Yes, There’s American Wagyu — and It’s a More Affordable Way to Eat Exceptional Beef

[T_R_Oglodyte]

American Wagyu Filet Mignon from Snake River Farms has been a standard for our annual family Christmas dinner for about five years now. I have both a daughter and DIL who know how to cook it properly, and everyone raves about it every year.

Yes, There’s American Wagyu — and It’s a More Affordable Way to Eat Exceptional Beef

American Wagyu is a fast-growing category of richly marbled U.S.-raised beef. Here’s how it compares to Japanese Wagyu, what to look for at the store to make sure you're getting the real deal, and why chefs are embracing it.

www.foodandwine.com

 

[ScoopKona]

wa = our (Japan)
gyu = cow

What matters is how the Japanese raise the cattle. And Snake River isn't feeding their cattle beer and giving them massages. Snake river also isn't confining eight animals in an area the size of my living room. Kobe cattle barely move. So because of that and because of a gene they have, they develop that intense intramuscular marbling. Take the same cattle, let them run around in Montana, and you get a different product.

Most "wagyu" is marketing hooey.

Some wagyu links:

Nice video on the subject. From a ground beef perspective. But useful:

The original Forbes "It's all a lie" story from 2012: https://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2012/04/12/foods-biggest-scam-the-great-kobe-beef-lie/

And updated version by the same writer, Larry Olmsted. After import rules were relaxed. I consider him one of the "good guys" in the food world. Just the straight dope on food fraud: https://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2014/01/07/the-new-truth-about-kobe-beef-2/

And here's that same writer doing a Q&A about "parmesan" cheese and "olive oil."

We used to serve Snake River Farms beef on the Las Vegas Strip. It's quite good. We also served a LOT of Japanese visitors at one particular steakhouse. What did those guys want? Nebraska corn-finished.

Between Olmsted and Michael Pollan, there's all the food info most people need.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

We used to serve Snake River Farms beef on the Las Vegas Strip. It's quite good.

Not all Snake River Farms is Wagyu. At the SRF website, you have to specify Wagyu. I also see ads for some steakhouses in the Pacific NW stating that they serve SRF steaks, but I'm pretty sure they aren't serving SRF Wagyu.

 

[ScoopKona]

Not all Snake River Farms is Wagyu. At the SRF website, you have to specify Wagyu. I also see ads for some steakhouses in the Pacific NW stating that they serve SRF steaks, but I'm pretty sure they aren't serving SRF Wagyu.

The problem with Wagyu is that it is a buzz-word more than an actual thing. Is the juice worth the squeeze in your case? Maybe yes. Maybe no. Depends on the price and your expectations. For the most part, Wagyu and especially Kobe are overused words on restaurant menus and supermarkets.

The last video, around the 8 minute mark, when he's talking about Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese is the problem in a nutshell.

 

[n42]

The problem with Wagyu is that the heme iron in red meat damages the colon and promotes colorectal carcinogenesis (colon cancer).

 

[Tia]

I love a good steak done medium rare!

 

[n42]

My dad waited to go vegetarian until he was on his deathbed, and by that point, it was too late.

 

[easyrider]

The problem with Wagyu is that the heme iron in red meat damages the colon and promotes colorectal carcinogenesis (colon cancer).

That's life. I think I recently heard this somewhere. May things that kill me make me feel alive.

Bill

 

[winger]

The problem with Wagyu is that the heme iron in red meat damages the colon and promotes colorectal carcinogenesis (colon cancer).

How much & often is too much/unhealthy?

 

[Brett]

wa = our (Japan)
gyu = cow

What matters is how the Japanese raise the cattle. And Snake River isn't feeding their cattle beer and giving them massages. Snake river also isn't confining eight animals in an area the size of my living room. Kobe cattle barely move. So because of that and because of a gene they have, they develop that intense intramuscular marbling. Take the same cattle, let them run around in Montana, and you get a different product.

Most "wagyu" is marketing hooey.

