Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
About WAGYU
What is Wagyu?
Wagyu is a unique Japanese cattle breed genetically predisposed to metabolize fat internally and has more intramuscular fat cells (marbling). The fat is integrated within the muscle, creating a more marbled beef than other cattle breeds. Most American Wagyu beef is from a crossbred of American Angus cattle and Japanese Black Wagyu cattle and has a less richly marbling than the pure Japanese breed. From here is a world of difference!
History of Wagyu
- 1990: Crossbreeding Creates Four Primary Wagyu Breeds - Japanese Black -Japanese Brown - Japanese Shorthorn - Japanese Polled
- 1975: Wagyu Bulls Introduced to the U.S. Wagyu cattle were first imported in 1975 when two black and two red bulls were imported to the United States from Japan and were subsequently bred with the American Angus females to create American Wagyu.
- 1993: First full-blood Japanese Black Female Wagyu cow was imported to the U.S. allowing full-blood breeding in the U.S.
- 1988: The Japanese Meat Grading System is Developed. The current grading system used by the Japan Meat Grading Association (JMGA) was developed. It set the standards for yield grade (A, B and C) and meat quality grade (1 through 5). It sets standards based on marble content, smell, color and brightness, texture and firmness of the meat, and quality of the fat. The beef is graded on two scales, one for the amount of meat yielded (from A-class to C-class), and one for the quality of marbled fat (from 1 to 5). The very best wagyu beef is grade A-4 or A-5.
- 1997: Japan Enacts an Export Ban. In 1997, Japanese officials declared Wagyu cattle a "national treasure" and, in order to protect this status, restricted export of live Wagyu cattle. This has helped keep authentic Japanese Wagyu exclusive to Japan, but since the Wagyu bloodline was already introduced in the U.S., American Wagyu continued to gain popularity.
Wagyu Classifications in the U.S.
With this growing interest, it has become even more important to understand the different classifications of what you are buying.
At White River Ranch Wagyu, we only sell Pure Bred and 100% Full-blood Japanese Wagyu
- F1 - 50% Crossbred Wagyu: This is the most common type of Wagyu in the US. Commonly referred to as American Wagyu. F1s are the result of a Fullblood Wagyu and a conventional Cow (angus, for example). Most often, F1s are Wagyu bred with Angus. Angus cattle are a larger breed of cattle, so when crossbred with Wagyu, which are smaller but more intensely marbled, Ranchers get what might be considered “best of both worlds” - a larger animal that produces more beef with better marbling.
- F2 - 75% Crossbred Wagyu / 25% Other (angus, etc)
- F3 – 87.5% Crossbred Wagyu / 12.5% Other (angus, etc)
- F4 - 93.75% Pure Bred Wagyu / 6.25% Other (angus, etc)
- 100% Fullblood Japanese Wagyu
Why Wagyu?
Wagyu meat is healthy because it contains essential fatty acids, such as omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids that are beneficial for the body. It has a high unsaturated fatty acid to saturated fat ratio, which has been proven to lower markers of heart disease, such as high cholesterol levels. It also contains stearic acid, which does not raise LDL cholesterol.