Hanwoo beef from Korea is gaining worldwide fame for its beautiful marbling, tenderness, and rich umami flavor. This premium beef from special Korean cattle is often called “Korean Wagyu” for its similarities to famous Japanese Wagyu As Hanwoo becomes more popular internationally, American consumers are wondering where they can buy it in the United States
What Exactly is Hanwoo Beef?
Hanwoo refers to a breed of cattle native to Korea and raised specifically for beef production. Hanwoo cattle are prized for their genetic predisposition to intensely marbled beef with fine texture and taste. They are considered a national treasure in Korea.
Like Japanese Wagyu, Hanwoo cattle are massaged and fed a specialized diet including beer. This produces beautiful fat marbling that bastes the meat from within and gives it a melt-in-your-mouth tenderness when cooked The complex flavor is subtly sweet with notes of grass and nuts
Notable Cuts of Hanwoo Beef
The most coveted cuts of Hanwoo beef include:
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Striploin – This tender cut is ideal for grilling as steaks.
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Ribeye – The ribbon of fat through the eye of the ribeye keeps it exceptionally juicy.
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Sirloin – Less expensive but still nicely marbled for flavor.
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Short ribs – Slow cooking makes these fall-off-the-bone tender.
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Oyster blade – A heavily worked muscle that benefits from marinating.
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Brisket – Responds well to slow roasting or barbecue.
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Flank steak – Best sliced thin across the grain for Korean BBQ.
Where to Buy Hanwoo Beef in the USA
Thanks to growing demand, options for buying Hanwoo beef in America are expanding. Here are some of the best places to buy it:
Online Direct from Korea
Several online stores ship fresh Hanwoo beef directly from farms in Korea worldwide:
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Holy Grail Steak – The top online seller of Grade 1++ Hanwoo with excellent steaks.
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Korea Beef Store – Specializes in Hanwoo gift boxes sent from Korea. Pricey but top quality.
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Kim’s C Market – Korean grocery delivery that stocks hard-to-find Hanwoo cuts.
Korean Grocery Stores
Check the meat department at Korean markets in your city:
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H Mart – This Korean grocery chain offers butcher shops in some locations.
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Assi Plaza – With outlets around the country, they may carry frozen Hanwoo.
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Zion Market – Some locations have freshly wrapped Hanwoo beef cuts.
Online Specialty Meat Shops
Several online butchers specializing in global Wagyu carry Hanwoo:
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Crowd Cow – Works directly with South Korean farms to import Hanwoo.
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Holy Grail Steak Co – Supplies Hanwoo to restaurants in addition to direct sales.
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Steak Aged – Carries prime grade boneless short rib and oyster blade.
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Meat N Bone – Specializes in Wagyu but also offers premium Hanwoo.
High-End Restaurants
Some upscale Korean BBQ and steakhouses in major cities now serve Hanwoo:
- Cote in New York City
- Son of a Butcher in Los Angeles
- Jung’s Bistro in Atlanta
- San Mat in Dallas
Call ahead to see if they sell retail cuts. Quantities are often limited.
In Person in Korea
For the ultimate experience, visit Korea and buy your Hanwoo at local butcher shops or traditional markets like:
- Gwangjang Market in Seoul
- Noryangjin Fish Market in Seoul
- Seomun Market in Daegu
The quality buying in person is unmatched.
What to Expect When Buying Hanwoo Beef
Due to limited supply and high demand, Hanwoo commands a premium price, especially for top grades:
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Expect to pay $40-$60 per pound for sirloin or brisket.
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Prime steaks like ribeye can cost $70-$120+ per pound.
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It can rival or even surpass Japanese Wagyu in price.
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Short ribs are usually the most economical cut.
Look for labels stating “Hanwoo” and official Korean beef certificates noting the grade. Grade 1++ is the highest premium quality.
For better value, buy subprimals or quarters rather than individual steaks. Ensure your vendor properly handles and stores the beef.
Cooking Your Hanwoo Beef
When preparing Hanwoo at home:
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Let steaks and roasts reach room temperature before cooking.
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Use high heat like grilling or broiling to develop a nice crust.
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Pull roasts off heat around 115°F for rare doneness.
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Avoid overcooking beyond medium or overpowering flavors.
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Salt before cooking, not after.
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Let rest 5 minutes before slicing for juiciness.
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For stews, use bone-in cuts with collagen.
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Briefly sear thin slices in broth for shabu shabu.
Treat Hanwoo as you would any top-tier steak and it will deliver in delicious fashion!
Is the Splurge Worth It?
Like Wagyu, Hanwoo is a luxury best saved for special occasions. The rich, tender meat makes for an unforgettable dining experience. For hardcore meat aficionados or Korean cuisine fans, the premium price can be well worth it to savor this exquisite delicacy. However, more casual consumers may find cheaper cuts like USDA Prime satisfactory. Approach Hanwoo as you would a fine wine – a rare treat to indulge in.
