Wagyu
So you constantly hear about Wagyu, most people have heard about it and just know that it is a type of Beef.
Wagyu is a cattle breed. It is a prized cattle breed due to the intra-muscular fat cells which is referred to as 'marbling'. Japan pride themselves on their Wagyu and you will find that it is very expensive in comparison to other Beef types. Below is a video displaying a small amount of information on how they are farmed and cared for. Japan has strict cattle rearing regulations.
Now, over time, Japan has sold some Wagyu cattle to other countries, which those countries have crossbred with their cattle and now you will see other Wagyu being sold such as:
- British Wagyu
- Australian Wagyu
- Chilean Wagyu
- US Wagyu
The quality just does not match up to Japanese Wagyu. On our menu, we currently stock British Wagyu and A5 Japanese Wagyu.
What does A5 mean?
Japanese Wagyu is graded during the butchering stage. The Japanese government has granted the highest possible quality rating, A5, to a product. The letters (A, B, or C) alludes to the ″yield,″ which is more important to farmers than it is to consumers. The number after the yield relates to the marbling mentioned earlier, this is the quality of flesh and fat intra-muscular, 5 being the highest possible quality marker.
Below is an example of A5 Wagyu that we purchase for our customers.
As you can see, there is a high amount of fat in comparison to the typical sirloin cut that you will see in the UK from our Beef products.
This results in a meat that falls apart, it melts in your mouth and requires minimal chewing, the taste is something you have to try whenever given the chance.
How much does A5 Wagyu typically cost?
It is expensive, with high quality comes a high cost. This particular one shown is approximately +/- 2.000kg and is currently on sale for £395.00, which is roughly an okay price for it. You will tend to see A5 Wagyu in Michelin-starred restaurants in the UK.
SushiSushi has a great supply of A5 Wagyu products (https://www.sushisushi.co.uk/collections/japanese-wagyu).
For our A5 Wagyu that we use for our Nigiri, it is sourced from the Kagoshima prefecture in Japan. Our A5 Wagyu Nigiri is then finished every. single. time. with 23ct gold flakes, we do this as recognition of this high quality product and we don't hesitate in taking pride in this product whenever it is sold.
Blue Oak Bistro.