Reviewed by Mathew Benoit, COO of Learn Brands · October 2026
Two ribeyes sit side by side in the case. Same cut, same size, and one costs a lot more. A shopper asks if Angus means Prime. Another wants to know whether the Wagyu on the label is the real thing, and how on earth to cook it. Premium beef is where good answers at the counter matter most.
Prime to Wagyu: A Guide to Premium Beef is a free beef course that covers marbling and USDA grades, the difference between a grade, a brand and a breed, grain finished and grass finished beef, what Wagyu, A5 and Kobe really mean, how to sell and cook something that rich, and why dry aged beef costs more. It takes about 25 minutes, self-paced, across five short narrated lessons.
What you'll learn
Five lessons that move from the grade on the label to the steak on the table.
Read the marbling (Lesson 1). What marbling is and why it makes beef juicy, how USDA graders score it, Prime, Choice and Select, and why a grade, a brand program and a breed are three different things.
Breeds and feed (Lesson 2). Angus and Hereford, what Certified Angus Beef checks for, and how grain finished and grass finished beef differ in marbling, flavor and cooking time.
What Wagyu means (Lesson 3). The four Japanese Wagyu breeds, why Wagyu fat melts the way it does, the A5 grade and the Beef Marbling Standard, and what beef has to come from to be called Kobe.
Wagyu at the counter (Lesson 4). American Wagyu, what fullblood, purebred and F1 cross mean, how much A5 to buy, how to sear it with no oil, sukiyaki and shabu shabu, and Wagyu burgers.
Aged beef and big cuts (Lesson 5). Wet aged and dry aged beef, why dry aging deepens flavor and costs more, and the big cuts made for a table, like the tomahawk and picanha.
How the course works
Each lesson is a short narrated walkthrough with photos from meat counters, ranches and home kitchens. Five activities keep it moving: call grade, brand or breed on label words, sort steaks into grain or grass finished, call fact or myth on what shoppers say about Wagyu, match the words on a Wagyu label to what they mean, and sort dry aged from wet aged.
At the start you pick your role: butcher or meat cutter, grocery team, department lead, or home cook. The course adds tips for that role in every lesson, and practice customers let you try it out loud: a shopper planning an anniversary dinner, a shopper with questions in the aisle, and a friend cooking for a dinner party.
It closes with a 12-question final quiz. Ten correct passes. It is online and self-paced, and it works on a phone, tablet, or desktop.
Who this is for
Butchers and meat cutters, grocery team members who stock the case or answer shoppers on the floor, and department leads who train their teams. It also fits anyone who loves a good steak and wants to buy and cook premium beef with confidence.
What you walk away with
You'll be able to show a shopper the marbling that sets two steaks apart, explain what a grade, a brand and a breed each promise, tell them what the Wagyu on a label means and how much of it to buy, give them a simple way to cook it, and match the right steak to the moment.
Free to enroll. Self-paced. Certificate on completion.
Who built this course
Prime to Wagyu: A Guide to Premium Beef was created by the Learn Brands education team under the direction of Mathew Benoit, COO and Creative Director of Learn Brands. Mathew grew up working in his family's store, and Learn Brands now trains store teams at more than 3,500 retailers. The course is built from the questions meat counter and grocery teams actually get asked.
How we checked the facts
Grades and marbling were checked against the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service beef grading standards, brand rules against Certified Angus Beef's published standards, Japanese grades and the marbling score against the Japan Meat Grading Association, Kobe rules against the Kobe Beef Marketing and Distribution Promotion Association, American Wagyu terms against the American Wagyu Association, cooking temperatures against USDA FSIS, and aging against published research on dry aging beef. Every photo was checked by eye to make sure it shows what the lesson says.
Last reviewed November 2026.
Beef FAQ
Is this course free?
Yes. Prime to Wagyu: A Guide to Premium Beef is part of the free Core Education Suite, free to take and free to assign to your team. No cost, no subscription, no card required. A certificate is issued on completion.
How long does it take?
About 25 minutes, self-paced: five short narrated lessons, five activities, practice customers, and a 12-question final quiz. You can stop and pick up where you left off.
Do I need to know anything about beef first?
No. The course starts with marbling and builds from there. Experienced meat cutters use it to sharpen how they explain grades, Wagyu and aging to shoppers.
Does Angus mean Prime?
No. Angus is a breed of cattle. Prime is a USDA grade based mostly on marbling. An Angus steak can grade Prime, Choice or Select. Lesson 1 covers the difference.
What does A5 Wagyu mean?
A5 is a Japanese grade. The letter is yield, from A to C, and the number is quality, from 1 to 5, so A5 is the top of both. A5 beef scores 8 or higher on the 12-point Beef Marbling Standard. Lesson 3 explains it.
Is all Wagyu Kobe beef?
No. Kobe is one kind of Wagyu: Tajima cattle born, raised and processed in Hyogo prefecture in Japan that pass strict grades. Real Kobe comes with a certificate and a number that traces it to the animal. Lesson 3 covers what to ask.
Why does dry aged beef cost more?
Dry aged beef loses water as it ages, and its dry outer crust is trimmed away, so a big piece of beef ends up as fewer steaks. The flavor turns deeper and nutty. Lesson 5 explains it.
Can I enroll my whole team?
Yes. Create a free company account, assign the course, and track who has started and finished from the Learn Brands dashboard.
Train your team
Want your team selling more at the counter? Retail Sales Academy covers communication, suggestive selling, upselling and service recovery for store teams. Buying for a team? Register your business free and assign seats across your whole staff.
Related courses
Keep going with the rest of the grocery series: Rolled Fresh: A Guide to the Sushi Counter, Cut to Order: A Guide to the Meat Case, Catch of the Day: A Guide to the Seafood Counter, Fresh Picks: A Guide to the Produce Department and Cheese 101: From Milk to Board, and find a bottle to pour beside it with The Science of Wine. Browse the free Core Education Suite.
About the reviewer
Mathew Benoit is COO of Learn Brands. He has a family liquor store background, spent more than eight years as Marketing Director at the distributor Vinocopia, and has represented brands nationally. Read Mathew's full bio.
