*TJB Special Edition* Sakura Beef Picanha | Gruppo Galli

Sakura Beef Picanha | TJB Special Edition

This one is genuinely different — and we've been chasing it for a while. Sakura Beef from Gruppo Galli has a cult following across Italy and Spain and is almost never seen on a UK counter. We've secured a small allocation of picanha and it looks superb.

What makes Sakura different

Sakura Beef is the flagship selection of Gruppo Galli, built on an idea we love: forget the breed, judge the beef. Rather than chasing a single pedigree, Fabio Galli hand-selects carcasses from non-intensive European dairy herds — Angus, Simmental, Fassona, Rubia Gallega, Hereford, Wagyu — where the animals have genuine freedom to graze and are given the time to lay down fat properly.

Every selection is then graded against the Japanese marbling scale, the same reference used for Wagyu and Kobe. The Sakura line sits at 3–6 on that scale. It's a level of intramuscular fat you simply don't find in commodity European beef, and it eats accordingly — deeply savoury and juicy, rich but never heavy or cloying.

The name is Galli's own: sakura, the cherry blossom, chosen because that's exactly what the marbling looks like blooming through the muscle.

The cut

Picanha — rump cap, or codone in Italy — is the triangular muscle sitting on top of the rump, capped with a centimetre of firm creamy fat. It is, for our money, the single best value cut in the whole animal: the flavour of a rump with a tenderness closer to sirloin, and that fat cap does all the work for you. Brazil built an entire culinary tradition on it for good reason.

We supply it whole with the fat cap on and untrimmed, exactly as it should be. Don't trim it — that fat is the point.

How we'd cook it

• Whole, over fire. Score the fat cap in a diamond pattern, salt it heavily with coarse rock salt an hour ahead. Fat-side down over indirect heat to render, then finish hot and direct. Pull at 50–52°C for medium rare.
• Brazilian-style. Slice into thick C-shaped steaks against the grain, bend each one over a skewer fat-side out, and grill over embers. Carve slices off as the outside caramelises.
• Pan. Fat cap down in a cold, dry pan. Bring the heat up slowly and let the fat render out and crisp before you touch the meat sides.

Rest for at least ten minutes. Always slice against the grain — the fibres in a picanha are coarse and visible, so it's easy to see which way to go.

Specification

• Sakura Beef selection, Gruppo Galli — marbling 3–6 on the Japanese scale
• Non-intensive, free-grazing European dairy herds; EC certified throughout
• Whole rump cap, fat cap on, untrimmed
• Cut fresh to order by our master butchers and vacuum sealed
• Strictly limited allocation — once this drop is gone, it's gone

* All Bespoke Page products must be booked in for delivery within 7 days of the edition being live. Any dates selected after this will be sent frozen *

Shipping

We offer standard delivery services Wednesday - Saturday, the cut off point for next day delivery is 11am. Orders placed after this time can be scheduled for the day after, onwards.

Our boxes are designed to keep the chilled products at the right temperature for up to 72 hours from the time they leave our cold store. Boxes leave us at approximately 4pm each day and are then out for delivery between 8am to 6/7pm so are generally in transit for around 24 hours.

We strongly advise customers to download the DPD app for updates and to organise your "Safe Place" for where the delivery driver can leave your parcel in the event that you are not at your address.

Our deliveries are made on a "no signature required" basis. In the event that nobody is available to take delivery of your order at your delivery address or you ask us to leave your goods unattended at a secure place, Thomas joseph Butchery rejects all liability that may arise in consequence of the delivery being left unattended, including, without limitation, theft, tampering or contamination, however caused. It is your responsibility to be in on the day of delivery and have put in place arrangements for the delivery if you are not going to be at the address. To avoid any unforeseen issues, customers must add "delivery instructions" for where to leave the parcel, at the checkout stage.

The boxes do not need to be signed for but if there is nowhere to leave them, they will be taken back to the depot and you may need to collect the following day or accept delivery on the second day. If delivery is attempted and you are not there on day one we assume no liability after this first initial delivery attempt.

Delivery addresses must be put in correctly by the customer at the checkout. We do not assume any responsibility for goods sent to addresses that are not put in correctly and we do not alter any addresses unless asked specifically to do so by the customer in question either by email or over the phone, this must be done 24 hours before delivery. We hold no responsibility or liability for any goods sent to incorrect addresses that have been organised with our courier by the customer during transit, again it is the customer’s full responsibility to put in an address that is correct.

One hour delivery slots will be sent on the delivery date but no exact time can be given. While our courier does its best to deliver within the timeslot, delays may occasionally occur and claims cannot be made for deliveries received within 48 hours. We recommend choosing a delivery date at least one day ahead of when your order is required to avoid any potential disappointment.

If you have any special requirements, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01277 373 656.

Storage

90% of our products are cut fresh and vacuum packed to give you as long a shelf life as possible, you will have 7 days from the packing date within which to use the meat. All vacuum packed products are issued with a use-by date and must be kept at 4 degrees or below once received. If you would like your products wrapped in paper, please just let us know during checkout.

The use-by-dates for paper wrapped products are as follows:
Beef, Lamb and Pork cuts: 3 days
Chicken, sausages, burgers and mince: 2 days

Our aim is for you to have the best meat products, delivered directly to your door. With that in mind, we’ve put together a simple go-to guide on what to do once you hear the doorbell ring.

1. Unpack. We recommend placing your products on a baking rack in your fridge. Allowing the air to get to your meat will keep them from sweating and discourage bacteria growth. If vacuum packed, take your meat out the day before you want to use it.

2. Store. Keep your meat away from other food, if you can, treat yourself to a whole shelf.

3. Freeze. Freeze on the day of purchase and if vacuum packed, keep them that way. If not, place them in a bag with as little air as possible, try a zip-loc bag and squeeze out the air as you fasten it. Use within 6 months.

4. Defrost. Defrosting in the fridge is the optimum way to go. Allow 24 hours and use within 24 hours of being defrosted.

5. Enjoy. Go fourth and enjoy your wonderful meat! Don’t forget to take a snap and post it on insta or facebook and if you’re really happy, go tell your friends and leave us a review on google :).

Returns

If you are unsatisfied with anything in your order, please contact one of our team on 01277 373656 and we will look into the matter for you. While we do not accept returns via post we are happy to look into anything. We would never send you anything that we would not eat ourselves and truly believe that our products are of superb quality. We take enormous pride in what we do and every issue very seriously, if something is wrong we shall endeavour to put it right.