Tail belly at 90 degrees: Negitoro gunkan · 366

Graded by scrape yield and freshness, not a fat stamp. The belly towards the tail. It runs through with sinew, so it is scraped rather than sliced — this is the cut behind negitoro, the minced tuna and spring onion filling. Scraped from the sinew with a spoon and folded through chopped spring onion, it makes the best gunkan topping there is.

Colour, sinew, where the fat sits, and thickness are what you check before you pay. Ask for the thickness that matches “Negitoro gunkan.” Use 90 degrees and 90 when you cook. Salt after you know the job. Do not play with undercooked meat. At the counter, read the use on Tail belly before the photograph. 90 degrees is the internal heat, “Negitoro gunkan” is the dish, and 90 is the stage of the fire. Marbling alone does not split stew from grill. The flesh between the sinews should look bright and glossy, never dull.

At the counter, read the use on Tail belly before the photograph. 90 degrees is the internal heat, “Negitoro gunkan” is the dish, and 90 is the stage of the fire. Marbling alone does not split stew from grill. The flesh between the sinews should look bright and glossy, never dull.