Rocking BAR Ranch

 Meat Sales FAQs

Q: What is the difference between Kobe beef and Wagyu beef?

A:  None really.  You can find various terms used like ‘American Kobe Beef’ ‘American Style Kobe Beef’ and others.  Technically ‘Kobe Beef’ must be born, raised, butchered and shipped from the Kobe region of Japan.  However, no world-wide standard is in place for this.  Irrespective, the blood lines for ‘Kobe Beef’ and ‘Wagyu’ (Japanese for Black Cow) are from the same ancestry originating from the Kobe region of Japan.

Q: When will Pure-Bred Wagyu beef become available to me?

A:  Call us for current availability.  We produce 4 Pure-Bred Wagyu and 2 Wagyu-Angus Cross calves per year.  Wagyu mature slower than typical cattle.  We take extreme care to mature the Wagyus to their best weight potential and highest quality meat.

Q: How tender is the Wagyu-Angus Cross meat?  Is it cheaper than Pure-Bred Wagyu?

A:  Suffice it to say that the Wagyu-Angus cross meat is simply excellent in both taste and tenderness.  Some claim that Wagyu-Angus Cross meat is just as good if not better than Pure-Bred Wagyu.  We sell Wagyu-Angus Cross beef at roughly half the cost of Pure-Bred Wagyu.

Q: If we choose to purchase, how is this accomplished from your location in Bakersfield?

A: Since we are a small ranch, arrangements will be made on an individual basis depending on where you are located and which cuts of meat you are interested in purchasing.  If shipping is needed, we have made arrangements with Federal Express to provide next-day shipping with dry ice.  This meat is frozen only once after butchering.  We bend over backward to get it to you still frozen.

Q: Is Wagyu meat prime?

A: Our meat is well above and beyond USDA Prime Grade Beef, the highest USDA beef grade available.  Wagyu typically grades 10 times higher than USDA Prime Grade Beef by a Japanese grading system that runs much higher for Wagyu beef.  Super-prime? Primo-Prime?  Suffice to say the hand-fed, highly-grained and pampered cattle we offer as meat will be simply the best you have ever had. Wagyu is also unique in that this beef has the highest percentage of poly-unsaturated fat available – fat that is actually healthy per world-renowned nutrition experts.

Q: What about cost? How much more is the mark-up for Wagyu compared to, say, an Angus breed?

A: We don't have a set mark-up percentage yet for our beef. We will sample it first, and then make the decision based on market value and current market prices for various cuts of Wagyu beef throughout the United States. There are about 10 larger-scale Wagyu beef sellers.  We average the price per cut and weight; then set a price that is significantly lower than the national average.  We do all we can to make the price reasonable.  It is not uncommon to see a single Porterhouse steak or T-Bone listed for $250.00!  We do our best to offer a reasonable price.

Q: How can I verify this beef is Wagyu?

A: Our Wagyu bulls and cows are all DNA verified and certified through the American Wagyu Association.  All parents are on site.  We do not purchase Wagyu cattle from others for meat.  We are American Wagyu Association (AWA) member #580.  We offer ‘Pure-Bred 2’ Wagyu by AWA standards which is 92% pure Wagyu or higher.  Our Pure-Bred Wagyu are 99.6% pure Wagyu or higher.  100% Wagyu are classified as Full-Blood Wagyu.  What difference does that 0.4% make?  Not sure really!

Q: Is there any special cooking technique for Wagyu?

A: It is relatively simple – don’t overcook it!  Wagyu beef is highly marbled.  This accounts for the tenderness and taste.  Overcooking eliminates the marbling.  Wagyu should never be cooked beyond medium and certainly not well-done or medium-well.  If you prefer well-done steak, then Wagyu may not be the best choice for you!

Q: So best beef in the world, actually healthy for you .... what is the down-side?

A: Some would say the price!  At the time of this posting it is estimated there are only 200,000 Wagyu cattle in the United States.  Compare that to the tens of millions of Angus, Hereford, Brahma, and others.  This is an extremely unique and rare breed with highly limited bloodlines available.

Use this space to ask your customers and clients to contact you if they have additional questions, as in the sample below. (Be sure to include a link to your contact page so customers know exactly how to reach you!)

Still have questions? Please contact us anytime! We look forward to hearing from you.