Some wagyu links:

Nice video on the subject. From a ground beef perspective. But useful:

The original Forbes "It's all a lie" story from 2012: https://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2012/04/12/foods-biggest-scam-the-great-kobe-beef-lie/

And updated version by the same writer, Larry Olmsted. After import rules were relaxed. I consider him one of the "good guys" in the food world. Just the straight dope on food fraud: https://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2014/01/07/the-new-truth-about-kobe-beef-2/

And here's that same writer doing a Q&A about "parmesan" cheese and "olive oil."

We used to serve Snake River Farms beef on the Las Vegas Strip. It's quite good. We also served a LOT of Japanese visitors at one particular steakhouse. What did those guys want? Nebraska corn-finished.

Between Olmsted and Michael Pollan, there's all the food info most people need.

So a McDonald's Wagyu Beef burger is just all marketing hype - shocking news !

 

[Snazzylass]

The problem with Wagyu is that the heme iron in red meat damages the colon and promotes colorectal carcinogenesis (colon cancer).

Is there a study or paper you can cite, please?

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Disclosure: AgriBeef, the parent company of Snake River Farms (as well as several other labels) is a client, and I have worked with them from feedlot to freezer.

FWIW - on the end of their operations where I am involved, AB is a reputable operation, concerned with doing things right and fixing things when they go wrong. I have never received any pressure from them to cut corners or provide misleading information to regulatory agencies in permitting and compliance issues. (And if they did, I would dump them as a client.)

And their Wagyu is not just relabeled Angus beef. The animals are genetically distinct, they are significantly larger, and they spend at least one extra year on hoof. As Scoop noted above, they spend almost all of their life free range, not on a feed lot. One aspect of my work with AgriBeef involves looking at how processing Wagyu affects the environmental and permitting activities at packing plants.

 

[n42]

Is there a study or paper you can cite, please?

Sure, evidence is abundant at this point:

A large body of evidence shows that heme iron is the critical component of red meat, which promotes colorectal carcinogenesis.

Source:

Mechanism of colorectal carcinogenesis triggered by heme iron from red meat - PubMed

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the major tumor entities worldwide, with an increasing incidence in younger people. CRC formation is causally linked to various genetic, life-style and dietary risk factors. Among the ladder, the consumption of red meat has emerged as important risk factor...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[Snazzylass]

Sure, evidence is abundant at this point:


Source:

Mechanism of colorectal carcinogenesis triggered by heme iron from red meat - PubMed

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the major tumor entities worldwide, with an increasing incidence in younger people. CRC formation is causally linked to various genetic, life-style and dietary risk factors. Among the ladder, the consumption of red meat has emerged as important risk factor...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

uh, thanks for the link... all you have to do is read the first paragraph and imagine these scientists going in front of the Supreme Court for questioning to understand how silly this is. Sorry, not sorry. I have several Loved Ones who are PhDs, successful and wealthy and it's the same thing. Sometimes when they talk, i want to ask, did you hear what you just said?

These studies are suppositions which do not equal real life human colon cancer. They are well-meaning, yes, but we all eat so many different things over time that it is difficult to isolate one cause. It is troubling that so many young people are being diagnosed and worse, dying. However, they aren't big red meat eaters as the first sentence of the study suggests. Worms and mice in a lab do not equal real life.

 

[Brett]

uh, thanks for the link... all you have to do is read the first paragraph and imagine these scientists going in front of the Supreme Court for questioning to understand how silly this is. Sorry, not sorry. I have several Loved Ones who are PhDs, successful and wealthy and it's the same thing. Sometimes when they talk, i want to ask, did you hear what you just said?

These studies are suppositions which do not equal real life human colon cancer. They are well-meaning, yes, but we all eat so many different things over time that it is difficult to isolate one cause. It is troubling that so many young people are being diagnosed and worse, dying. However, they aren't big red meat eaters as the first sentence of the study suggests. Worms and mice in a lab do not equal real life.

