Danish firm JN Meat International has retained its World Steak Challenge title for the best steak in the world with a rib eye from a grass-fed Ayrshire reared in Finland.
The steak, likened to “food porn” by judges, also picked up individual gongs in the Best Rib Eye and Best Grass Fed categories at the ceremony last week, organised by The Grocer’s sister website Global Meat News and held at Dublin’s Mansion House.
“This year’s winning steak was as close to perfection as you can get and I hope the winner returns next year in an effort to actually achieve perfection,” said chair of judges Richie Wilson.
“The fat just rippled right through the cut to the point where it was just melting under the crust of the skin. What we got from it was close to foie gras, chaud froid. There was an acidic note cutting through the fat. It really was truly stunning.”
It was also a good night for ABP’s Irish Cahir division at the awards, with the supplier chalking up Ireland’s first ever category win with the Best Fillet award for a steak from a grass-fed Angus cross reared in Limerick and available under Aldi Ireland’s own-label range.
The meat giant also picked up six golds, four silvers and eight bronzes.
Elsewhere, Australian producer Jack’s Creek picked up the awards for Best Sirloin and Best Grain-Fed along with six golds, three silvers and a bronze.
More than 40 expert judges tried more than 300 sirloin, fillet and rib eye steaks from 25 different countries before crowning a winner. They judged each entry raw and then cooked for aroma, colour, flavour and marbling.
Overall, there were 106 gold medal winners from 40 different companies.
This year’s awards were “the most fiercely contested yet”, said Global Meat News editor Aidan Fortune.
“The winning steak was a deserved champion and it is great to have a Rib Eye winning this year. The taste was sensational, making JN Meat International a worthy winner for the second year.”
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