Wagyu Me

Something Special Awaits.

Every once in a while, someone gives you a gift that hits the spot, literally.

Stopped by Woodberry Kitchen today to pick up some equipment that I had lent to Spike and Company over the past few weeks and there was a box there waiting for me. A thank you gift from Spike, Amy and the Woodberry Kitchen. It was an unnecessary gesture but one that I appreciate greatly.

It was a box from my favorite Los Angeled-based importer: ADiRECT USA INC.

Otherwise known as The Premium Wagyu.

A very exciting time indeed.

I had gone on and on in Wagyu The Dog about my experience eating real Kobe Beef in Hiratsuka, Japan. Now, the Wagyu was staring me in the face in all of it's A5 marbled glory. Both in beef chunks for skewering and an incredibly beautiful piece of ribeye. My favorite.

All of us have heard how seriously the Japanese take their Kobe Beef. The beer, the massages - all that stuff. Whatever they do, it works but that's not enough.

Like a proper royal family, lineage is very important and they provide you with the documents to prove it.

Lurking inside that magical box is a envelope bursting at the seams, stuffed with all the documentation so that you know where your beef came from. It's the ultimate in traceability. Inside the envelope are the following:
- Packing List.
- Certificate of Authenticity (No. 198 and suitable for framing)
- Certificate of Authenticity (Cattle No. WA-1210440488)
- Certificate of Authenticity (Cattle No. WA-1211206212)
- Calf Registration (Kuroge Washu, Name: Akifuku, DOB 11/14/04)
- Calf Registration (Kuroge Washu, Name: Suiken7, DOB 10/25/04)

The Calf Registration paperwork shows the lineage of each calf for three generations and includes a noseprint of the calf for identification purposes, as well as some other interesting tidbits. For example, Akifuku was artificially inseminated on January 21, 2004 by Teruaki Fukumori.

Of course, there might be things you probably don't want to know. Like how, according to the lineage paperwork, Suiken7's "grandfather" Yasufuku, is also Suiken7's "great grandfather" in the same paternal line.

Perhaps Wagyu really does reflect the royal family lineage...

Whatever the case maybe, I think I'm going to frame one of the certificates. It's my first Wagyu and I need to commemorate the event. In the meantime, the cubes and ribeye are chilling nicely in the freezer.

And sometime in the not-too-distant-future, I shall ride the A5 Wave once again...