Does Wagyu Really Taste Different from Angus?
Anyone who wants to eat a piece of Wagyu has to dig deep into their pockets. Is the extra money really worth it? Can you actually taste the difference compared with the (much) cheaper Black Angus?
“The way your steak tastes depends on a few things: the cattle breed, the feed, the amount of exercise, the living environment and genetics,” explains Gertjan Kiers, better known as the Demo Butcher. “One breed develops fat more quickly than another, and corn- and grain-fed cattle are also fattier than grass-fed cattle.”
Massaging
“There are stories that Wagyu cattle are so tender because they are massaged, given beer and made to listen to classical music. Complete nonsense. Wagyu cattle are simply very fatty. They move very little and the fat melts quickly. Fat is easier to bite through than muscle. So the more intramuscular fat the muscle has, the more tender the meat is.”
“But,” Kiers continues, “taste and mouthfeel are not the same thing. How tender something is says nothing about its taste. Authentic Japanese Wagyu meat has a fairly intense flavor; you have to like it.”
Fake Wagyu
Authentic Wagyu meat? Is there fake Wagyu meat too? “Wagyu from countries other than Japan is often crossbred with Black Angus. That means it contains only a certain percentage of Wagyu. I think you might as well just eat Black Angus, which is considerably cheaper.”
“Although I think that is also part of Wagyu’s allure: it is exclusive and expensive, a bit of showing off and being seen, if you ask me.”
Worth it?
Now for the million-dollar question: is it worth it? “The taste of pure Wagyu really is different from that of Angus, but whether it is worth the money is a personal matter.”
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