September 10, 2024, 5:57 am | Read time: 4 minutes
Fancy a vintage steak from the year 2000? Frenchman Alexandre Polmard’s premium butchery is world-famous for its unique meat from blond cattle. Using a special ice-blowing technique, the meat is treated in such a way that food connoisseurs can order their favorite vintage just like they would with wine.
The idea of eating a 15-year-old steak doesn’t sound tempting at first. However, true food connoisseurs are salivating at the prospect. They are even willing to spend upwards of 3,000 euros for this unique culinary delight.
Enjoy steaks like wine according to vintage
But only if the steak comes from the exclusive butchery of Frenchman Alexandre Polmard. His boucherie has garnered fame among culinary insiders globally. His vintage steaks are absolutely unique. Similar to wine, connoisseurs can also choose meat from their favorite vintage, for example, from 2000, 2002, or 2003. How is this possible? “Thanks to our special preservation method, our meat can be stored for many years without any loss of quality,” says the Boucherie Polmard website.
Spectacular ‘hibernation’ method
Polmard calls his special method “hibernation”. The meat is blasted with cold air at an astonishing minus 43 degrees Celsius. This is done at a speed of 120 kilometers per hour. “This hibernation technique guarantees an exceptional taste,” promises the family business. “The meat remains tender and juicy and retains its flavor.”
Food connoisseurs are clamoring for it. For example, the Michelin-starred restaurant “Caprice” in Hong Kong hosted a special Polmard dinner. The highlight of it was a 15-year-old steak that cost more than 3,000 euros per portion. This was reported by the news channel “CNN” under the headline “What does the world’s most expensive meat taste like?”
Happy blonde cows
Why do connoisseurs pay so much money for this dish? The meat from Polmard is famous for its special taste, regardless of the preservation method. One of the reasons is that the butcher’s shop only offers meat from its own farm in north-eastern France.
The “Blonde d’ Aquitane” breed of cattle is known among connoisseurs for its outstanding meat quality and also has enthusiastic fans in Germany. The family business, which has been in existence since 1849, also attaches great importance to species-appropriate, good husbandry. “Our cattle are reared in free-range conditions in the green expanses and forests of the Saint Mihiel region,” explains Polmard on his website.
Daily conversations with the cattle
As happy cattle produce the best meat, the family does everything to ensure their well-being. This includes daily conversations with the cows, explains Alexandre Polmard in an interview with CNN. “If they want, for example, in bad weather, they can seek protection in their shelters. They really do live like in a five-star luxury resort”
The cattle are reputed to experience minimal stress. Elevated levels of lactic acid and glycogen in the cattle at the time of slaughter can toughen the meat and detract from its flavor. This is why Polmard only slaughters four cattle a week, under the most animal-friendly conditions possible in his own abattoir, as the butcher explains in an interview with CNN: “All the love and care we give our animals is later reflected in the taste of the meat.” It is obvious that the effort is also reflected in the price.
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‘Matured’ from the outset
In addition to the special breed of cattle and the way they are reared, there is another special feature of the Boulangerie: the maturation process. “This allows the meat to develop a certain aroma, the trademark of Polmard,” explains the premium butcher on his website.
“We refine our meat using a special technique: ‘vacuum maturing’. This process entails aging the beef for a period of four to eight weeks under UV film with controlled levels of oxygen and humidity.” The duration depends on the fat content, pH value, and consistency of the individual portions.
With so much effort, it is not surprising that connoisseurs want to preserve the taste of a particular vintage so that they can enjoy it many years later as “millésime” (“vintage”) meat. “I wanted to create something new based on the world of wine and shake up the traditional world of butchery,” Alexandre Polmard told CNN. “With my unusual offer, I want to tempt people to eat more beef again.”
He seems to have succeeded. Visitors to the Boos restaurant in Bridel, Luxembourg, point out that it is the only place in Luxembourg where you can eat meat from Alexandre Polmard. And with his exclusive butcher’s shop in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district of Paris, the star butcher is currently enjoying so much success that he regretfully informed TRAVELBOOK that he would unfortunately not have time for an interview before Christmas due to the high demand.
The original version of this article was published in 2015.