What do you think of when you think of "Wagyu"?

Hermès in the beef world;

Marble patterns as finely distributed as snowflakes;

Excellent taste with full and melt-in-the-mouth gravy;

< p> A BIG that attracts hatred every minute when you post it to your circle of friends?

The so-called "Wagyu"

is the Kobe beef that we all know.

For those of you who love meat, I bring you this pre-dinner knowledge of hardcore Wagyu beef lovers! Inciting hatred is a technical job. When someone who knows how to play can speak at a dinner party, he can only say Biger than Biger~

Introduction:

The birth of "Wagyu"

What is "Frost"?

History of the development of "Wagyu"

Common misunderstandings about "Wagyu"

Does "Wagyu" really enjoy all the high-end treatment in the world?

Classification of "Wagyu"

The difference between "Wagyu" and ordinary beef

Zombie beef, water-injected beef and "Rigui Wagyu"

Where can I eat the most authentic Wagyu beef in China?

The birth of "Wagyu"

More than 100 years ago, only beggars or the most humble Japanese would eat beef to satisfy their hunger. It wasn’t until the Emperor of Japan took the lead in eating a chopstick of beef in 1872 that the Japanese followed suit and started eating beef. So, if someone talks to you about the long history of Kobe beef in Japan, just say Bye-bye to them~

About Wagyu

If someone talks about Wagyu at the dinner table, readers of this article should pay attention. The biggest opportunity to pretend to be X at the dinner table in this century has come, so be sure to seize it. You must quickly ask the other person: Oh? Wagyu? So you're talking about Kuroge Kazane? Or a brown-haired breed? Is it a short-horned Japanese species? Or hornless and species? As soon as this question came up, basically 99% of the friends present who thought they were high BIGers were confused, and then they casually chatted a few sentences or two from the following content. Congratulations, this is the perfect job of pretending to be X in your life. Flying into the sky!

As the name suggests, it generally refers to the cattle of the Yamato nation, that is, Japanese cattle. But in fact, what the Japanese call Wagyu now are actually modern cattle breeds preserved from hybrid cattle. As the most expensive beef in the world, "Wagyu" meat is densely covered with white fat, marble-like lines and oily flowers like snowflakes. The poetic Japanese gave this feature a wonderful name: "Frostfall".

History of Development

It is not an exaggeration to say that the beef hotpot on the streets of Kanto and the sukiyaki on the streets of Kansai were the earliest popular beef dishes in the contemporary Japanese cuisine system. People who originally didn't like meat became proud to eat beef after the Emperor ate beef, and went to beef hotpot restaurants to try it. By 1879, annual consumption had reached more than 30,000 heads. But the problem is, what should I do if I don’t have enough beef? Therefore, the Meiji government established the Breeding Cattle Improvement Investigation Committee in 1900 and worked out ways to determine the policy of introducing high-quality foreign breeding cattle to improve Japanese aurochs. The term "Wagyu" was also coined at this time, to distinguish it from beef from foreign countries. The foreign cattle breeds introduced at that time included Swiss Simmental cattle, Swiss Brown cattle, British Ayrshire cattle, British Devon cattle and other breeds. In order to promote the improvement of cattle breeds, the Meiji government adopted various methods such as incentives and subsidies to encourage livestock farmers to crossbreed their own cattle with foreign cattle, hoping to obtain cattle breeds with larger physiques and greater meat production.

According to the records in "Memories" written by Yoshitaka Habe, in the first 10 years from 1900 to 1909, the results of hybrid varieties were very good, the breeding cycle was shortened, and the market price was also higher than that in Japan The original local cattle (i.e. local cattle) were much more expensive. But the subsequent development of events was not satisfactory. Livestock farmers have discovered that although the size of cross-bred cattle has become larger, the meat quality has become worse and worse, and the meat production rate is not necessarily better than that of first-generation cross-bred cattle.

In 1944, the government realized that this situation was not right. If the crossbreeding continued in this way, the frost characteristics were almost lost by crossbreeding. Therefore, in order to carry out systematic sorting, the "black-haired breed" and "brown-haired breed" were Japanese breed" and "Japanese short-horned breed" were recognized as "Wagyu". In 1954, "hornless Japanese breed" was recognized as "Wagyu", which are the four recognized types of Wagyu now. Since then, these Wagyu cattle have been strictly prohibited from interbreeding with exotic cattle breeds, and only the Wagyu cattle have been mated and naturally eliminated, forming the Wagyu cattle we see now.

For Wagyu beef, variety is everything. Frost is a major characteristic of black-haired Japanese and brown-haired Japanese species. Although Japanese short-horned and hornless Japanese species can also form frost through special breeding methods, they are not as easy as the first two. Kuroge Wagyu beef is more susceptible to frost than other Wagyu breeds and is sought after by the market. Therefore, the total number of Kuroge Wagyu beef accounts for almost 90% of all Wagyu cattle.

