Kuraishi Beef originated in Gonohemachi Kuraishi, Aomori Prefecture. The combination of melting, oozing fat and the taste of firm lean meat nurtured in abundant nature gives this beef an exquisite flavor. We visited Kunio Numasawa, one of the producers of this cattle.
The first thing that we noticed when he took us to the barn was that it is ”open”. It is not that the barn itself is big. It feels open and comfortable because there is only one cattle in a cage. ”We don’t want the cattles to be stressed. That’s why we only keep one cattle in each cage.” Numasawa told us.
Growing in comfort
“If there are two or three to a cage, it gets really cramped. And a power struggle comes into play. We prefer to keep only one to a cage, and have them eat a lot of feed without any stress. The meat becomes finer and firmer that way.” (Numasawa)
Along with the quality of the red meat, the secret to the great flavor of Kuraishi Beef is the fat. ”Buyers prefer the fat to be evenly distributed throughout the meat rather than concentrated in just certain parts.” he commented. ”What determines how the fat is dispersed?” Nakata asked. Numasawa answered, ”The first thing is the pedigree.”
”I don’t breed them. I purchase calves from the market and raise them. At that point, the pedigree is the most important factor. After that, I look at the individual calf and imagine whether it will become good cattle or not. That is the most difficult part.” (Numasawa)
Eating the best meat
Aomori Prefecture has a cold climate. How does the cold affect cattle? “”Cattle can withstand the cold. Frozen drinking water is the bigger problem.”” says Numasawa. They dissolve the frozen drinking water by pouring hot water over it. This is hard work and time consuming, he says.
At the tasting, stunning marbled Kuraishi beef is laid out on the table. The meat is put on the grill and cooked over charcoal. Of course it’s delicious. We savored the melting Kuraishi beef. We highly recommend you have a taste of this award-winning “”Aomori Kuraishi Beef””, a symbol of Aomori.
