Prized as one of the highest quality grades of beef in the world, the meat of the Wagyu cow is appreciated by gourmets for its heavy marbling and rich flavour. Originating from Japan where just a handful of farmers produce real Kobe beef, the strain of cattle has been adapted to pastures new over recent years and widely popularised by Australian producers and today can be enjoyed at steakhouses all over the world. And now, a Portuguese cattle farm in the Alentejo is to be amongst the first in Europe to produce the meat. Owned by Portuguese breeders Manuel Silveira and Nuno Rosado, the farm has so far received 20 head of Wagyu cattle, many of them pregnant.
In Japan, the original Kobe beef is a highly prized ingredient and produces the most expensive beef in the world, selling for as much as €160 per kilo. Producers in Kobe are known to to feed their cattle beer to relax them and massage the cows to help promote marbling of the meat.
