Kobe Beef Is a Delicacy of Japan, a Type of Beef That Is So Well Marbled That It Goes

What’s the Beef?

By

Andrea Cwik

Kobe Beef is a delicacy of Japan, a type of beef that is so well marbled that it goes

right off the charts for Prime grading in any other country. The meat has an intensive

white fat marbling, which gives the meat a rich flavor and caloric content, and costs an

insane amount, often $300 a pound or more for the real thing from Japan. Kobe beef

comes from a breed of cattle called Wagyu. Wagyu Beef is genetic, not a place or

reference to how the cattle were raised or fed. Japanese Wagyu are fed expensive

Japanese grain and beer. This breed is genetically predisposed to intense marbling and

produces a higher percentage of oleaginous , unsaturated fat(a healthier fat) than any

other breed of cattle known in the world. Wagyu beef also has less waste backfat than

American breeds. I had spoken last year with a representative of Snake River Farms who

told me that the Wagyu cows are massaged and I couldn’t help but ask, “And do they get

their hoofs painted too?” Actually, the legend is true, Japanese Wagyu are massaged,

because they do not have enough room to exercise in a normal paddock, and to relieve

stress and muscle stiffness. Believe it or not, the Japanese believe that the eating quality

of the meat is affected positively by keeping the cattle calm and content. Also, beer is fed

to the cattle during summer months when the humidity, temperature, and lack of backfat

depresses the feed intake. Some producers in Japan believe that haircoat and softness of

skin are related to meat quality. It’s believed that brushing haircoat with sake improves

the appearance and softness of the animal and is therefore of economic importance.

Land and grain are very expensive in Japan. Beef production houses in Kobe have

been contracting out to other producers to custom raise their cattle for them. Most

specifically, Harris Ranch in California, among other producers in America and

Australia, including Scotland—land and grain is cheap over there, and it's worth the

shipping costs to have the cattle raised overseas. American and Australian raised Wagyu

cattle that get the oleaginous feed and a well designed exercise program grade out just

fine, and even the most discerning palate could not tell the difference if the grade was the

same. America does not have a market for high prime beef, whereas, Japan has a mass

market. In USA, Wagyu Bull is crossed with a Black Angus Cow and the cross breed

beef is called, “American Style Kobe Beef.” American Style Kobe Beef is not 100%

Wagyu Beef. Some American ranchers purchase Wagyu female cows and Wagyu semen

for breeding thus, breeding 100% Kobe Beef.

How does Wagyu beef taste? If it's cooked wrong, lousy. Bland. Not too flavorful.

Kind of boring. If you cook it right? Awesome. Beef foie gras. Smooth, velvety,

incomparably sweet with a subtle tang of savor that lingers on the palate. Wagyu sashimi,

or thin raw strips of beef marinated in a bit of soy sauce, dashi broth and green onion, is

very popular in Japan. If tartar is not to your taste, place the thin strips on top of a very

hot bowl of rice briefly, and the heat will cook it perfectly. "Well done" and "Wagyu" are

not words that go well together. Open flames, preheated cast iron and Wagyu beef are

friends. Good friends. A quick sear of thin pieces in a very hot flame works wonders, and

if you are lucky enough to have a thick steak, you want it absolutely seared and crispy on

the outside and raw and quivering on the inside, even if you do not normally eat your

steak this way. You cannot cook Kobe Beef like American beef Beef, although both are

beef, it’s the difference between night and day.

Now, let me give you a little history on cattle. They are not native to the USA!! There

are over 30 breeds and then of course, cross-breeding these would give you several

more.The Texas Longhorn was the first breed of cattle brought here by the Spanish in the

fourteenth century. Six feet is the distance from one point or tip of the horn to the other.

One horn can measure eight feet long! Consider that when you make your decision to run

with the bulls. The Herford cow is from Herfordshire England. The Angus cow, the name

should give it away, it is from Scotland. Cows are descendants from Ox. They were used

as work animals as well as for producing milk and beef. Most beef that Americans eat are

either Herford or Angus because they fatten up the best and in the shortest of time.

America has a grading system for the quality of beef based on the marbling and yield.

This grading system is regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture, USDA.

This grading system is based on five grades and the top three grades are Prime, Choice,

and Select. Marbling refers to the fat content in the muscle and that depends on the length

of time spent on a feed lot. The feed lot is a small pen, the cattle heads are harnessed and

they are fed corn and grain. Herford and Angus cattle have small bones and more muscle

mass or meat. By keeping them harnessed they do not move so there isn’t much

development of bone. Cattle is sold by weight and the goal is to fatten up the cattle as fast

as you can and the more the cows weigh the more money is made. If you have good

cattle stock pen them, feed them quality grains and corn and you will have great tasting

tender, marbled beef. You often hear the term Dry-Aged beef. This is a technique of

making the beef tender, not flavorable. It’s a process of deterioration of the muscle (beef)

fibers using gravity and circulating air and the temperature just right to prevent bacterial

growth. Do I think Kobe Beef is better, no. Do I think Kobe Beef is worth 300.00 a

pound, absolutely not. I think you’re paying for vain, spoiled, drunken beef. Facts are,

Kobe Beef is massaged, fed beer and groomed and bathed in sake, I think that is why

Kobe Beef costs as much as it does. Kobe Beef is difficult to cook and tastes better rare.

It’s preferred as TarTar, or seared once again, proving my point that Kobe Beef is spoiled

vain cattle. It does have the healthy fat factor, but in a healthy human diet, that shouldn’t

matter. I personally prefer a nice Prime or Choice cut of hearty Angus Beef. With the

options of spices, rubs, grilled, or smoked and marinades you’re guaranteed a delicious,

juicy, tender flavorable cut of beef every time.