I used to associate Wagyu steak with a Japanese delicacy that cost hundreds per pound, but I now see the term Waygu used everywhere, even on packaged supermarket beef of all kinds.
I recently did a taste test with American Wagyu sirloin steak from SRF and Costco prime. While the SRF was a bit more tender, it looked much like the Costco steaks. So is tbis term just overused or am I missing something?
It's not a regulated term. It's like Angus. You can call almost anything "Angus" and that's why the "Certified Angus Beef" brand came about - people were buying "Angus" and getting very average meat.
Murdy CAB spans high choice and prime according to them. But that's because, while it's not an official government term, it is protected. They outline it here, https://www.certifiedangusbeef.com/faq.php under the Product Quality heading about 2/3 down.
In our part of the world wagyu usually refers to angus beef cattle that are bread via AI to wagyu bulls. What you get from that cross is normally good beef, with a high fat content, but not always great beef. The term certified Angus is supposed to mean the animal was 60% black. Holstein dairy cattle can easily be 60% black. In the end it means very good choice graded beef. Years ago the FFA (Future Farmers of America) offered classes in meat judging. That knowledge has served me well all my life. I can normally pick something I know will be good. Some of the wagyu I’ve seen has too much fat for my taste. Most of what I buy is Certified Angus Beef because it looks just fine and cooks up very well. It’s unusual that the breed that produces the most prime beef is the Red Angus and is not black at all.
Also some pretty darn good meat comes from milk cows!!! Look at what they eat vs other feed lot cattle. The down side is you get a lower percentage of meat per animal.
It is getting a little out of hand, I think. As Rick said it is not a regulated term in the United States. I think it originally meant something, but now is hovering around being synonomous with "Prime+" or something.
I'm sure we're not too far off from it just meaning the animal from which the meat came went "moo" at one point.
Access premium beef previously available only to chefs from high end purveyors. Including the finest Wagyu beef cuts. Shipping all across the USA & Canada.
We got lawsuits concerning,
1. Italian pasta not made in Italy,
2. Texas Pete hot sauce not made in Texas,
3. Supposed whiskey being sold illegally in some convenient stores that is really just malt liquor (therefore legal),
4. Instructions on macorini that create the illusion that the OVERALL time to create the meal is misleading and that the time provided is only the actual cook time.
Perhaps someone can prove a cow never met Wagyu spermatazoa, or white Charolais are spray painted in order to get better "Certified Angus Beef."
Jerod Broussard, probably a lot. CAB wasn't a thing when we were still raising and feeding out, or we would have gotten that certification. We just had to show a certain percent of Angus in the background, which we were always well over.
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It's like anything that gains popularity. It quickly gets over used and abused. As a consumer society it's rinse and repeat. I personally don't notice much difference between Costco prime and SRF beef. I prefer Costco prime. The one and only time I got a full rib roast from SRF there was a lot more of a thick vein of fat separating the eye and cap. So even when SRF has sales on their rib roast that equals the Costco cost, you end up paying more in the end because of all the extra fat. Not marbling, but the large inedible chunks.
I haven't bought any of it yet, agreed, confusing and you don't really know. Same with organic, different countries have different definitions of organic.
I’ve been buying a lot of this stuff over the last 10 years.
All the Wagyu at my butcher is American/Wagyu cross. True Wagyu doesn’t show up much around here. When I was working, I’d get it if it was on sale, and if the steaks looked good; now that I’m retired, and with the prices of everything completely out of whack, I do watch my budget.
I think we all know to ignore the labels and look at the beef. I’ve seen “Wagyu” that didn’t look as good as prime; I’ve seen prime that looked as good as “Wagyu”. I’ve seen choice that looked better than prime, and prime that didn’t look as good as choice.
I think that a nicely marbled steak will usually taste good regardless of the label. A good American/Wagyu cross steak is, IMO, the best of both worlds: it will have the richness (but not the butteriness) of the Wagyu, and the mineral iron-y taste of a great midwestern steak. But yeah, you usually gotta freight the cost. Better for the budget is looking for those choice Angus steaks that can pass for prime. I’d rather eat good steaks less often than crappy steaks all the time. A crappy steak is a waste of money no matter how cheap it was.
