With so many restaurants claiming to be serving USDA Prime beef and wagyu from the most exclusive Japanese purveyor, I thought I'd get closer to the truth of the matter by interviewing Jack Matusek (above), Founder of Raw Republic Meats and co-author, with 5 butchers from around the world of Butchers’ Manifesto.
Q: The amount of certified USDA Prime beef traditionally has never been more than two percent of the beef market, yet scores of steakhouses are opening around the U.S. claiming they serve Prime. How is that possible?
A: The growing demand for Prime grade beef has triggered ranchers to find ways to maximize the amount of Prime grade beef they can produce. Ranchers are now spending huge amounts of money (sometimes in the six-digit range) on bulls or semen that will produce offspring that will exhibit the money trait: marbling. John Mayer of Guymon, Oklahoma, has bought many of these “super bulls” in the past few years and has increased his Prime beef output dramatically. According to Texas Akaushi rancher Tony Spears, some outfits, such as 44 Farms, are now boasting 40% of their output as Prime grade beef.
Q: So it is possible to increase the amount of Prime—which must be inspected and graded by the USDA (above)—or are these suppliers simply claiming it is Prime?
A: Ty Lawrence, an animal science professor at West Texas A&M, is currently investigating whether cattle cloning is the answer to the prime beef demand. After spotting the greatest prime carcass of his career, he gained permission to clone a bull from DNA in the carcass. The result, Alpha, was then bred to three other Prime clone heifers at a research study at West Texas A&M. The offspring already are taking on all the desired physical traits as well as sporting an incredibly tough immune system.
Feeding ratios have also become important as ranchers look for the perfect blends of proteins to give their beef advantages in flavor, tenderness, and marbling over their competitors. Corn continues to remain in the process as it remains the most efficient way to fatten cattle. Today, the Prime beef cattle now control 3% of the total market due to increased genetic and feeding control. As the demand for high-quality beef continues to rise, expect more ranchers to turn to genetics to fill American bellies.
Q: And how is it that, aside from obtaining Prime beef, can these steakhouses buy it dry-aged?
Dry aged beef from DeBragga Butchers, NYC
A: For thousands of years, the only form of aging had been dry aging. Beef is hung in the carcass form, primals or subprimals, at near freezing temperatures with heavy ventilation for weeks on end. During this period, enzymes began breaking down muscle tissue, which makes the meat more tender. At the same time, the meat loses moisture, which concentrates flavors within the meat.
The downside of this method is that the meat must be heavily trimmed, which drives the price up. The moldy, crusty faces of the meat must be discarded, but still must be accounted for.
The invention of vacuum packing in the 1970s brought about “wet aging” (above), whereby meat is placed in a plastic bag and stored in a refrigerator (right). This method allows the meat to age in its own juices, sometimes leaving behind a slight metallic flavor. When using this technique, the meat doesn’t have to be trimmed, saving a lot of meat and keeping costs down.
Today, a vast majority of the beef market uses wet-aging techniques, somewhere around 95%. Dry aging is a very expensive business to get into. Customers should check the restaurant menu and make sure it specifically states “Dry aged for xx days.” Want a little more confirmation? Ask to see the dry aging setup.
Q: Is all American beef aged to a degree?
A: Just about all beef is aged at least 7 to 14 days, usually in the harvesting facilities. From there, the carcass is broken down and used in a number of ways. Most often, you will see dry-aged steaks anywhere from 28 to 48 days. This is an ideal time frame for aging as the meat has started to tenderize and some flavors have started to concentrate and develop. I have seen steaks aged past 400 days. Knife, a John Tesar restaurant in Dallas, experiments with a wide range of dry-aged steaks. When steaks are aged past 100 days, the flavors become very intense and cheese like, which can be off-putting to some.
Black Kuroushi cattle from Kobe, Japan
Q: Then there’s the question of wagyu, once wholly unavailable in the U.S. Now it seems ubiquitous.
A: I have only worked with Texas Wagyu a few times and I have yet to make it to Japan and Australia to really grasp the essence of this phenomenon, so I am by no means an expert on that subject. Yet, the Wagyu/Kobe mystique still shrouds the American mind and wallet, so I’d love to give you my take on it.
