Wagyu beef is found on the menu at many of London’s most luxurious restaurants and often comes with a hefty price tag. However, discount supermarket Aldi is now selling the high-end meat for just £6.
The German superstore is selling Wagyu Steaks which weigh in at 227 grams for just £5.99. To compare, a Japanese Wagyu steak at Soho’s Engawa will set you back £45, while tucking into a Australian Wagyu ribeye steak at acclaimed chef Wolfgang Puck’s Cut at 45 Park Lane will cost you an eye-watering £94.
Aldi is among the first of the major supermarkets to sell Wagyu rump steaks, with the likes of Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Morrison’s and Asda not currently stocking the product, although some do sell other cuts of the beef.
The rump steaks are available as part of Aldi’s limited-edition Special Buys offers, so they will not be restocked once they have sold out. If you fancy whipping up a Wagyu steak at home, the supermarket recommends cooking it on a high heat on a barbecue or in a frying pan and adding a pinch of salt and pepper when finished. Alternatively, you can choose to smother your steak in Aldi’s peppercorn sauce mix, although some would argue that this could take away from the beef’s famously flavoursome finish and soft texture.
The £5.99 steaks are an improvement from Aldi’s previous offerings of the sought after meat – in the summer of 2018, it was charging shoppers the (still very reasonable) price of £8 for either a sirloin or ribeye Wagyu steak.
Wagyu beef is considered to be so high-end because the cattle used are reared and fed according to strict guidelines, which give the meat its distinct texture and flavour. The quality of the meat goes some way to explaining why it is priced so highly, with Japanese Kobe Wagyu selling for a mammoth £500 per kilo.
If you love all kinds of steak, take a look at our pick of the best steak restaurants in London.