Wagyu Beef - Why Is It So Expensive?

Nowadays wagyu and Kobe beef can be seen served in many Michelin-star restaurants and are considered a delicacy for the rich. A wagyu steak can cost anywhere between $120 to $300 and high-grade wagyu beef can cost up to $200 for a pound.

The name 'Wagyu' is very synonymous with being the most luxurious meat out there to the extent that it is hard to make a comparison with other meat considering its tenderness and delicious taste. That's what makes it so expensive but not many know the history behind it.

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The misconception of the term 'Wagyu'

The special name "wagyu" is well-known around the world for being one of the most special beef out there, however, when the word "wagyu" is to be translated, it literally means Japanese cow. 'Wa' stands for Japan while 'gyu' means cow.

Therefore, regardless of the price of the beef whether it is cheap or expensive, in Japan, all cows living in Japan will be called wagyu due to the place the cow was born.

Some of you might have heard of Kobe beef too and the situation is pretty similar in that the name originated from the Hyogo region where the capital city is known as Kobe. The name 'Kobe' refers to the type of beef being produced in that particular region.

Aside from these two names, there is also other known beef in Japan called Matsusaka, Yonezawa, Mishima, and Omi. You will see that all these names originated from the place it was produced.

Well, now you know that Wagyu doesn't necessarily mean the very expensive and premium beef that the rich have been eating all this time.

The History behind Wagyu

In Japan, there are 5 species of cows that produce the famous wagyu beef that is being consumed worldwide, and around 90% of them in the market are the 'Japanese Black'.

The breeding of the wagyu cows started being modernized during the Meiji recovery time in the year 1868. The Japanese government decided to introduce more food-based from the Western side to the people of Japan. Due to the popularity of the wagyu beef, there was a variety of types of breeds being produced from Britain, the United States, Scotland, and even their neighbor Korea.

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However, in 1910, the Japanese government stopped any breeding activity with 3 types of black cows known as Tajiri, Fujiyoshi, as well as Kadaka, which were successfully produced as the majority of the breed. The other two red breeds known as Kochi and Kumamoto became the minority of the breed.

You can see that the Japanese government strictly controls the export of Wagyu to other countries and in 1997, they decided to restrict the exportation of all the cows being bred in Japan.

The cows that were being exported before the restrictions were managed to be bred in countries like Australia and later on, Australia became the world's most-produced Japanese wagyu beef in the world even beating Japan itself.

Why is the Wagyu Beef so Expensive?

One might ask why the price tag on most wagyu beef is so high and the ones being most expensive, the Kobe beef. In order for the wagyu beef to be considered Kobe beef, the cows must have come from the Japanese Black cow breed, born and raised in the region of Hyogo, Japan.

The male cows will be sterilized whereas the female cows will need to be ensured that they did not have any sex with other male cows. This means that the female cow will need to stay a virgin before being slaughtered. On top of that, the cows will only be grazing on grass and other food sourced from that region.

Any cows ready to be processed must have a weight of 780 to 800kg whose skeleton weight is less than 470kg. Not just that, but the cows must only be slaughtered at a qualified slaughterhouse appointed by the public authority of Japan.

After the meat has been cut into smaller pieces, the meat will be graded according to its fat composition. There will be 4 categories to be considered when grading the meats which include the fat percentage, color, texture, and quality of the fat in the meat. The meat will be given the grade of A, B, and C as well as marks in each grade from 1 to 5.

So, the buyers will immediately know that a B5 wagyu beef will be much better than a B5 but not as great as grade-A meat. You must think that's all but the meat is also graded based on the melting of the meat as we eat it with a score of 1 to 12. This is also known as 'sashi' or 'Beef Marbling Score' (BMS). Thus, the wagyu grade A will be given a grade of A1 until A12 with the A12 grade giving you the best experience you will get out there.

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In order for the wagyu beef to be considered Kobe beef, the meat must get at least a grade of A4 while the BMS score is greater than 6. If it's anywhere low than that, the meat will not be labeled as Kobe beef.

Myths About Wagyu

With information being easily accessible, myths are also easily spread, and about wagyu itself are also included. There have been three common myths going around about wagyu beef.

The first one is that all wagyu cows were given alcoholic drinks or beers to increase their appetite so that they will eat more.

Aside from that, people also believed that the cows were given a massage by an expert as one way to make the meat more tender and taste great. This myth also claimed that the massage will make the fat much softer making it easier to melt in our mouth when we eat them.

The last myth is that some believed that classical music was constantly played to the ears of the cows so that the cows will remain calm and relaxed all the time. Quite amusing to be honest.

After reading all this it must have enticed you to try the delightful taste of grade-A wagyu beef. Then you will definitely need to take a huge chunk of money out of your pocket to have a taste.

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