Sagardi in Shoreditch welcomes us into the wonderful late autumn, with its Txuleton Gastronomic Season, The Basque Country’s annual celebration of this beloved and culturally important meat.

Americans despite being major steak eaters, mostly miss out on this fabulous meat because  the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture, which grades beef) doesn’t hand out its top beef grades unless the meat comes from cows under 30 months of age. 

You can see how this might happen, after all we are all rather ingrained to think younger = tender both in steaks and in our romantic relations. An old cow must be tough chew right? Wrong.

Mature cows, which is what Txuleton is, taste better. Simple as that. The maturity increases the taste, thanks to more Myoglobin in the muscles. And then the meat is cooked very fiercely.

There are three weeks of gastronomic festival at Sagardi surrounding the Basque Txuleton, the Basque grill and the classic Tolosaldea Menu, which includes hand-peeled and wood-roasted Piquillo Peppers and of course, the simple yet incredible black beans from Tolosa.

If you’re a fan of fillet, the blandest steak ever, then stay away. But if you’re into superb steaks, then this is the time to sharpen your knife.www.sagardi.co.uk