WAGYU KOBEYA
English / 日本語
Wagyu is a highly prized meat because it is incredibly tender and has a buttery soft flavour. It’s all about the intense, fat marbling in the meat, which is what gives it the rich flavour. And a good quality, high grade piece of Wagyu will simply melt in your mouth.
Wagyu is actually a generic name for beef in Japan; Wa (Japanese) and Gyu (Japanese for beef). Four main breeds are used for Wagyu production in Japan, namely Japanese Black, Japanese Brown, Japanese Shorthorn and Japanese Polled (an Aberdeen Angus cross).
Kobe beef, one of the most highly prized meats, is a type of Wagyu from the Tajima breed and it can only be raised in the Hyogo province of Japan.
The rearing method is what makes this beef expensive. In Japan, to qualify for the Wagyu mark, the cattle have to be reared and fed according to strict guidelines. Breeding cattle and pregnant cows are grazed on pasture while calves are fed in a specific way, with special feed, to ensure that the meat has a lot of marbling. Young Wagyu calves are fed a milk replacer by hand and they get jackets to wear when the weather gets cold. They stay on a farm until they are seven months old before they are sent to auction to be sold to fattening farms. On the fattening farms, Wagyu cattle are raised in barns and are given names instead of just a number. They are kept on a diet of rice straws, whole crop silage and concentrate, and allowed to grow up to about 700kg, which takes about three years (for normal beef, it’s 15 months). Every single cow has a birth certificate, which identifies its bloodline, so every piece of Japanese Wagyu steak can be traced back to a farm. There is a myth that cattle are fed on beer and massaged daily in Japan but this is not true. However, they are sometimes brushed with a stiff brush to increase blood circulation and to relieve stress.
The Japan Meat Grading Association gives each piece of meat a score based on its yield (A-C) and level of marbling, firmness, colour and overall quality (1-5), with A5 being the highest possible mark. Most Japanese Wagyu beef is in the A4-A5 range. Wagyu from Australia and the UK use a similar grading system, which is based on the Japanese system
While waiting for the meat, you can prepare our various BBQ dipping sauces. Beef man Special(Miso&soy sauce&local apples),Soy sauce,Ponzu(Soy&vinegar),DoubangJiang,Garlic paste,Wasabi.
You can mix on the plate and dip it what you like.
To make sure your grilled meat is at its most delicious, first make sure the grill is good and hot(Not too hot). Place your meat on the grill with the tongs provided. Take turns grilling, making sure that everyone at the table gets to experience the fun of cooking together. When the underside of the meat starts sizzling after about 15-25 seconds, it is time to turn it over. One flip is enough, as any more than that and the meat will become dry and less tasty. Now it is up to you! Some like it cooked rare, some like it well done. You get to cook your meat to your favorite temperature and you can even try out different levels of doneness as you go along. One or two pieces of meat per person is best, so try not to crowd the grill. When your meat is grilled to your liking, you can bring out different flavors in the meat by trying the various sauces on hand. It’s another great way to add a tasty personal touch to your Japanese BBQ experience.
If you’re ordering vegetables, cook the root vegetables like potatoes and carrots first, then pumpkin and thicker vegetables, followed by thinner ones like green peppers. The first round of vegetables should typically be cooked before the meat, but as the night goes on, the flavor of the vegetables and meat (not to mention the vegetable juices) will mingle wonderfully.