A few years ago, I read a Forbes article by Larry Olmsted in which he separated fact from fiction when it comes to Wagyu and Kobe beef in the United States. He has since published an updated article on the Kobe movement as well as a book, Real Food, Fake Food. My Wagyu information stems from his writings as well as a few Texas Wagyu breeders I’ve visited.
In 1976, the U.S. began its import of Japanese beef, Wagyu. Wagyu is broken into four breeds of cattle (above): Akaushi (Red and Brown), Kuroushi (Black), Japanese Polled, and Japanese Short Horned. Tajima-gyu, the only breed that can be certified “Kobe,” is a strain of The Black Kuroushi, which makes up about 90% of cattle raised in Japan. Over the next two decades, bulls, heifers, and genetics made their way to the United States shores. In 2010, the U.S. placed a ban on Wagyu because of a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Japan. It is for this reason that a lot of prized Brazilian and Argentinean beef doesn’t reach the United States. In August 2012, the U.S. began allowing small amounts of Kobe beef to be imported.
Wagyu Beef Grades
I like to say Kobe beef is like Champagne. If it isn’t produced in the Champagne region of France, it isn’t champagne. It's not just the grapes that produce the wine’s flavor, but all the environmental factors, like soil, rain patterns, and airflow, that effect the end product—the terroir, a French word for “sense of place.”
My expertise is in charcuterie and there is a similar phenomenon with Prosciutto di Parma. Prosciutto from this area is prized due to the pigs being raised in ideal circumstances, and for the weather. The dry, fragrant air sweeps off the Apennine Mountains, creating a perfect environment for curing meat and imparting a unique flavor that cannot be replicated. If the entire product isn’t produced in Parma, it isn’t Proscuitto di Parma.
This “Kobe beef mania” has grown due to false labeling and advertising. Because USDA labeling laws are very vague (non-existent when dealing with Japanese beef), many restaurants slap the “Kobe beef” or “Kobe-styled Beef” label on their product and get away with it. The animals they are selling might have been just a ¼ Wagyu and ¾ Angus and raised in Texas, but the general public doesn’t know the difference. A vast majority of the Wagyu that you see in the states have been crossbred with native cattle breeds to better adapt the foreign breed to their new environments. There are only about a dozen authorized dealers of Kobe beef in the states and I’ve provided an up-to-date list here.
With only 4,000 head of cattle meeting the requirements of “Kobe Beef” each year, chances are that much of the American public hasn’t touched it. Last year, the United States as a whole received just over 600 pounds of certified Kobe beef from Japan.
Q: If an importer or restaurateur wanted to pay for the real wagyu and Kobe, how would he go about it?
A: If you were going to get into the meat business, I’d advise planning some producer visits. The only way to really know what you are putting in customers’ mouths is to go visit the source. I know a number of good quality ranches that produce Prime grade beef, such as 44 Farms, but many are already overwhelmed due to current demand.
If you were going to open a steakhouse chain tomorrow, my number one stop would be 7X. The all-natural beef coming out of Colorado cattle is some of the best out there and they can handle quantity as well.
As far as authentic Kobe beef, my best advice would be to book a flight to Japan and go shake some hands. I think Japanese producers are much more likely to deal with someone they have met in person rather than a random person they received an email from. I made my way around Europe in a similar fashion. After sending countless emails, I went and knocked on the doors of butcher shops until someone let me in the door to work for them.
Q: And what exactly is kosher beef?
A: Kosher beef is beef fit for Jewish consumption. The cattle must be slaughtered in a very ritualistic manner by a highly skilled butcher of high moral character. Cattle are usually chained by the leg to separate corners of the room and then given an inspection. If the animal passes the physical inspection, the butcher uses a very quick motion to slice through the throat and major blood vessels in the steer’s neck and the animal bleeds out while still conscious. It is a very stressful slaughter and the meat quality is certainly affected because of it. The organs are then submitted to another rigorous inspection and then the front half of the carcass is deveined under rabbinical supervision. The posterior end of the steer is too difficult to devein and is usually sold as non-kosher beef.