Finding Authentic Hanwoo Beef
From striploin carpaccio to bone marrow, Hanwoo’s refined marbling and delicate flavor deserve to be cherished. Seek out this exemplary beef to enjoy its textural perfection and buttery richness. With its growing availability, more opportunities exist to taste supreme Korean beef greatness without traveling to Korea. Just be sure to source your Hanwoo from reputable purveyors. Your palate will thank you for the experience of savoring authentic Hanwoo’s excellence.
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Seung-Hwan Lee1Hanwoo Experiment Station, National Institute of Animal Science, RDA, Pyeong-Chang, 232-950 Korea Find articles by
Received 2014 Apr 7; Accepted 2014 Apr 7; Collection date 2014. © Lee et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2014
This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
Hanwoo (Korean cattle) is the native, taurine type of cattle breed of Korea and its history as a draft animal dates back to 5000 Years. In earlier times Hanwoo was used extensively for farming, transportation. Over the period of time, Hanwoo has changed to be meat type cattle. Full-scale production of Hanwoo as meat-type cattle has occurred since 1960s with the rapid growth of the Korean economy. Hanwoo is one of the most economically important species in Korea as it is a significant source of nutrition to the Korean people. Hanwoo beef is the most cherished food of Korea. One of the main goals of researchers is to increase the meat quality, quantity and taste of the beef. In this review we describe the origin, domestication of Hanwoo cattle and breeding program initiated from 1980’s. Moreover the advent of technological advancement had provided us a platform to perform genome wide selection on economic traits and its implementation into traditional breeding programs.
Keywords: Hanwoo (Korean cattle), Origin, Domestication and breeding program
Hanwoo (Korean cattle) is the native, taurine type, small sized cattle breed of Korea and its history as a draft animal dates back to 5000 Years. In earlier times Hanwoo was used extensively for farming, transportation and for religious sacrifice. Over the period of time Hanwoo cattle has evolved to be meat type cattle. Full-scale production of Hanwoo as meat-type cattle has occurred since 1960s with the rapid growth of the Korean economy. Despite its high price, beef from Hanwoo cattle is very popular among both Koreans and foreigners. Hanwoo beef is known for its marbled fat, tenderness, juiciness and characteristic flavor. There are four breeds of Hanwoo in Korea viz. brown Hanwoo, brindle Hanwoo, black Hanwoo and jeju black (Figure 1). Among all these colour variants brown is the most common one (Figure 1). National Institute of Animal Science along with the small stakeholders has taken an initiative for a better management and improvement of Hanwoo cattle. Hanwoo Experiment Station (A Research Station of National Institute of Animal Science) in Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon-do, Korea is dedicated exclusively for research on Hanwoo cattle. Along with Hanwoo experiment station there are other institutes and universities as well which are working towards the betterment of this native cattle breed.
Pictures of four Hanwoo cattle. (A) Brown Hanwoo, (B) Brindle Hanwoo, (C) Black Hanwoo and (D) Jeju black Hanwoo.
Korea along with Hanwoo has a market for imported beef from Australia, USA, New Zealand, Canada and Mexico as well (KMTA, [1]). When Hanwoo beef was compared with the Australian Angus, it showed characteristic compositional and quality differences that should result from genetic and environmental differences between them [2]. Hanwoo is lower in cholesterol compared to other beef. It also has a higher omega 3 fatty acid count which makes it healthier than beef from other cattle. Taste-wise, it’s very soft, juicy, and delicious. The marbling in Hanwoo steak is excellent as well and it has the right balance of meat and fat. Korean consumers decided their overall acceptability of Hanwoo beef are as follows: weights of tenderness 55%, juiciness 18%, and flavor-likeness 27% [3]. No wonder Korean consumers, despite the high price prefer Hanwoo beef to the imported one. In order to produce high quality Hanwoo beef along with specially designed breeding programs special care and feed strategies are deployed.
The major goal of researchers is to increase both the quality (Marbling, tenderness and flavor) and the quantity (Carcass weight) of the meat to benefit the Hanwoo beef industry. Therefore, the current selection index used in Korea Proven Bulls (KPN) program is based on 1) carcass weight on marbling score 2) the comparison on carcass weight. In order to support the beef industry along with the conventional selection program, the genomic selection is also being incorporated in selection and breeding programs. In the present review we discussed the origin, domestication, breeding strategies and genomic selection in Hanwoo cattle.