Misunderstanding

Many familiar names such as Kobe beef, Sendai beef, Matsusaka beef, etc. are just brands, not breeds of cattle, but they all belong to the Kuroge breed. There is indeed Kobe beef on earth, but there is no Kobe beef! In addition, brown Wagyu beef has slightly less frost than black Wagyu beef, but it is mostly raised in mountains, so the beef taste is more prominent.

To become Wagyu beef, you must have a birth certificate that can be traced back to the cattle of your parents. Japan has a mature and strict numbering system to track each piece of beef produced (see the number on the ear in the picture above~~~). Japan's National Livestock Breeding Center keeps records of each cow's pedigree, place of birth, breeding place, fattening period and other details.

Is Kobe beef really the most delicious? Opinions vary, but I think taste is a very subjective thing after all. Beef from some other regions in Japan, such as Matsusaka beef and Omi beef, is considered by many experts and eaters to be more delicious than Kobe beef (the three are collectively known as Japan's three major wagyu beef), but there is no doubt that Kobe beef is the most famous beef in Japan.

Wagyu beef really enjoys all the high-end treatment in the world?

Drink beer

This is just a very small cattle farm among the many cattle farms in Japan. Seeing that the cows don’t like to eat, they give them some beer to appetize. It’s just a Experiment, and the fact that Kobe Beef hypes up drinking beer to cows actually needs to be understood based on Japan’s national conditions. In China, a country where beer is not as expensive as mineral water, people may not feel it, but in Japan, beer is very expensive, and cattle farms I hope to tell consumers, look at our cows drinking three bottles of beer a day. It takes three years to raise a cow, which adds up to thousands of bottles of beer. Do you think beef is expensive at two to three thousand yuan per catty? In fact, as a cow, you may not even know what beer tastes like in this life!

Real breeding environment

Getting massages, listening to music, and eating chocolate are even more eye-catching! Let me tell you about the real daily raising environment of Japanese Wagyu beef! Go to sleep when you are full, eat when you wake up! Don’t take a step, don’t do anything, it’s that simple! (This is the day I most want to live in my life!)

In fact, the real living environment of Wagyu beef is like the picture, because everyone knows that the more exercise, the stronger the muscle tissue, which makes the meat thicker and harder. The taste is not good. In order to ensure the appearance of "frost" and the tender taste, the best Wagyu beef is cultivated in such an environment. The inner OS of Wagyu beef is: "Don't pay attention to me, I am raising frost~"

Grading

The Japanese Meat Grading Association (Japan Meat Grading Association) has been established in the Japanese industry to classify Wagyu beef according to "fat blending degree (B.M.S.)", "meat color" and "meat firmness". "Fat color" is scored using four indicators. Everything is judged by the naked eye. The Gefu Association is indeed an appearance association. Each indicator has a grade of 1-5, and the lowest value grading method is used! (That is, the higher the number, the better the quality) Japan’s beef grading system is formulated by the Japan Meat Eating Standards Association. The specific standards can be found here: http://www.jmga.or.jp/standard/beef/

They are divided into two parallel grade standards, one is "Yield Grade" The second is "Quality Grade". Yield Grade is divided into three levels: ABC, with a score of 72 and above being A, a score of 69-72 being B, and a score less than 69 being C.

Take the left half of each beef and cut it between the 6th and 7th ribs to see the cut surface. "Tanmei" means the meat left after the cow has been bled and skinned or depilated (Kanto skinning, Kansai depilation), and the head and tail, the front ends of the limbs, and accessory organs such as the heart, lungs, trachea, and digestive tract have been removed.

Higher levels do not necessarily mean the most delicious. This is just a standard set by the Japan Meat Price Association for the market circulation of beef, and is not an assessment of "whether it is delicious". You need to find the beef that has the balance between fat and lean and can bring the greatest flavor, and different ways of eating it will create different textures. I suggest you have to try it yourself to find the texture you like best~

< p>The difference between "Wagyu" and ordinary beef

Simply put, compared with traditional beef, Wagyu beef has different bloodlines and raising methods, resulting in the unique taste and texture of Wagyu beef.

The main differences between Wagyu beef and ordinary beef are: degree of marbling, tenderness, juiciness, meat color, fat color, taste, etc.

The wagyu beef pictured on the left has many lines, bright colors, etc. The red and white color turns into deep red when exposed to charcoal fire. The even and rich oily flowers like snowflakes melt when heated and penetrate into the meat, making the taste more intense.

