What Is Beef Marbling and How Does It Impact Flavor?

What Is Beef Marbling and How Does It Impact Flavor?

What’s the deal with beef marbling? Is it a real thing or a marketing gimmick? And what, exactly, does it have to do with the quality of meat and how your steaks taste?

At Snake River Farms, superior beef is our bread and butter. Here’s the lowdown on what beef marbling means and how it impacts the flavor of your SRF steaks and roasts.

What is Beef Marbling?

Marbling in beef refers to visible white streaks of intramuscular fat that run throughout the muscle tissue in any cut. The intramuscular fat in highly marbled beef liquifies when heated and provides a self-basting effect. The melted fat infuses the beef with a savory richness and velvety texture. Each bite of a well-marbled steak delivers extraordinary juiciness and robust flavor beyond compare.

Certain breeds of cattle naturally produce more intensely marbled beef, such as Japanese wagyu.

Intermuscular vs Intramuscular Fat 

Let’s talk about fat. There are two kinds of fat in cattle: intermuscular and intramuscular.

• Intermuscular fat refers to those solid white chunks or strips of fat between the muscles. This is the fat you or your butcher trim off before cooking or eating because it doesn’t contribute to an elevated dining experience. If you’ve ever tried to eat cooked intermuscular fat, you understand why it’s the origin of the phrase “chew the fat.” It’s rubbery and, other than the charred exterior, can be unpleasant to eat.

• Intramuscular fat, on the other hand, occurs inside the muscle tissue. It’s those flecks and streaks of white you see scattered among the red parts of the meat. When we say marbling, this is what we’re talking about. The name comes from its resemblance to swirled color patterns in marble and other kinds of stone. We’ll get to know more about how it affects flavor in a moment.

Understanding Beef Marbling Score (BMS)

The Japanese use an international grading system called BMS, or Beef Marbling Score. This system assigns a number between 1 and 12 to reflect a cut of meat’s overall level of intramuscular fat. Beef Marble Score helps compare beef across international grading scales that may differ from USDA guidelines and cause confusion.

USDA Prime grade maxes out at a BMS of 5, whereas luxurious Japanese Wagyu beef can score as high as 12.

What makes Wagyu Beef so Marbled?

Japanese cattle (Wagyu) are special because they naturally produce higher densities of intramuscular fat, creating richer flavor compared to regular beef. Some specific breeds of Wagyu, such as Kobe, are famously known to be fed and raised in a manner to further encourage even more fat marbling as the cattle grow from a young age.

The marbling seen in cuts of Wagyu steaks ultimately comes down to genetics, and the ability of a skilled and experienced rancher who can safeguard the lineage and properly care for the cattle during raising. Diet and stress levels of the animals, as well as other cattle rearing practices, can all play a part in the resulting marble score.

Is Wagyu Fat Healthy?

The fat content of Wagyu beef is primarily made up of monounsaturated fat, which is considered a healthy type of fat rich in vitamins and beneficial fatty acids and does not contribute to an increase in cholesterol. This is different from unhealthy types of fat, such as trans fats found in fried foods or margarine. 

While Wagyu fat is healthy, some do find it difficult to finish a cut of Wagyu steak if served in a typical Western sized portion (i.e. 6 oz). The very high levels of marbling seen in Wagyu beef creates a richness that leaves some too full to finish the entire meal. This is why Japanese Wagyu is often served in thinly sliced, smaller portions.

One solution to this issue is American Wagyu beef, a cross between Japanese Wagyu and North American cattle. The result is the best of both worlds. American Wagyu combines the richness of Japanese beef with the flavor of U.S. produced beef. Since the marbling is not as high as full-bred Wagyu, it’s possible to fully enjoy the classic preparation of a cowboy ribeye, filet mignon, or even a low and slow cooked brisket.

American Wagyu: Beyond Marbling Expectations

All Snake River Farms American Wagyu beef grades above USDA Prime. One of the unique qualities of Wagyu cattle is they naturally produce more marbling than other breeds. Producing higher levels of marbling comes from the carefully controlled diet we feed our cattle, including local grass and other grains. But part of it is simply a genetic trait — which is why our founder gambled on importing Japanese Wagyu in the 1980s and crossbreeding them with domestic cattle.


Because our American Wagyu beef surpasses most other domestic beef in marbling, we developed four categories for our products by synthesizing the USDA and Japanese systems:

• USDA Choice – BMS of 2 to 3, great flavor and tenderness, above average steaks.
  
  
• USDA Prime – BMS of 4 to 5, includes only about 5% of all domestic beef.
  
  
• SRF Black®  – American Wagyu beef with a BMS of 6 to 8, superior to USDA Prime.
  
  
• SRF Gold®  – American Wagyu beef with a BMS of 9+ that delivers a rich flavor and buttery texture.