Wagyu Beef? Find out 3 amazing facts!

Wagyu beef refers to the meat from the Tajima cattle originating in Japan.  The cattle were originally used for rice cultivation in ancient Japan, but soon became prized for their high fat, highly marbled meat.  

Kobe beef is a special grade of Wagyu meat produced in Hyogo prefecture in Japan to very exacting standards.  Kobe is the cream of Wagyu beef.  So all Kobe beef is Wagyu, but not all Wagyu is Kobe!

Traditionally, the cattle were fed a strict diet of beer mash and sake and massaged daily by hired laborers.  The meat when grilled has a creamy, incomparable melt-in-your-mouth texture.  This is the reason that true Kobe beef commands as much as $300 per lb in Japan.

Recently, American and Australian producers imported this special cattle from Japan and cross-bred them with native Angus strains. They feed the animals grass, and hay along with beer mash and sake resulting in a product they call "American Kobe-style".  While the meat is highly marbled it does not approach the true level of authentic Japanese Kobe. 

How much does it cost?

In Japan, these cattle are raised on very small family farms with herds as small as 10 to 20 head.  The individualized care each animal receives and the small scale of these operations result in very high production costs.  That is the reason why the final product is so expensive.

American-style Wagyu farming is based on larger herds and therefore much lower production costs. You can purchase American style Kobe beef for significantly less than the real thing. Expect to pay about $40 to $50 per pound instead of the hundreds of dollars for the Japanese certified product. You can expect to pay reasonable prices online:

• American Style Kobe Rib-eye: about $42.00 per lb
• American Kobe Style Sirloin: about $40.00 per lb
• American Kobe Style Burgers: about $13.00 per lb