A5 Wagyu On A Budget
What is A5 Wagyu?
Long story short a5 wagyu is a grading scale used to grade the quality of wagyu. There is a Japanese grading system used ONLY for wagyu that is imported from Japan. Secondly there is the American Wagyu grading system which is used for full blood wagyu raised in the USA, as well as American wagyu (around 50% wagyu and 50% Angus crossbreed). You have probably started to see Wagyu beef pop up in Costco and other markets recently. The majority of this meat (if not all of it) is crossbred with Angus beef. With American wagyu you are still getting a good cut of meat with a higher fat content compared to regular angus, but you aren’t getting the full wagyu experience of the full blooded animal. It is all personal preference at the end of the day, but you’re probably reading this to make a decision on what to purchase.
We could go into how Wagyu beef is graded using the grading scale but to be completely honest you are just paying for a label at that point. I will put up a grading scale chart for those interested. The only true a5 wagyu you are going to get is an import from Japan that you will be paying top dollar for. With Japanese full blooded authentic wagyu raised in the USA you can enjoy the wagyu experience without having to pay for the A5 stamp.
At Wasatch Wagyu we are less concerned about fancy grading scales. We are more focused on providing authentic top quality Japanese Wagyu steaks raised in the USA to the general public without you breaking the bank. If you are more interested in a5 wagyu then their is plenty of other companies that provide that label with 50% wagyu beef or Japanese imported beef. Wasatch Wagyu is the middle ground, comparable to the quality of Japanese A5 Wagyu but for the price of American Wagyu.