I don't know what the supreme court would say but most health advice says reducing consumption of red meat is a good thing.
That's why I've started limiting my steak house visits and cutting back on the backyard grilling - difficult to do !

 

[PigsDad]

I don't know what the supreme court would say but most health advice says reducing consumption of red meat is a good thing.
That's why I've started limiting my steak house visits and cutting back on the backyard grilling - difficult to do !

Agree, but given the huge inflation of beef prices in the last year, it is getting easier and easier to buy less.

Kurt

 

[Elan]

I don't know what the supreme court would say but most health advice says reducing consumption of red meat is a good thing.
That's why I've started limiting my steak house visits and cutting back on the backyard grilling - difficult to do !

View attachment 120147

Interesting that moderate consumption is still 12-18 ounces per week. Beef is by far my favorite protein, I don't restrict my intake, and I don't approach a pound a week -- maybe 8oz, on avg. Maybe 4 ounces of pork, on avg. Makes me wonder who is eating >18 oz a week, and what that looks like.

Sent from my Pixel 9a using Tapatalk

 

[easyrider]

Interesting that moderate consumption is still 12-18 ounces per week. Beef is by far my favorite protein, I don't restrict my intake, and I don't approach a pound a week -- maybe 8oz, on avg. Maybe 4 ounces of pork, on avg. Makes me wonder who is eating >18 oz a week, and what that looks like.

Sent from my Pixel 9a using Tapatalk

There was a time that I ate NY steaks maybe five times a week. For me, I felt strong and looked strong.

Bill

 

[n42]

This is from the American Cancer Society:

Do red and processed meat cause cancer?​

Eating red and processed meat is linked to a higher risk of colorectal cancer. These meats may also increase the risk of breast, pancreatic, prostate, and stomach cancer, but more research is needed.

Red meat has heme iron, which has been shown to increase the risk of DNA damage and cancer. The risk of cancer may increase further when red meat is cooked at a high temperature, like grilling, frying, or broiling...

How much red and processed meat can I safely eat?​

It is not known if any amount of red or processed meat can be eaten without increasing your risk of cancer.

The American Cancer Society guideline recommends choosing proteins like poultry, fish, or plant-based proteins instead of red meat most of the time. It’s best to avoid processed meat. If you do choose to eat processed meat, you are encouraged to do so sparingly.

Red and Processed Meat and Cancer

Learn more about how red and processed meat might increase your risk of cancer and what you can eat instead of red and processed meat.

www.cancer.org

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

And I have a DIL with a doctorate in pharmacology (from Florida Gainesville) who has a passion for nutrition and health. Based on her reviews of studies and information, she switched to a strict carnivore diet.

 

[Brett]

Agree, but given the huge inflation of beef prices in the last year, it is getting easier and easier to buy less.

Kurt

Yeah, beef has really gone up in prices and that makes it easier to eat less meat. I like to think it's also healthier

 

[n42]

This is from the American Institute of Cancer Research:

There is strong evidence that eating high amounts of red meat increases the risk of colorectal cancer.

Red Meat (Beef, Pork, Lamb): Increases Risk of Colorectal Cancer

Studies show that eating high amounts of red meat can increase the risk of cancer. AICR recommends that red meat intake is limited.

www.aicr.org

 

[n42]

Anyone who argues with this is at least a decade behind the evidence.

People can make their own choices, but they should at least be informed choices.

 

[easyrider]

Anyone who argues with this is at least a decade behind the evidence.

People can make their own choices, but they should at least be informed choices.

My doctor said beef is fine a few times a week. She says stay away from processed meats. What's your thoughts on farmed salmon regarding health ?

Bill

 

[artringwald]

Here's some reasonable advice:

New York Times food columnist Mark Bittman has written a book (VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00 to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health … for Good) about his system of eating vegan all day; then if he feels like a burger for dinner, he eats it.

Mark is a good friend of my brother, and he tries to follow that advice. I, however, do not. My food chart is more like this.