Japan’s Finest & Most Expensive Beef – $500 Steaks Anyone?

Most people know the best beef comes from Japan And today, Kobe beef has become a household name.

Whether you decide to import some from Japan or throw some in your carry on backpack during a visit, it is a delicacy that is worth having. But what makes Japanese beef so good and how much does it cost?

Wagyu

Wagyu is the name of Japanese beef cattle – wa means Japan and gyu means cow. While Kobe beef is the most well-known type of wagyu outside of Japan, there are many different kinds of Japanese beef and some of them are giving Kobe a run for its money.

Why is Japanese beef so good?

photo of japanese wagyu beef

Marbled fat content determines grade.

The most important characteristic of Japanese beef is the white parts of fat in the meat, known as sashi in Japanese. The sashi is interspersed between layers of red meat and gives the beef a marbled pattern. This marbling is the most prized aspect of Japanese beef and cattle farmers go to great lengths to create intense patterns that melt the meat in your mouth.

The beef grading systems in most countries are directly related to how much-marbled fat is present.

In the US, prime beef must have 6-8% of marbled fat to qualify for the highest USDA grade. To achieve the highest quality grade for wagyu (A5), meat must be at least 25% marbled fat. While it may make the meat more tender and flavorful, high-fat content is bad for you, right? Wrong.

Fat in Japanese beef is primarily monounsaturated, which is known to lower ‘bad’ cholesterol! Monounsaturated fats also have a very low melting point, making the beef melt in your mouth. A steak of top quality A5 grade wagyu can cost $500 or more in Tokyo’s fine dining scene.

Great care is taken to produce marbling; apart from being killed and eaten, cows in Japan live a king’s (or emperor’s) life. They are fed high-quality grains and each farmer has their blends and secret ingredients, such as soybeans and okara (a byproduct of making tofu). Water is also essential to the cattle’s diet, and local mineral water is often used to ensure the best-quality product.

To keep their appetite going during the hot summer months, cows are fed beer or sake to give them the munchies, which makes you wonder how good the beef would taste if they started mixing pot leaves in the feed. The cows are raised in stalls to help create fatty marbling, so they are taken outside for leisurely walks in the afternoon to get some sun and fresh air.

Farmers will also spit sake on their cows and rub it in with