Zombie Beef & Water-Injected Beef

The beef that ordinary people consume daily is the meat of retired cows and low-end cattle in the beef cattle breed. The edible quality is much worse than that of Wagyu beef, and there are still some in the market. There are many low-quality or problematic beefs such as uninspected and quarantined black slaughtered meat, smuggled meat, water-injected meat, and zombie meat. It is difficult for consumers to distinguish, which makes it difficult to guarantee the quality of meat in the market that is in urgent need of beef. Beef is a strategic reserve material in any country. Even beef imported through normal channels has been frozen for N years!

If the freezing time exceeds the shelf life, the beef will become spoiled and rancid. If consumers eat such meat, it will cause harm to their health! What's more, such problematic beef was served to our tables by unscrupulous restaurants without our knowledge! Just thinking about it makes me lose my appetite.

Injecting water into the cow's stomach means pouring water into the cow's stomach the night before the cow is slaughtered. That is, using a tap water pipe to put an iron pipe into the cow's throat, and then turning on the water until the cow's stomach is stretched. By increasing the weight of beef, you can get more profit when selling it. However, the water content of water-filled beef is too high, which often affects the quality of the beef. At the same time, there are also cases of false operations, so it is an act prohibited by the state.

Li Gui's "Wagyu" meat

Japan regards Wagyu as a national treasure. The local government strictly prohibits the export of live Wagyu beef, and a small amount of top-quality Wagyu beef has been reserved for consumption long before slaughter. You can't taste it at all in the market. In addition, it is not enough for Wagyu beef to be consumed only in Japan, but there will be smuggling and other abnormal channels flowing in, making inspection and quarantine impossible.

▲ I believe you must have seen a lot of this type of Wagyu beef

How can I eat reliable and high-quality Wagyu beef in China?

I want to say that if you want to eat reliable beef, don’t buy it from a butcher. It’s best to buy it from a cattle farm. If you want to eat authentic Wagyu beef, you don’t know where to buy it. Safe and secure? Then I would like to recommend to you a store directly operated by a cattle farm - Wagyu Family. At Wagyuya, you can not only buy the most authentic and high-quality Wagyu beef in the country (the same quality as Japanese Kobe beef), but the price is only 20% of the authentic Japanese Kobe beef!

The "2016 Shanghai Michelin Guide" was officially released on September 21. After seeing the list of 26 star-winning restaurants, my first thought was that Beijing's restaurants are still far away from Michelin. How far?

Seeing that the only Michelin three-star restaurant this time has a per capita consumption of more than 1,400, I suddenly felt very unfair~! The Imperial City has a lot of restaurants with good environment, good ingredients, good service and prices that are very affordable to the people. We are just waiting for Michelin plain clothes to come and check them out! Wagyu Restaurant, which is about to open on Gongti West Road in January 2017, also has the potential to be included in the recommendation list of the Michelin Guide!

Wagyu Family is a hot pot restaurant directly operated by Mu Niuchang that offers high-end catering at affordable prices. In order to ensure the quality of beef, Muliu Hong Kong, the source of the Wagyu family, selects two high-quality cattle breeds recognized in the world as the breeds of beef cattle, Angus cattle breeds originating in the United Kingdom and Wagyu cattle breeds originating in Japan (recognized as the most Good Kobe beef). Wagyu beef is the top-quality beef of Muliu Port, and Angus is the high-end quality beef of Muliu Port.

Wagyu Family is the first in the industry to launch the 4S fresh-cutting model. From cutting the whole cow to slicing the beef to plating and serving, the entire process is transparently displayed in front of consumers, and each cow is accompanied by its pedigree and The inspection and quarantine certificate allows consumers to eat high-quality beef at the best cost performance.

The fat of top-quality beef is snow-white. Generally, the fat of beef bought at the vegetable market will be yellowish. After some popular science by Mr. Shi, the manager of Wagyu Family, I realized that the beef I have been eating for many years is a misunderstanding...?

When eating Wagyu hot pot, you should pay attention to freshness and tenderness. To pick up a piece of meat and put it into the hot pot, you only need to rinse it once on the left, once on the right, shake it three times, and then add it to the sauce plate. At this time you can really feel it "melt in your mouth"! The pink-colored top-quality Wagyu beef has a well-proportioned snow-white texture. The "rotating and jumping" in the hot pot secretly tells the golden ratio of fat and meat! One of the keys to delicious Wagyu hot pot is not only good meat, but also the seasoning!

Wagyu’s secret seafood sauce is paired with spicy millet and other condiments. Chili millet is the finishing touch to the delicious sauce. Want to know why? When Wagyu Restaurant officially opens, I will go and ask Mr. Shi in person~! Mr. Shi, who is warm and hospitable, can talk endlessly about beef. At this time, when facing a table of delicious beef, you must eat before chatting with Mr. Shi. Otherwise, you will turn around when the time comes to focus on chatting. , the beef must have been wiped out by the teammates!

Light on academics, slow down on life; you are dedicated, I am professional. Drink GoodWineYou Will Be Fine. Here we go, let’s drink together~