Chutoro at 50 degrees: Tataki

Mid-fat belly; grade talk is really about boat and handling. The meeting point between the savour of the lean loin and the fat of the belly. If otoro is spectacle, chutoro is balance — which is why it usually anchors a course rather than closing it. Pink flesh with fine white fat lines showing faintly through rather than sitting on top.

Colour, sinew, where the fat sits, and thickness are what you check before you pay. Ask for the thickness that matches “Tataki.” Use 50 degrees and 50 when you cook. Salt after you know the job. Do not play with undercooked meat. At the counter, read the use on Chutoro before the photograph. 50 degrees is the internal heat, “Tataki” is the dish, and 50 is the stage of the fire. Marbling alone does not split stew from grill. Less cloying than otoro, so it can be eaten piece after piece without tiring the palate.

At the counter, read the use on Chutoro before the photograph. 50 degrees is the internal heat, “Tataki” is the dish, and 50 is the stage of the fire. Marbling alone does not split stew from grill. Less cloying than otoro, so it can be eaten piece after piece without tiring the palate.