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Holidays and social gatherings call for special food at the table. For meat, you may select a cut above the on-sale hamburger. The beef news is that fresh American wagyu steaks are now available at Lucky supermarkets in the Tri-Valley at reasonable prices.
If you have heard of wagyu, you may associate it with Japan and fancy restaurants with sky-high prices. But the American wagyu from Snake River Farms won’t break the bank while delivering tender beef for the Fourth of July barbecue.
Wagyu is a Japanese breed of cow, and the beef is highly marbled and full of flavor; the word means “Japanese cow.” Originally a work animal, farmers realized the meat was unique and bred them to maximize the intramuscular layering of fat to yield a more tender and flavorful cut of beef.”
I rarely eat wagyu. Two years ago, I ate a very small and very rich portion of A5 wagyu, the highest grade, at Saison, an expensive, a two-star Michelon restaurant in San Francisco. The meat was savory and delicious but nearly too heavy for my taste.
Snake River Farms now sells American wagyu beef at Lucky stores and sister brand Save Mart which is not located in the Tri-Valley.
What is the origin story of American wagyu? Agri Beef of Idaho, the parent company of Snake River Farms, became a pioneer in importing purebred wagyu cattle from Japan soon after the cattle first came to the U.S. in the mid-1970s. Snake River Farms cross bred the wagyu with Angus cows, first imported from the Aberdeen and Angus regions of Scotland in the 1870s and long known for high quality beef.
During a recent event at Wente Vineyards, I met several of the principals of Snake River Farms and Lucky California and SaveMart stores after they spoke about their collaboration.
“We sell Snake River Farms American wagyu in Japan, and it is very popular. The Japanese like our American wagyu because it is the best of the East and the West. Many Japanese themselves find their wagyu too rich,” said Dave Murphy, Snake River Farms Sales Manager. Snake River Farms is also served at Thomas Keller and Wolfgang Puck’s restaurants.
Several fresh cuts of Snake River Farms are available at Lucky stores in the Tri-Valley. I stopped by the Lucky store in Pleasanton and found Snake River Farms tri-tip roast, New York and ribeye steaks.
“Some people think wagyu is always Japanese and very expensive. Snake River Farms American wagyu is a quality product which people can see in our Butcher Block case. We sell the most at holiday time,” said Store Manager Mario Guerrero.
The price of Snake River Farms American wagyu at Lucky is currently $35.99 per pound, about $15 or more a pound than other choice quality steaks. But contemplate the cost of three pounds of Japanese A5 wagyu ribeye steaks sold online at Costco for $469.99 or the price of wagyu at restaurants, and American wagyu may be worth trying for special occasions.
At LB Steak at Bishop Ranch in San Ramon, you can order a wagyu New York strip steak from Miyazaki, Japan, for $30 per ounce with a four-ounce minimum, or $120 for four ounces. At Harris’ The San Francisco Steakhouse, a 16 oz. American wagyu ribeye sells for $133; the 13-ounce wagyu ribeye from Miyazaki, Japan, costs $280.
The fast casual restaurant chains also recognize American wagyu yields tender, flavorful meat. Arby’s, known for the $5.79 Classic Roast Beef sandwich, sells a Deluxe Burger made with a mix of American wagyu beef and standard ground beef. Priced at $9.49, the burger is listed on the Limited Time menu at selected locations. The closest Arby’s to the Tri-Valley are in Tracy and Sunnyvale.
When the first iteration of the Limited Time Deluxe Steakhouse Burger was released in 2022, a press release announced American wagyu as a burger patty ingredient. On the Arby’s website under the Site Map option, the Limited Time offer is listed as “Deluxe Wagyu Steakhouse Burger” with the meal option. But the regular menu labels it “Deluxe Burger.”
I asked Millennial family member Taylor about why she thought Arby’s didn’t include wagyu with the name on the ordering menu. “People don’t like to eat things with names they don’t know.”
Guerrero at the Lucky store also noted that two other fresh Snake River Farms meats are sold in the main meat case. Taco meat and thin Milanesa strips, cut from top round, and are both $9.99 per pound. The latter thin strips are named Milanesa because they can be easily breaded and fried or baked. Popular in South America and Mexico, Milanesa recipes are comparable to Austrian wiener schnitzel, Italian cotoletta alla Milanese, and Japanese tonkatsu.
At the Snake River Farms event, chefs created several dishes with American wagyu. The sliders were excellent, the tartare was tasty, and a favorite was the Milanesa with fonduta (Italian cheese sauce) and micro greens.
Also popular at the butcher case is grass fed beef which is cheaper but not as tender as American wagyu. Unlike American wagyu, grass fed cows are not fed grain at the end of their feeding cycle. Japanese wagyu graze on grass and then are fed local grains. After grass grazing, Snake River Farms continue to feed their cows local grains and corn to enable the cows to gain weight and increase the marbling. No growth promoting hormones are given to the animals.
The net result of this feeding on grass and then a slow feeding on other carbohydrates enables wagyu cows to build up healthy amounts of fatty acids, specifically oleic and conjugated linoleic fatty acids. Studies such as those reported by the American Wagyu Association from Texas Tech University found that these fatty acids create the marbling or flecks of fat interspersed in the meat and are associated with a heart-healthy diet.
Hot dogs may not be the healthiest of foods to eat, but the Fourth of July is coming up and feasting on them is an American tradition. Snake River Farms’ one-pound packages of Gourmet Frankfurters and fresh Gourmet Hamburger (75 percent lean) are available at Lucky’s, Gene’s Fine Foods in Pleasanton, and Safeway.
With vestiges of my decade as a vegetarian some years ago, I rarely cook beef except for a brisket for the cooler weather holidays. But I am tempted to stop by Lucky’s and rustle up a Milanesa recipe for dinner.
