Akaushi Beef (Akaushi Cattle)

“Akaushi” is Japanese meaning “red cow” or “brown cattle,” cited in English print since at least 1926. Akaushi cattle are a Wagyū breed, producing richly marbled and very tender beef.
 
HeartBrand Beef, Inc. of Yoakum, Texas had a herd of 11 in 1994, growing to 5,000 by 2008. HeartBrand is the largest supplier of Akaushi outside of Japan. “HeartBrand” is a registered trademark from 1998, but “Akaushi” is not trademarked.
 
 
Wikipedia: Akaushi
Akaushi (赤牛?, roughly meaning “Red Cow”) is a Japanese Wagyū breed of cattle. The beef produced by Akaushi cattle is richly marbled with fat and produces a very tender, flavorful expensive variety of steak which is used in Kobe restaurants.
 
The largest purebred group of the Wagyū breed of Akaushi cattle outside Japan is located in Harwood, Texas, owned by HeartBrand Beef. It was raised from a Japanese imported herd of 11 which was guarded by off-duty Texas Rangers to protect from interbreeding for over 12 years until the herd grew to over 5,000 cattle.
 
The meat contains high concentrations of oleic acid, a heart-healthy fat. Akaushi beef has a high ratio of mono-saturated fats to saturated fats.
 
HeartBrand Beef
In 1994 due to a loophole in the trade Act of 1992 between the United States and Japan, a small nucleus of Akaushi cows and bulls were brought to the United States in a specially equipped Boeing 747. Today, Akaushi genetics are controlled by a group of Texans under the name HeartBrand Beef, Inc.
 
Akaushi cattle, a Bos Taurus type of cattle had their origin and evolution in Kumamoto, Japan. Kumamoto is located in the middle of Kyushu island at a latitude of 32 degrees, 48 minutes North and 130 degrees, 42 minutes East, in the northwest part of the Kumamoto Prefecture.
 
Cattle breeds are divided into two kinds in Japan. The first is dairy cattle, including mainly Holsteins, grade Holsteins and Jerseys. The second type of cattle are nearly all called Wagyu. The word Wagyu refers to all Japanese cattle by its direct translation of its two grammatical parts, “wa” and “gyu” meaning Japanese and cattle, respectively. The Wagyu cattle are the Japanese indigenous breeds, which have been subjected to genetic improvement over the last 90 years. Today, there are four breeds of Wagyu cattle, the Akaushi (Japanese Red), the Kryoshi (Japanese Black), the Japanese Polled, and the Japanese Shorthorn. It is estimated at the present time that a population of 58,263 breeding age females represents the Akaushi breed.
 
Google Books
10,000 Chinese-Japanese Characters
By Jan Lodewyk Pierson
Leiden: Brill
1926
Pg. 343:
akaushi
a red cow
 
Google Books
Okinawan-English Aordbook:
A short lexicon of the Okinawan language with English definitions and Japanese cognates
By Mitsugu Sakihara
Edited by Stewart Curry
Honolulu, HI: Univ. of Hawaiʻi Press
2006
Pg. 8:
aka-ushi, n. [akaushi] Red cattle; brown cattle.
         
New York (NY) Times
Beef connoisseurs follow a different herd
By Michelle Roberts
Published: Wednesday, June 27, 2007
HARWOOD, Texas — Even by the standards of Texas - where beef is no trivial matter - José Antonio Elias Calles has coddled his cattle.
(...)
On a 0-12 quality scale used to rate beef in Japan, where heavy fat marbling is preferred, Kobe rates a minimum nine points and Angus beef 4.5; Calles’s animals rate around 7.5 to 8.5.

Through careful breeding and with the help of surrogate cows, Calles’s tiny herd of 11 has grown to 5,000, the largest group of purebred Akaushi cattle outside Japan.
 
Foodservice Forums 
Holly
July 2, 2007 10:01 AM
 
Japanese invade Texas (Waygu)
This is from our local paper. This must really taste good if folks actually grind this stuff up. 
     
Texan coddles cattle, produces boutique beef
Imported Japanese animals prized for fully marbled fat
By MICHELLE ROBERTS
Associated Press
Originally published 01:55 a.m., July 1, 2007
 
LEFT: Calles, president of the company that owns the largest herd of Akaushi-breed cattle outside Japan, has enough animals now to market the purebred Japanese beef to restaurants and consumers. Associated Press photos
 
ABOVE: Rancher Jose Antonio Elias Calles’ herd of Akaushi cattle has grown from 11 to more than 5,000. Off-duty Texas Rangers guard the animals so that their gene pool will not be contaminated.
 
