| Grass-Fed, Dry-Aged, Tajima Beef |
| “Wagyu” is a rather poor descriptor for the cattle from Japan. It translates literally as “Japanese Cattle”, and there are many different types of “Wagyu” across Japan. The type that we came to concentrate upon are Tajima, from Hyogo prefecture, where Kobe beef is produced. Tajima are typically smaller and later maturing than other Wagyu and the mothers have poor maternal traits. However Tajima beef is easily the most heavily marbled. To me Tajima have a great deal in common with the best Pinot Noir vines; they require the most intensive management and nurturing, but produce the finest product.
After some years of selling Moondarra Wagyu into Australia’s finest restaurants we were drawn back to our original precept; “To sell beef into restaurants differentiated by variety and region”. Moondarra 500 day Grain-Fed Wagyu was wonderful; heavily marbled with low melting-point, snow-white fat. It was tender and moist but the muscle itself had little flavour and there was no “Gout du Terroir” - no discernable regionalism about the flavour. We began experimenting with grass-fed Tajima Beef. By this time we had sold Birdcage but our early trial carcases found a welcome home at MoVida. Moondarra Grass-Fed Tajima beef is dry aged on the bone for around four weeks. It has the strong mineral flavour of grass fed beef with the sweet moisture and tenderness of classic Wagyu, typically about marble score 7. The flavour is not something that appeals to the Japanese, it is too strong, rather it is somewhere between Kobe and great dry-aged grass-fed Scottish or Argentinean beef. It truly shows “Gout du Terroir”. |
 |
 |
 |
