this is Wagyu beef one of the most

expensive meats in the world produced in

Japan and prized for its rich marbling
and buttery taste high-grade Wagyu can
cost up to $200 per pound and the cows
themselves can sell for as much as
thirty thousand dollars but what is it
that makes the meat so expensive
the term Wagyu literally translates to
Japanese cows and it generally refers to
four main breeds these cows were bred
for physical endurance giving them more
intramuscular fat cells the fat is
distributed more evenly throughout their
muscle which is why Wagyu beef looks
pink and taste so tender and the
Japanese government tightly regulates
Wagyu production to protect the value
and quality of the meat Wagyu is graded
on two main factors how much meat can be
yielded and the quality of the mottled
fat only a three to a5 Wagyu is
certified for sale in Japan and the
higher the grade the higher the price
where GU beef has gained almost
legendary status and there are many
myths about Wagyu farms and the way the
animals are treated from getting daily
massages to being fed beer but these
often aren't true the cows are raised
very differently in each region and by
different farmers but they're often
raised by a breeder until they're about
ten months old and then sold at auction
to a fattening father by the time the
calves are sold at auction they can
already fetch 40 times the price of us
cattle the fattening farmer will keep
the animals in small pens and feed them
a mixture of fiber and high-energy
concentrate made from rice wheat and hay
they're often fed this three times a day
for almost two years until the animals
are almost 50% fat only the pregnant
cows and breeding cattle are allowed to
graze on pasture the length of the
fattening process and the import prices
of the huge amount of concentrated feed
increases the cost of the beef and over
this fattening period each cow Elite 5
tons of feed if and when a cow goes to
auction it can sell for as much as
$30,000 comparatively Black Angus cattle
which are considered the cream of the
crop in countries like the United States
and Australia typically don't sell for
more than $3,000 and depending on the
kind the Wagyu can fetch close to $200
per pound high marbling is the common
goal but the approach varies by farm and
area while there are more than 300
varieties of Wagyu available the most
notable cuts come from ten regions one
of the most expensive cuts is Matsusaka
Wagyu from me a Prefecture
made exclusively convergent female cows
and highly prized for its tenderness in
2002 one Matsusaka cow sold for 50
02:40
million yen or roughly $400,000
02:43
however the best-known cart of Wagyu is
02:45
Kobe beef which comes from the city of
02:47
Kobe in Kyoto prefecture and is made
02:50
exclusively from steers or castrated
02:52
bulls
02:53
although Kobe is commonly seen on us
02:55
restaurant menus customers should be
02:57
wary of items like Kobe burgers as
02:59
authentic Kobe beef is too tended to be
03:01
formed into a patty several u.s.
03:03
restaurants are actually serving hybrid
03:05
wangus beef from domestically raised
03:07
Wagyu and Angus cows the highest-ranking
03:11
Wagyu is a five Miyazaki a two-time
03:14
winner of the Wagyu Olympics a 50 M is a
03:17
key will cost you $100 or more per pound
03:19
at Sakura in New York City is the Wagyu
03:22
of choice the restaurant is best known
03:24
for serving it in an $85 katsu Sando a
03:27
popular Japanese style sandwich on a
03:30
busy night we probably serve about 25 of
03:33
them at $85
03:35
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03:46
because what you soul finds in the u.s.
03:50
yes we do have a number of customers
03:51
coming to us just to try the Wagyu
03:53
sometimes two top will come and just
03:56
order the sandal by itself there are a
03:58
lot of tariffs and quotas on Japanese
04:00
beef imports and it's actually not
04:02
allowed to import live cattle so it is
04:05
very difficult to source Wagyu so is it
04:08
worth it we decide to have our team give
04:10
a five Miyazaki Wagyu a try and there
04:30
might be something even more
04:31
sought-after than the a five miyazaki
04:33
hell does the rarest steak in the world
04:35
Oliver who comes from cattle raised on
04:38
pressed dry dalek peels mixed into their
04:40
feet it was developed in 2006 by a
04:42
Japanese cattle farmer named Misaki
04:44
Ishi only about 2,200 of these cows were
04:47
slaughtered in 2018 and they all live on
04:50
the island of shudder Shima home to
04:51
Japan's oldest olive oil plantation this
04:53
special Wagyu is said to be extra tender
04:55
and can cost anywhere from 120 to over
04:58
$300 for a steak while waggish
05:01
popularity grows worldwide the domestic
05:03
picture is a little different
05:04
wedgies popularity in Japan is actually
05:06
slumping slightly and the country
05:08
imported more US beef than any other
05:10
country as of 2017 the value of Japanese
05:14
exports of Wagyu has risen over 200
05:16
percent in the past five years and as
05:18
Japan's population ages farmers are
05:20
struggling to keep up with the increased
05:21
global demand raising prices even more
05:24
but the high cost hasn't discouraged
05:26
international sales in 2013
05:29
Japan exported 5 billion yen worth of
05:31
Wagyu last year exports hit twenty four
05:34
point seven billion yen and many
05:36
producers are now getting halal
05:37
certifications for their slaughterhouses
05:39
so they can export to Muslim countries
05:42
however Japan may eventually have some
05:45
competition when it comes to producing
05:46
high-quality Wagyu countries like the US
05:49
Australia and the UK have been working
05:51
on breeding their own Wagyu usually
05:53
relying on crossbreeding most British
05:56
American and Australian Wagyu are only
05:58
50% purebred but that may be changing
06:00
soon in the UK for example the Wagyu
06:04
breeders Association
06:05
now registers DNA verified full-blood
06:07
Wagyu Bulls and certifies authentic
06:09
British wagging new methods and
06:12
increased regulation may result in a
06:14
product as good as the original which
06:16
means that as soon could be a lot more
06:17
Wagyu that costs a lot less
06:19
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