Chowhound—Texas
Akaushi beef
Always searching for the best of all possible steak, we may have found it at Heartbrand Beef, Inc. of Yoakum, TX. http://www.heartbrandbeef.com/shop/ We first learned of it from Texas Monthly’s December edition; so of course we ordered two 14 oz. ribeyes at 50 bucks each plus another 15 for shipping, resulting in a cost of 57.50 each. On this initial taste test my wife and I decided to split the steaks and make two meals. They are totally edible so we got 7 oz. per serving. They are cut about an inch thick. I added nothing, no seasonings or rubs, cooked each over natural wood charcoal (not briquets) for 3&1/2 to 4 minutes per side about two inches above red-hot coals for a medium rare result. We both agree: this is the best steak we’ve ever had and probably the healthiest.
By waistedinkerrville on Jan 27, 2008 11:04 AM
 
Google Books
Fodor’s Texas [2008]
Fodor’s Travel Publications
2008
Pg. 65:
Executive chef and owner Mark Bohanan dishes up only prime-grade, center-cut Aberdeen Angus beef with exclusive selections of ultra-marbled Japanese Akaushi beef.
 
Western Cowman (July/August 2010)
Akaushi Cattle
An Exciting New Breed For The U.S. Cattle Industry
By Heather Smith Thomas
The word Akaushi means red cow, in Japanese. This breed is one of 4 indigenous breeds of cattle in Japan and has only recently been introduced to the U.S. “This is the only free-grazing beef breed in Japan,” says Bubba Bain, Executive Director of the American Akaushi Association. “These cattle have been in existence as a distinct breed for more than 150 years and are a national treasure in Japan.”
 
Dr. Antonio Calles introduced Akaushi cattle to the U.S. in 1994.
   
Google Books
The Big Texas Steakhouse Cookbook
By Helen Thompson, Janice Shay, Robert Peacock and Grady Spears
Gretna, LA: Pelican Pub.
2011
Pg. 42:
Texans have caught on, too, and are now raising their own kind of Wagyu—called Akaushi. The herd started with a mere eleven imported in 1994 by HeartBrand Beef to their South Texas ranch near Yoakum. It’s now increased in size to 5,000 head, but the scarcity explains why you have to order your Akaushi steak days in advance from a steakhouse that offers it. The expense is a problem, even though the steak lives up to its billing. But the undeniable magnificence of the meat affirms a suspicion that creeps into all arguments about steak: good breeding does make a difference,—H. T.
 
(Trademark)
Word Mark HEARTBRAND
Goods and Services IC 029. US 046. G & S: Processed meat, namely beef. FIRST USE: 19981231. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19981231
Mark Drawing Code (3) DESIGN PLUS WORDS, LETTERS, AND/OR NUMBERS
Design Search Code 02.11.01 - Hearts excluding hearts as carriers or depicted on playing cards
13.03.02 - Cooking ranges, electric or gas; Microwave ovens; Ovens and ranges; Ranges, cooking; Stoves, electric or gas
26.01.15 - Circles, exactly three circles; Three circles
26.01.21 - Circles that are totally or partially shaded.
26.09.20 - Squares inside one another
26.09.21 - Squares that are completely or partially shaded
Serial Number 78903625
Filing Date June 8, 2006
Current Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Published for Opposition March 6, 2007
Registration Number 3244505
Registration Date May 22, 2007
Owner (REGISTRANT) Heartbrand Beef, Inc. CORPORATION TEXAS 404 Airport Dr. Yoakum TEXAS 77995
Attorney of Record Ted D. Lee
Prior Registrations 2421391
Description of Mark The mark consists of the word HeartBrand with a heart design element on the left thereof.
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE
 
(Trademark)
Word Mark HEARTBRAND AKAUSHI BEEF
Translations The foreign wording in the mark translates into English as Brown Cattle.
Goods and Services (ABANDONED) IC 029. US 046. G & S: Beef
Standard Characters Claimed
Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Serial Number 78846131
Filing Date March 25, 2006
Current Filing Basis 1B
Original Filing Basis 1B
Published for Opposition May 29, 2007
Owner (APPLICANT) HEARTBRAND BEEF, INC. CORPORATION TEXAS 404 AIRPORT DRIVE YOAKUM TEXAS 77995
Assignment Recorded ASSIGNMENT RECORDED
Attorney of Record Ted D. Lee
Prior Registrations 2421391;3153769
Disclaimer NO CLAIM IS MADE TO THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO USE “AKAUSHI BEEF” APART FROM THE MARK AS SHOWN
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator DEAD
Abandonment Date February 22, 2008