Midwest farmer George Schueman retrofitted two 747 jetliners in 1972 to airfreight a herd of his dairy Holstein cows to Japan. In exchange, Japan, trying to grow its commercial dairy industry, gave him 36 bulls — all bonafide Japanese Wagyu.
It’s one of the first introductions of the wagyu breed in the United States.
On a cloudy Monday afternoon in Aspen, a waft of freshly cooked steak emanating from executive chef Frank Lu’s front terrace of Jing Aspen tickled the nostrils of pedestrians casually strolling down Main Street. Unavoidably intrigued, he began feeding these passersby slices of this marbled delicacy, the lineage of which traces directly to the bulls onboard Schueman’s flying animal pen.
“Open your mouth!” Lu encouraged a pedestrian, who unreluctantly opened his chops and was fed a bite from Lu’s fork.
Watching nearby with a grin was Jon Urbana, Schueman’s grandson and owner of KOW Steaks.
Lu and the Nebraska rancher of six generations have orchestrated an arrangement: KOW’s luxurious American Wagyu beef will intermittently appear on Lu’s menu for special, curated dinners over the next year. In return, Lu is promoting KOW’s succulent Wagyu at the 41st annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen this weekend.
“KOW is the best,” Lu said. “We want people to know, what’s the quality, what’s the flavor?”
According to Urbana, KOW’s breed of American Wagyu is raised four years on pasturelands between Nebraska and Iowa. And the secret to their opulent marbling is in the region’s aquifer-fed water source. According to North Dakota State University, “Low-quality water normally will result in reduced water and feed consumption” for cattle. Every head of cattle, living “like kings” he says, consumes 72 gallons of water from this Midwestern aquifer per day.
“For us, the regionality is huge,” he said. “Where we are, where we grow our cattle, there’s 80 feet of topsoil; I widely describe it as the Bordeaux of Beef. It is the zone for growing this stuff. Just like Palisade Peaches, just like Bourbon, Kentucky, just like Napa Valley.”
To no surprise, KOW, featured by Forbes for its direct-to-consumer model, is widely used by revered chefs like Gordon Ramsay, Adam Richman, and Billy Oliva.
“When it comes to Jing, I’ve known Frank now for a couple years, and he loves the attentiveness that we put into our product, and he really understands it,” Urbana said. “So, that was enough for me to have this discussion, and we figured over the course of Food and Wine weekend, with everybody here really knowing their foods, knowing their bourbons, knowing their wines, that people would really appreciate this effort.”
This effort means Lu, a Shanghai, China, native and culinary veteran who’s worked just about every position in a kitchen before establishing himself among Aspen’s eatery elite, can showcase the Wagyu the best way he knows how: through his decades of infusing Asian and French cuisine.
With the help of his kitchen, Lu splayed out on his front terrace table brisket short rib dumplings with curry flavoring, Wagyu tartare, a torched filet mignon with a black truffle sauce, as well as giant tomahawks and more. The same menu items, of course, will be featured at the Food & Wine Classic this weekend.
“I can’t wait,” Lu said of this weekend. “I saved a lot of energy waiting for Food & Wine, waiting for the special KOW beef, for the special customers.”
To complement this meal fit for carnivorous kings, Jing General Manager Erika Shimada concocted bourbon- and gin-based co*cktails rimmed by KOW’s newest line of seasonings. Names include Dill Salt, Pan Am, Steak Salt, and the Las Vegas Supper Club (Urbana used to join his grandfather as they hauled swinging beef carcasses to Las Vegas supper clubs back in the day).
“This has been such an incredible collaboration to be a part of, and it’s been really fun to see what Frank has in store for us this Friday and Saturday night,” Shimada said. “Jing is just so impressed with the level of tender, delicious Wagyu KOW Steaks has to offer.”
For Shimada, Lu is the perfect chef to be dishing out KOW’s sweet, sweet Wagyu this weekend.
“Frank is truly a one-of-a-kind showman. There’s nobody like him in the world,” she said. “The level of energy and excitement he brings to daily life is incredible and also inspirational. Everybody loves Jing, everybody loves Frank. I’m just so appreciative to be a part of it.”
Interested in ordering KOW’s Wagyu cuts? Visit their website at kowsteaks.com.
