Home on the Range

Rick Bourbonnais is Marketing Manager for Snake River Farms, so travel is a big part of his job.

As a former National Hockey League player, it is safe to assume he is used to it, but he is also an unremittingly enthusiastic ambassador for the product Snake River Farms produces. That is, heirloom Berkshire American Kurobota pork, and a peerless breed of cattle, called American Kobe beef. The cattle are a result of a cross-breeding program, in which Kobe beef from Japan were introduced to top quality American Black Angus. The rest is culinary history.

“The farm is a fantastic place, lush, tranquil. The animals, both hogs and cattle, get the very best of everything. And it is all natural, organic.”

Rick is dining with a small group of people, while Signorello wines from the Napa Valley are served, and he says “We actually chose Signorello as a partner, since the wine and the fine grains of the meat make a perfect match." Ray Signorello, proprietor and winemaker, is also present, and notes that “Our Tasting Room in Napa is no longer a drop-in affair. Instead, we take bookings, have our own chef, and we have a Snake River Farms and Cabernet tasting menu. It has been a huge success." Snake River Farms is a family-owned business, which began over a decade ago with a small herd of Wagyu cattle from the Kobe region of Japan. The Wagyu bulls, the first of which was the legendary Fukutsuru, who provided a prodigious 100,000 units of sperm that were frozen and used long after his death. The Wagyu bulls were crossed with premium American Black Angus to form a proprietary herd that has developed into one of the finest groups of Wagyu/Angus cross cattle in the United States. The animals were bred specifically to deliver the finest eating quality. Every step in the production process is strictly controlled to ensure that this level of distinction is achieved.

Rick Bourbonnais says that “The farm is a fantastic place, lush, tranquil. The animals, both hogs and cattle, get the very best of everything. And it is all natural, organic.”

Taste some of the tender American Kobe beef

To clarify a little. There are five major breeds of wagyū: Japanese Black, Japanese Brown, Japanese Polled, Japanese Shorthorn, and Kumamoto Reds. Japanese breed names include: Tajima, Hida, Tottori, Shimane, Kochi and Kumamoto. Kumamoto Prefecture is famous for their red wagyū cattle. The more famous black variety has origins in Kobe.

Wolfgang Puck and Thomas Keller

Wagyu refers to cuts of beef from the black Tajima-ushi breed of Wagyu cattle, raised according to strict tradition, only in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. So to say that these are particularly grown and cared for is something of an understatement. By the time Fukusuru made his way in America, a long tradition in Japan was in place. Orginally, Snake River exported its entire production back to Japan. However, import regulations in that country were changed in 2005, and, as Rick Bourbonnais says, “We had to find an entire new market for our beef. And thankfully, Wolfgang Puck and Thomas Keller were among the first chefs to use and endorse our product. It has been a great experience, travelling and spreading the word.”

To taste the meat is to understand what all the fuss is about. It is supple, rich, very finely grained with fat, and because of the feeding habits of the animals, there are even significant healthy Omega-3 fats present. The texture is silky, yet the flavor robust, profound. The fortunate diners on this early summer evening were entranced, and it wasn’t only the glow of the wine. It is a dish well worth finding, to taste for yourself.