What is wagyu?
Wagyu is the name for Japanese cattle.
Where does wagyu beef come from?
All wagyu originates from Japanese breeds of cattle in Japan. Hundreds of Japanese cattle, semen and embryos have been exported from Japan to the US over the last 30 years.
What do wagyu cows eat?
Wagyu cattle are fed various imported grains and commercial grain mix, along with hay and rice straw. Unlike popular myth, they do not get fed beer.
Why is wagyu beef so expensive?
Wagyu beef is more expensive than others mainly due to the way they are raised. They get fed with imported grains and hay for at least 550 days. In comparison, Australian wagyu cattle are fed for 300-400 days.
Is the price of wagyu worth it?
Absolutely. Eating Wagyu beef is the best eating quality meat for steak. Japanese wagyu beef is an unforgettable eating experience. You will say ‘Wow, I never had something like this’. Check out this happy customer’s response to eating wagyu for the first time.
What does A5 mean?
This refers to the highest score possible within the Japanese meat grading system. There are 15 different grades. ‘A’ means the highest meat yields, and the number five predominantly means BMS (Beef Marbling Standard). The BMS system at five ranges from 8-12. One is the lowest marbling score and 12 is the highest. Read more about the marbling system here.
What’s the difference between Australian and Japanese wagyu?
Australian wagyu is known as F1 (a cross between 50% Black Angus and 50% Japanese Black genetic lines). Less than 5% of whole Australian wagyu is full blood, which is 100% Japanese wagyu genetic lines from four different wagyu breeds (Japanese Black, Japanese Brown, Japanese Polled and Japanese Shorthorn). Around 97% of whole Japanese wagyu are considered Japanese Black.
How are wagyu cattle raised?
There are differences between Australia and Japan. In Australia, calves are milk-fed and raised on open pasture for up to 12 months of age. Calves are milk-fed for 3-4 months and kept in the pen under the shed in Japan.
How is wagyu graded?
Wagyu beef is graded in a similar way in Australia and Japan. The Japanese beef grading system gives Wagyu beef a grade from 1 to 5, with 1 being the lowest and 5, the highest. Quality scores range from 1 to 12, BMS 12 is the highest. Australian grading is two grades lower than the Japanese grading system.
Why is wagyu beef considered as a delicacy?
Wagyu cattle have a distinctive character no other breeds have. They are highly marbled, grain-fed for much longer than any other breeds. All these give complex buttery, nutty and sweet flavours. And no other meat has the melt-in-your-mouth flavour that wagyu does. Read more on why Japanese Wagyu is so highly sought after here.
Are wagyu and Kobe beef the same?
Kobe beef is the origin of all Japanese wagyu in Japan. That means most of all Japanese wagyu is hybrid of Kobe beef. Most of Australian and the US wagyu beef are those hybrid of hybrid.
Only 3000 cattle qualify as authentic Kobe cattle each year.
If restaurants decide to supply Kobe, it must purchase a bronze Kobe beef statue to show they supply the authentic product.
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