Then this is it. Given its scarcity and price tag, most Japanese have never tasted it, and those who have generally reserve it for a very special occasion. While wagyu can be half that. With its reputation for excellence and consumers ready to open their wallets for a taste of it, it's unsurprising that restaurants the world over have tried to cash in on the Kobe beef name. You've no doubt encountered menu items such as American Kobe beef, Kobe burgers and Kobe beef sliders.
The reality is almost all beef marketed as Kobe beef outside of Japan is not actually real Kobe beef. Kobe beef must come from Tajima-gyu cattle that were born, raised and slaughtered in Hyogo Prefecture and have only been fed from grains and grasses from within the Prefecture, and hence any beef produced in the United States, whether from Tajima-gyu cattle or not, cannot be Kobe. Plain and simple. That said, there have already been several class action suits filed against restaurants in America who were allegedly selling fraudulent Kobe beef , and affected consumers are demanding their money back.
According to Attorney Kevin Shenkman, who served as class counsel for suits against a number of these restaurants and dining groups, explains:. Yet despite growing media attention, it seems to have made little difference to consumer awareness or spending in the US, where menu items like Kobe sliders have already taken a foothold in the new age of foodie-ism.
From to August , the import of any Japanese wagyu beef from Japan, Kobe or otherwise, to the United States was banned due to concerns over foot and mouth disease believed to have originated from livestock in Japan.
Therefore any restaurant claiming to be serving Kobe beef in any form in the United States before August was being a bit creative with their menus. While the USDA's ban on Japanese beef importation was lifted on 27 August , only very small quantities of Kobe beef are distributed to select buyers. Most Kobe beef remains in Japan for domestic consumption. While pure-bred Japanese cattle do exist in the US, meat need only be Often wagyu in the United States is cross-bred with Angus cattle and may be more Angus beef than wagyu.
However, even this very broad definition of wagyu only applies to farmers and abattoirs; it does not extend to restaurants. Fortunately, there is a lot you can do to protect yourself as a consumer and to avoid being duped into paying for something that is not the real deal.
Price is a good first indicator. And no one in their right mind is going to grind up top-quality wagyu, much less prized Kobe beef, into a hamburger patty in the first place. There is essentially no such thing as ground Kobe beef. The late great Anthony Bourdain described Kobe sliders as the worst dish in America. You lose all of that immediately in a Kobe slider. They are generally weighed once a month and are expected to gain around 2.
Contrary to popular belief, Wagyu cattle are not routinely massaged or serenaded with classical music at least not daily. However, farmers do take great care to ensure that their muscles do not become tense.
This generally means simply avoiding rigorous activity and stress, but it may also involve using a stiff brush to increase blood circulation and work out tension. It's important for Wagyu to remain in a stress-free environment because stress increases adrenaline and contributes to tensed muscles and tough meat.
Though it's much more expensive and time-consuming than other methods, the way these cattle are raised is crucial to the production of the beautifully fatty, deliciously tender Wagyu beef that made them famous. Shop View All Products. Australian Wagyu. Premium Caviar. Village elders believed that consuming beef inside the house was a sacrilege, a desecration of the house, and an insult to their ancestors. Young men were forced to cook their beef outside on plow shears this process become known as sukiyaki, which literally means plow cooking until the Meui Restoration finally relaxed restriction against eating beef.
Cattle were first introduced into Japan in the 2nd century to provide power for the cultivation of rice. Because of the rugged terrain, migration was slow and restricted. Cattle tended to be isolated in small areas and each area had essentially a closed population. From to , the cow herd in Japan was officially closed by mandate of the Shogun. And except for a short period during the Meiji Restoration in the late 's the national herd has remained closed to this day.
Japan's rugged terrain created isolated pockets in which different breeding and feeding techniques were used. This resulted in distinctly different characteristics which, over the years, led to cattle from the Kobe region becoming a standard for the world in terms of flavor and tenderness.
Since then, two decades of research and development have resulted in an eating experience unequaled by any domestically produced beef today. Every bite bespeaks a quality that, until now, was unavailable in this country at an affordable price. Photo: courtesy Shutterstock. Japanese cattle-breeders go to great lengths to give their cows a zen-like existence.
And unlike some American farms where cows are left to roam free in open pastures, Wagyu cattle are kept on open-air farms where they can be carefully monitored.
So what is kobe beef? Kobe is essentially just a brand of Wagyu beef, in the same way that Nike is a brand of shoe. In order for something to be labeled as Kobe beef, first of all, it has to originate in Kobe, Japan. Then, all parties who have a hand in getting this sought-after meat to your table—from the farm to the slaughterhouse to the buyer to the restaurant—has to be licensed by The Kobe Beef Association.
A couple serious slabs of Wagyu beef. Photo: courtesy Paige Green Photo. There are two components that go into that rating. This part of the rating is really more for the purveyor than for those of us sidling up to a steak dinner. The BMS is a scale of one to 12 and relates to both the amount and quality of the marbling. To be rated A5, the meat must have a BMS of 8 to A4 is just below that level, representing a BMS score of 6 through 8.
However, this top-tier Wagyu is hard to come by on this side of the Pacific, she says. Another thing to take into consideration is that in Japan, the rating is an intensely studied skill.
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