Shorthorn Beef Project
In recent years, the boom in red meat steaks has led to the opening of many steak restaurants, mainly in Tokyo. However, most of these restaurants use beef from the United States or Australia, and there are only a few restaurants that offer high-quality domestic red meat. Therefore, our company has been searching for ways to ensure a stable supply of high-quality red Wagyu beef, and has begun various initiatives since 2015. One of these initiatives is to purchase "tankaku beef" calves in-house and entrust their raising to producers in Yamagata Town, Iwate Prefecture. As a result of trial sales at each of our restaurants, the product has been well received by customers. Although the quantity is limited, it is sold at our store, Union Square Tokyo, and online at Moo Moo Paradise and Hamburg Shiota.
What is Shorthorn Beef?
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Rare breed
There are four types of Japanese beef in Japan: Japanese Black, Japanese Brown, Polled, and Japanese Shorthorn (Shorthorn Beef). (Any other types cannot be considered official Japanese beef.) Looking at the amount of Japanese beef distributed in Japan, Japanese Black accounts for the majority at 98.2%, Japanese Brown at 1.3%, Japanese Shorthorn (Shorthorn Beef) at 0.5%, and Polled at all. (Data from 2017). Therefore, Japanese Shorthorn (Shorthorn Beef) is the rarest premium beef distributed domestically.
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Healthy Development
Tankaku cattle are the only Wagyu cattle breeds in which mating and birth are done naturally without human intervention. In addition, they are raised on natural pastures for a while after birth, so they get plenty of exercise and grow up to be healthy cattle. Approximately 7,000 Tankaku cattle are produced annually nationwide, with 2,500 produced annually in Iwate Prefecture. In Yamagata Town, Iwate Prefecture, where we outsource breeding, approximately 250 cattle are produced annually.
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Characteristics of deliciousness
Tankaku beef is lean and high in protein. While Kuroge Wagyu beef is graded A5 to A4, Tankaku beef is graded A2 to B2. It is juicy and full of umami-rich amino acids, and the more you chew it, the more delicious it becomes. There is no unpleasant oily aftertaste.
Aiming for the ultimate shorthorn beef
We actually participate in market auctions and purchase calves that have been specially selected. In order to further improve the quality of the meat, we continue to pursue the highest quality by fattening the calves with our own unique feed mix and changing the age at which they are slaughtered.
Activity Schedule
| 2023 | August | We conducted an in-house training session. We observed pastures and learned about shorthorn cattle through interactions with producers. |
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| October | We purchased 14 calves at the JA Zennoh Iwate Central Livestock Market. We entrusted the fattening to two fattening farmers who have supported Wondertable's new and special shorthorn cattle fattening method. | |
| 2024 | February | We participated in the JA Shin Iwate Shorthorn Cattle Fattening Committee General Meeting. |
[References]
・The number of cattle raised nationwide is approximately 7,000 ( Iwate Shorthorn Cattle – Iwategyu (iwategyu.jp) )
・Number of cattle in 2022 ( Iwate Prefecture - Japanese Shorthorn (Iwate Prefecture Pride) (pref.iwate.jp) )
No. 1 Iwate Prefecture: National share 39.0% (2,556 heads)
2nd place: Hokkaido: National share 33.4% (2,189 heads)
3rd place: Akita Prefecture: National share 8.9% (584 heads)