"Hanwoo Representatives Also According to Taste"... Hyundai Department Store Launches 'Meat Sampler'

Containing 9 Different Cuts of Hanwoo Female Cow

Hyundai Department Store announced on the 29th that it will sell the ‘Meat Sampler,’ which allows customers to taste nine representative cuts of Hanwoo cow, at the food halls of all 16 stores nationwide, including the Apgujeong Main Store.

The Meat Sampler consists of a total of 540g, with 60g each of popular grilling cuts from 1st grade Hanwoo cow such as sirloin, tenderloin, skirt, and chuck flap tail, as well as special cuts including outside skirt, chuck eye roll, striploin, oyster blade, and flap meat. Hyundai Department Store introduced the Meat Sampler because the popularity of grilling cuts has recently increased significantly. The sales proportion of grilling cuts in Hyundai Department Store’s meat sales rose from 43% in 2019 to 52% last year.

Kim Seokhong, Meat Master at Hyundai Green Food (right), and Kang Woojae, Livestock Buyer at Hyundai Department Store, are seen preparing a 'Meat Sampler'.

The Meat Sampler is a unique package product jointly planned by a ‘Meat Master’ with 40 years of experience from Hyundai Green Food and an MZ generation livestock buyer from Hyundai Department Store. Kang Woo-jae, the livestock buyer at Hyundai Department Store who planned this unique product, said, “We incorporated the latest trend of enjoying personal preference and personality identification, like the MBTI test, into meat selection so that customers can enjoy tasting various Hanwoo cuts and find the one that best suits their taste.”

In addition, Kim Seok-hong, the Meat Master at Hyundai Green Food, was responsible for selecting the cuts included in the sampler and creating the ‘Tasting Guide.’ The Meat Master is the chief technician overseeing the professional butchers belonging to Hyundai Green Food who work at the meat counters of all Hyundai Department Store locations. The Tasting Guide, provided with the Meat Sampler, analyzes the texture (from tender to chewy) and flavor according to the degree of marbling (from mild to rich) of each Hanwoo cut, visualized in five stages. It also includes the optimal tasting order based on texture and flavor. It recommends starting with tender cuts with less intensity such as tenderloin and skirt, followed by cuts with more marbling like chuck flap tail and striploin, and finishing with cuts with a strong beef aroma such as outside skirt.

The Meat Sampler received a strong response during pre-sales. Before the official launch, Hyundai Department Store conducted a trial sale of the Meat Sampler at the food halls of five stores?Apgujeong Main Store, Trade Center Store, Pangyo Store, Mokdong Store, and The Hyundai Seoul?from early this month, and the initial stock of 200 units sold out within half a month. The Meat Sampler is priced at 130,000 KRW, and members of the Hyundai Department Store Group’s integrated membership program ‘Club Yuk Hak Da Sik’ can purchase it once at a discounted price of 99,000 KRW.