regularly available.
It’s a black-haired cattle breed from Gifu Prefecture, Japan that make Hidagyu. These cows live better lives than most of us, drinking from fresh springs against an idyllic mountainous backdrop. Unlike Wagyu (another variety of high-end Japanese beef), Hidagyu is raised at least double the time, about 14 months or more. This promotes soft texture, delicate flavor and a unique marbling pattern that extends across the steaks, flank, shoulder and round. It’s this thin and thorough marbling that gives the beef a distinctly tender texture, and the fine webbing of fat that seals the meat’s juices like a spider’s nest.
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