What Is Wagyu Anyway?
WAGYU IS A BREED OF JAPANESE CATTLE THAT IS RENOWNED FOR ITS RICH FLAVOR AND MARBLING. IN JAPANESE, THE WORD WAGYU LITERALLY MEANS "JAPANESE COW".
WA (JAPANESE)
+
GYU (CATTLE)
=
Wagyu
What is American Wagyu?
American Wagyu
AMERICAN WAGYU IS PRODUCED BY CROSSBREEDING CATTLE, USUALLY A FULL-BLOOD WAGYU WITH ANGUS; THE RESULT IS A PLEASANT BALANCE OF TENDERNESS, TEXTURE, AND FLAVOR.
The Marbling in Wagyu
WAGYU HAS:
• 50% HIGHER MONOUNSATURATED FATS THAN COMMERCIAL BEEF
• VERY LOW MELTING POINT
• 3X MORE OMEGA-3S THAN COMMERCIAL BEEF
WAGYU CATTLE ARE GENETICALLY PREDISPOSED TO HAVE INTENSE LEVELS OF MARBLING.
Marbling
Marbling is technically known as intramuscular fat, or IMF for short. When looking at a raw steak, marbling is the white fat streaks of flecks mingling in the red meat of that steak. These flecks of fat are what give beef its soft texture and carries the flavor throughout each bite.
Healthy Fats of Wagyu
WAGYU BEEF IS A SUPERIOR BEEF, WITH THE GREATEST AMOUNT OF BEEF MARBLING AND THE MAX AMOUNT OF OLEIC ACIDS. THESE FATTY ACIDS HAVE BEEN FOUND TO IMPROVE A PERSON'S HEALTH BY BOOSTING THEIR BODY'S IMMUNITY.
Healthy Fats
DUE TO ITS HIGH LEVEL OF FAT MARBLING, WAGYU BEEF HAS 3 TO 4 TIMES MORE MONOUNSATURATED FAT THAN MOST OTHER CUTS OF BEEF. MONOUNSATURATED FAT, COMMONLY FOUND IN OLIVE OIL, AVOCADOS AND NUTS, IS CONSIDERED THE HEALTHY TYPE OF FAT THAT CONTAINS ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS AND NUTRIENTS.
Omegas
WAGYU IS RICH IN OMEGA 3 AND OMEGA 6 FATTY ACIDS. THESE ARE ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS THAT THE BODY CANNOT PRODUCE. THESE MAY HELP PROTECT YOUR BODY AGAINST THINGS LIKE HEART DISEASE, HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, ARTHRITIS, DEPRESSION, AND ALZHEIMER'S.
Lower Cholesterol
WAGYU BEEF HAS THE LOWEST CHOLESTEROL LEVELS OF ALL MEATS, EVEN COMPARED TO FISH AND CHICKEN, WAGYU HAS COMPARATIVELY LOW CHOLESTEROL LEVELS. THE HEALTHY FATS FOUND IN WAGYU CAN HELP LOWER THE BAD CHOLESTEROL WHILE INCREASING THE GOOD CHOLESTEROL.
Wagyu Marbling Standards
Around the world, beef is graded into different classifications deeming its quality. marbling, or intramuscular fat (imf), is a critical measurement factor in the US, Japan, and Australia to determine the quality.
USA
THE USDA GRADES IMF%, FAT DISTRIBUTION, AND COLOR TO CREATE A MARBLING SCORE WHICH GRADES BEEF IN 3 LEVELS: SELECT, CHOICE, AND PRIME. COMPARED TO THE WAGYU MARBLING SCALE, THE BEST PRIME STEAK WOULD ROUGHLY EQUAL A BMS 3-4.
Australia
THE AUSTRALIAN WAGYU GRADING SCORES ARE IDENTICAL TO THE JAPANESE BMS SCALE, MEANING AN AUSTRALIAN WAGYU BMS OF 5 IS THE SAME AS A JAPANESE WAGYU BMS OF 5. HOWEVER, THE AUSTRALIAN SCALE TOPS OUT AT GRADE 9, AND EVERYTHING ABOVE IT IS GRADED 9+.
Japan
THE BEEF MARBLING STANDARD (BMS) IN JAPAN IS BASED ON A MINIMUM IMF% AND TAKES INTO CONSIDERATION COARSENESS, FIRMNESS, AND COLOR OF THE MARBLING. THE BMS SCALE GOES FROM 3 TO 12, 3 BEING THE BASIC MINIMUM OF MARBLING A STEAK SHOULD HAVE, AND 12 BEING A STEAK THAT IS ALMOST WHITE WITH MARBLING.
