Hanwoo
Bos taurus · Meat
Top 10 pairings
Hanwoo is Korea's native beef breed — a real breed with a state-run herdbook, not a marketing programme. It marbles heavily and the Korean grading scale runs all the way to 1++, but it does not eat like top-grade Wagyu: there is less fat in the muscle, so the bite stays firm and resilient, and that chewiness is part of what Korean eaters are paying for rather than a shortfall. It earns its own page precisely because people assume it is Wagyu, and it is not.
Picking a good onedrag
Freshly cut, cherry-red, firmOff: tacky, slimy, smelling wrong
Counter freshEveryday bestSear, roast or braise, but mince needs 160°F (71°C). Pregnant? Cook all meat through.
ColourRed, a brownish cast under lights
Touch the surfaceMoist and clean, still not sticky
SmellMild, clean, faintly meaty
These cues are Beef's, and hold across its varieties; where this one differs, its own page says so.