Origin and domestication of not just Hanwoo but all north-east asian cattle is a topic of discussion among researchers. Researchers are of divided view when it comes to ancestry and domestication of Hanwoo. There are some studies on the origin and ancestry of this cattle breed. Han S. W., [4] suggested Hanwoo to be a cross between zebu and taurine cattle, which migrated to Korea from Mongolia via north china while Lee & Pollack [5] proposed Hanwoo to have originated as a hybrid from auroch and zebu cattle. Yoon et al. [6] suggested an independent domestication event for Hanwoo. Mannen et al. [7] also suggested the independent mitochondrial origin in Asian cattle. Their study included Mongolian, Korean and Japanese cattle. In a recent study McTavish et al. [8] suggested that the asian cattle (Hanwoo and Japanese Black) to be of hybrid taurine–indicine origin.We carried out cattle diversity analysis which showed a clear differentiation of asian taurine from western taurine cattle (Figure 2B-2C). Based on 50 K SNP chip data we computed a neighbor joining phylogenetic tree where we observed a clear partitioning for African taurine, European taurine, Asian taurine and Zebu cattle. The tree clearly clustered Korean cattle breeds on a separate node than the European taurine cattle breeds. This might suggest a separate domestication event for north-east asian cattle. Also, mitochondria based studies have identified a haplotype T4 that is observed in north east asian cattle breeds but not in other breeds (Mannen et al., [7]). The PCA plot also clearly separated Hanwoo and Wagyu (Japanese cattle) from Hereford and angus cattle thus supporting the inference from neighbor joining tree.
Comparison of Hanwoo compared to other taurine cattle. (A) Model-based population assignment for individuals based on the 50K SNP panel using STRUCTURE (K=3), YBH: Yanbian, CHB: Korean brindle, CS: Chosun, JBB: Jeju black, Ag: Angus, BS: Brown swiss, LM: Limousine, HF: Hereford, H: Holstein, BR: Brahman, HW: Hanwoo (B) A neighbor joining tree based on Pairwise Fst values, (C) Principal component analysis capturing a clear difference of north-east asian cattle.
Insane Korean BBQ!! 2 Weeks WATER AGED Hanwoo Beef in Seoul!
FAQ
Can you get Hanwoo beef in the US?
Because Hanwoo is available only in Korea, it is a common practice for Koreans living in the U.S. to send Hanwoo as a gift to their loved ones in Korea.
Why isn’t Hanwoo beef sold in the US?
The South Korean government restricts the export of Hanwoo beef, due to the strict regulation behind what is certified as Hanwoo beef. There isn’t a large supply and very few countries can import it. The beef reaching the quality that it does is unique to the diet of the cattle in the region as well as the climate.
How much does Hanwoo beef cost?
Korean Hanwoo(aka Hanu) beef about $8 USD per 100 grams ($35 USD per pound)
What is so special about Hanwoo beef?
Raised free-range in the South Korean countryside, Hanwoo cattle are known for their high marbling, beefy flavor and slightly sweet taste – a result of an …
Where to buy hanwoo beef?
Thanks to growing demand, options for buying Hanwoo beef in America are expanding. Here are some of the best places to buy it: Holy Grail Steak – The leading online seller of Grade 1++ Hanwoo beef with excellent steaks. Ships from Korea worldwide. Korea Beef Store – Specializes in Hanwoo gift boxes sent straight from Korea. Pricey but top quality.
What is a Hanwoo cattle?
Hanwoo refers to a breed of cattle native to Korea and raised specifically for beef production. Hanwoo cattle are prized for their genetic predisposition to intensely marbled beef with fine texture and taste. They are considered a national treasure in Korea. Like Japanese wagyu, Hanwoo cattle are massaged and fed a specialized diet including beer.
Is hanwoo beef better than Wagyu?
For many, Hanwoo perfectly combines the best quality of Wagyu and U.S. beef. Diet-wise, most Hanwoo cattle, just like Wagyu, are fed beer-enriched feed. The alcohol is thought to help the beef maintain a juicy texture. Although both Wagyu and Hanwoo rely on a grain diet, the former consumes more corn whereas the latter consumes more oats.
Can you buy Hanwoo in Korea?
Because Hanwoo is available only in Korea, it is a common practice for Koreans living in the U.S. to send Hanwoo as a gift to their loved ones in Korea. Can you buy Hanwoo beef outside of Korea?
What does hanwoo beef taste like?
Like Japanese wagyu, Hanwoo cattle are massaged and fed a specialized diet including beer. This produces beautiful fat marbling that bastes the meat from within and gives it a melt-in-your-mouth tenderness when cooked. The complex flavor is subtly sweet with notes of grass and nuts. The most coveted cuts of Hanwoo beef include:
What are the grading levels for hanwoo beef?
There are four grading levels for Hanwoo beef based on the meat quality and marbling, with 1++ being the highest premium grade. Grade 1++ – Best of the best. Abundant marbling and tenderness. For special occasions. Grade 1+ – Excellence marbling, flavor, and juiciness. Connoisseur choice.