Wagyu ground beef? I don’t get it, either. Yeah, they’re good burgers, but lots of other burgers are good burgers, too. If you’re making steak burgers, you’re better off getting a nice chuck/short rib or chuck/brisket blend for half the price. Or even straight chuck. If you’re making smashburgers, it’s a waste!
Wagyu burgers are excellent, but they need to be prepared correctly.
Using an open grate grill for Wagyu burgers is a No-No. Use a flat surface, like a blackstone or griddle. You do not want to lose the juice.
We like making smash burgers, 1/4# or less, on a very hot surface -- 500+ or more. 2 - 3 minutes on a side, and then flipped once to other side for 2 or 3 minutes.
I wish I would have joined this conversation earlier . . .
The best thing you can do in buying Wagyu is knowing where it came from, how it was graded, and who did the grading.
Anyone selling you Wagyu should be able to tell you what its BMS score is. If they can not, it should put up a red flag.
If the person gives you a score of BMS 6 or above, that means it is above US Prime, and you are getting a high quality Wagyu product. (BMS scores go from 3 - 12.)
After you get a BMS score, ask how the person knows that and who graded the product. If they can't tell you, ask them if anyone there can tell you.
The term "American Wagyu" is used in different ways. In the beef industry, many people associate that term to mean a calf that is 50% Wagyu and 50% more "traditional" beef breed, or even a dairy breed. With 50/50 Wagyu genetics, it can be hit or miss as to whether the BMS score will attain BMS 6 or above.
The higher the % Wagyu, the more likely you will get a higher BMS score . . . but that is not the only factor.
The age at which the calf is butchered and how it is raised and fed also play huge roles in the quality of the Wagyu product.
Even a 100% (Full-blood) Wagyu butchered at 18 months of age is very unlikely to grade a BMS 6 or above. The marbling comes from slow growth and age, as well as genetics. Any Wagyu producer that is striving for BMS 6+ should be allowing the calf to reach 28 months of age.
Thank you! I know I see the 'wagyu' term thrown around here ALL.OVER.THE.PLACE. If someone has some German blood back 3 or 4 generations, it doesn't mean they know all about making schnitzel! Same here... watered down stock, fed and raised the same as any other regular stock - or even WORSE, thinking the 'wagyu genes' are going to overcome poor practices. Totally, totally overused, and overpriced!
I wish I would have joined this conversation earlier . . .
The best thing you can do in buying Wagyu is knowing where it came from, how it was graded, and who did the grading.
Anyone selling you Wagyu should be able to tell you what its BMS score is. If they can not, it should put up a red flag.
If the person gives you a score of BMS 6 or above, that means it is above US Prime, and you are getting a high quality Wagyu product. (BMS scores go from 3 - 12.)
After you get a BMS score, ask how the person knows that and who graded the product. If they can't tell you, ask them if anyone there can tell you.
The term "American Wagyu" is used in different ways. In the beef industry, many people associate that term to mean a calf that is 50% Wagyu and 50% more "traditional" beef breed, or even a dairy breed. With 50/50 Wagyu genetics, it can be hit or miss as to whether the BMS score will attain BMS 6 or above.
The higher the % Wagyu, the more likely you will get a higher BMS score . . . but that is not the only factor.
The age at which the calf is butchered and how it is raised and fed also play huge roles in the quality of the Wagyu product.
Even a 100% (Full-blood) Wagyu butchered at 18 months of age is very unlikely to grade a BMS 6 or above. The marbling comes from slow growth and age, as well as genetics. Any Wagyu producer that is striving for BMS 6+ should be allowing the calf to reach 28 months of age.
Very interesting. The scoring makes a ton of sense. Just like people, every animal is built a little different, regardless of genetics. Additionally, I had no idea that the quality comes from slow growth and the age of the animal. Thanks for the info. I like hearing this from someone that is the industry and knows what they are talking about. Boots on the ground are far better than a skimmed article.
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