It is, they say, the finest beef on Earth, and most expensive too.
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they → say → Earth
Not so much a lump of meat as the stuff of culinary legend; a Japanese cow so worshipped, adored and exalted that it lives the life of a gilded millionaire.
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it → worship → millionaire
And opera, preferably Puccini, piped in while they lounge in their custom-built sheds.
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they → pip → sheds
All this exquisite indolence, though, the coddling and cossetting, the preening and the primping, is expressly geared towards one ultimate goal: to forge a piece of meat so lasciviously, fantastically rich that it melts like butter on the tongue.
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it → gear → tongue
And if so, then what in Godzilla’s name is Wagyu doing playing a starring role in a fast-food chain burger?
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Wagyu → do → burger
And even more bizarrely, how are so many shops on the High Street peddling Wagyu products for a fraction of that steep price.
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shops → peddle → price
Shoppers are now inundated by options; from the British Wagyu Beef Burgers of M&S (£6) to the Waitrose Wagyu Beef Meatballs (£5.25), even Aldi’s Specially Selected range has an 8oz Premium Wagyu Flat Iron steak (£6.99).
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range → inundate → steak
Burger King also released The Wagyu burger, endorsed by Gordon Ramsay no less, that cost customers only around £10.99.
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that → release → 10.99
Surely this is the ultimate triumph of hype over common sense, a Japanese term for ‘I saw you coming, guv’.
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you → see → sense
And while the proliferation of products is mainly down to its exclusivity and the fact the name is now synonymous with quality meat – is all Wagyu created equal?
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Wagyu → create → meat
As is so often the case, the truth can be obscured behind a maelstrom of marketing, myth and misinformation.
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truth → obscure → marketing
Wagyu, the Earth's finest and most expensive beef, is meant to be so lasciviously, fantastically rich that it melts like butter on the tongue
So how have high street shops been peddling it at such low prices? Fast-food chain Burger King even released a Wagyu burger for £10.99
Wagyu means ‘Japanese cow,’ and refers to four native Japanese breeds, born, raised and finished in the country.
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Wagyu → mean → country
But the Japanese Black is the most renowned and widely bred
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Black → breed → ?
So let’s start at the beginning.
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’s → let → beginning
Wagyu literally means ‘Japanese cow,’ and refers to four native Japanese breeds of cow, born, raised and finished in Japan.
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Wagyu → mean → Japan
The other three are fine beasts, but it’s the Japanese Black that is the most renowned and widely bred, accounting for 97 per cent of all Wagyu raised in the land of the rising sun.
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that → ’ → sun
It has a deep flavour, exquisite texture and the most incredible intramuscular fat marbling.
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It → have → flavour
These cows were not originally bred for food, rather endurance and power, to work the rice fields, haul carts and toil in mountainous terrain.
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cows → breed → terrain
The bovine equivalents of JCBs, they were far too valuable to be eaten.
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they → eat → JCBs
During the Edo period between 1603 and 1868, Japan implemented a strict policy of sakoku, or self-imposed exile, pretty much shutting down contact with the world.
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Japan → implement → world
Wagyu cattle could evolve in relative genetic isolation, meaning those qualities already possessed by the cows – namely a predisposition to intense fat marbling of the flesh, as well as tenderness and unique flavour – were not only preserved but amplified over the generations.
uncertain
qualities → evolve → generations
In 1853 the Japanese were forced to open their borders once more and by the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the country ended its taboo against eating meat.
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country → force → meat
The government encouraged the select breeding of the Wagyu cattle with Western cows to increase size, rate of growth and meat production.
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government → encourage → growth
But as interbreeding stopped in 1910, owing to the weakening of their unique genetic traits, a beast of burden was slowly transformed into gourmet delight.
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beast → stop → delight
‘Japanese Wagyu is different from the very first look,’ says Hisato Hamada, chef and co-founder of Wagyumafia, which has 24 restaurants around the world.
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which → say → world
He’s a Wagyu master and fanatic, and sources from the very best farms in both Kobe and Ozaki beef.
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He → ’ → beef
All of his Wagyu, like all the best in Japan, has an A5 grading, the gold standard, the beef that commands the very highest prices.
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that → have → prices
It takes a huge amount of time, work and dedication to raise a Wagyu cow worthy of that grade.
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It → take → grade
The Japanese Meat Grading Association ensures that standards are kept consistently high.
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standards → ensure → ?
The meat-to-carcass yield is graded from A to C, while the quality of the meat (graded on marbling, meat colour and brightness, firmness and texture, and fat colour and quality), is scored from one to five.
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quality → grade → five
Great Wagyu always starts with the finest genetics, and bloodlines are everything.
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bloodlines → start → genetics
Feeding is every bit as important, starting, as calves, on grass, before moving to a highly specialised grain-based diet.
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Feeding → start → diet
‘I think a lot of supermarket Wagyu is a bit of a gimmick,’ says Elliott Grover, culinary director at Cut by Wolfgang Puck, at 45 Park Lane – one of London’s best places to try Wagyu.
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Grover → think → Wagyu
‘Just because something has Wagyu written on the packaging doesn’t automatically mean it’s exceptional beef.
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it → write → packaging
It’s very different from genuine Japanese A5 Wagyu.
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It → ’ → Wagyu
Wagyumafia, founded by Hisato Hamada, serves expensive, gold-standard Wagyu beef, due to the effort that goes into raising their cows.
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that → found → cows
The quality of the meat is scored from one to five by the Japanese Meat Grading Association, based on factors like marbling and texture.
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quality → score → marbling
The meat-to-carcass yield is graded from A to C
He explains that genetic mixing between Wagyu breeds and domestic cattle reduces the expense of the meat, as does raising the cows locally, thereby slashing transport costs from Japan.
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mixing → grade → Japan
Supermarkets do not need to sell A5-quality beef to call it Wagyu.
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Supermarkets → need → it
He has a particular problem with the burgers: ‘Once you’ve minced the beef, I think you’re losing much of what makes Wagyu so special in the first place.’
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Wagyu → have → place
…and 22 more, not listed.
The Aporia
