The Great Kobe Beef Lie

[Hambone]

Do you think you've eaten Kobe beef here in Canada? Don't be so sure.

Food's Biggest Scam: The Great Kobe Beef Lie (http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2012/04/12/foods-biggest-scam-the-great-kobe-beef-lie/)

It's an interesting article explaining what Kobe beef really is and how merchants outside Japan are using the terms "Kobe" and "waygu" to sell their products. The article is a few pages long linking to other articles, including one from The Star, and updates. They're worth a read or even a skim through if it's something that interests you.

I find it funny that a butcher (i think its a butcher) advertises in The Star selling their "waygu" burgers.

[ronin1701]

I find it funny that a butcher (i think its a butcher) advertises in The Star selling their "waygu" burgers.

I remember earlier this year, WagJag (a group deal site owned by The Star) was shilling deals for "Kobe Classic (http://www.kobeclassicbeef.com/)" beef for a while.

[ronin1701]

http://www.thestar.com/living/food/article/1168746--kobe-beef-in-canada-isn-t-what-you-think-it-is


A Wagyu beef hotdog at Stock, the new restaurant at the Trump International Hotel & Tower, will set you back $26 before taxes and tip.

That's so wrong. If you're going to pay that much for a quality cut of beef, you should be eating it whole, not ground into a mush and slapped inside a biodegradable casing :cry:

[wszeto28]

I don't necessarily think it's a lie as Japan is not the only country that breeds the wagyu cattle. Australia seems to breed them as well. I know I've had wagyu steaks in the States before and it could have possibly been bred from Australia. I know it was wagyu cattle too because of how well marbled it was.

[Hambone]

The author is saying wagyu isn't a breed.

In fact, Wagyu is not even a breed. Not that it matters much here, but actual Kobe beef comes from the Tajima-gyu breed – and by law, only from that breed. Wagyu, on the other hand, means “Japanese Cattle” and refers to the entirety of the nation’s breeds. Of course, Japan has many Western and European cattle breeds – if I ship a cow that lives down the road from me in Vermont to Tokyo and it spends more than half its life there, it becomes Japanese cattle – but never Kobe.
Link (http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2012/04/13/foods-biggest-scam-part-2-domestic-kobe-and-wagyu-beef/2/)


5. So what do I get when buy Wagyu in the U.S.? Unfortunately, the term has little if any precise definition in this country. Honest to goodness full-blooded cattle from different Japanese or Wagyu breeds have been exported to this country in the past for breeding. Some farmers have maintained these bloodlines in 100% pure forms. Many others have not. Even the term Purebred Wagyu, used by the American Wagyu Association, does not refer to a wholly pure animal. Their term for that is 100% Wagyu. However much of what is sold as Wagyu here is what the AWA calls “percentage Wagyu” meaning it is part Japanese breed after being crossed with other types of cattle. In some cases, the “purity” of the Wagyu line goes back two generations, and the percentage Wagyu is the grandchildren of the Wagyu after cross-breeding. So the products sold under the Wagyu name in the U.S. vary widely. Also, these terms, 100% Wagyu, Purebred Wagyu, and Percentage Wagyu are constructs of the AWA, a trade group, for marketing purposes, not legal definitions. When you see Wagyu, it might be 100% of a Japanese breed, like that used for Kobe beef, or it might be much less. Unless you are in direct contact with the breeder, it can be impossible to ascertain either the breed or the Wagyu content. If I were shopping for domestic Wagyu (and believe me, I won’t be), I would look for references from friends, contact the producer directly with questions, and only buy if I felt my concerns were fully satisfied. If the breeder told me all Wagyu was the same, Wagyu is a breed, or that Wagyu is the breed that Kobe comes from without being able to explain what breed he or she had, those would all be red flags. Nonetheless, there is no reason why excellent beef in the Japanese style cannot be produced here, just as there is excellent sparkling wine produced here.
Link (http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2012/04/19/kobe-and-wagyu-beef-final-thoughts-and-clarifications/2/)

I'm just saying some restaurants and butchers are advertising them selling this stuff when in fact, because of no regulations, they can pretty much make any kind of claim they want.

[Justpete]

What, you've never had the amazing "Kobe beef sliders" at Milestones!?!

[wszeto28]

The author is saying wagyu isn't a breed.

Link (http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2012/04/13/foods-biggest-scam-part-2-domestic-kobe-and-wagyu-beef/2/)

Based on Wikipedia, Wagyu is the entire breed of that cattle. Kobe Beef means cuts from the black Tajima-ushi cattle who are raised in the Hyogo Prefecture where the capital is Kobe (they basically name it based on where the cattle is from). With that said, the black Tajima-ushi is still a breed of wagyu though. It's illegal to import Kobe beef in most countries so calling it Kobe beef is a lie but restaurants are free to call it wagyu if, let's say, they've imported the wagyu beef from Australia. It's also pretty easy to differentiate wagyu from the normal beef that we usually see.

When I went to a wolfgang puck restaurant in Vegas, I ordered a Wagyu steak and they actually show you the steak before cooking it. You could easily tell that it was well marbled unlike the steaks we usually see.

[flashy_mcflash]

That's so wrong. If you're going to pay that much for a quality cut of beef, you should be eating it whole, not ground into a mush and slapped inside a biodegradable casing :cry:

Damn right, same as any Kobe beef burger.

Kobe is meant to be the tenderest beef, so why in the world would you grind it up (for either hot dogs or burgers) and kill any advantage you are getting from buying Kobe??

[Pete_Coach]

No Kobe in Canada
http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2012/05/07/sorry-canada-no-kobe-beef-for-you-either/

[ippon]

Damn right, same as any Kobe beef burger.

Kobe is meant to be the tenderest beef, so why in the world would you grind it up (for either hot dogs or burgers) and kill any advantage you are getting from buying Kobe??

well, i don't think they are gridning up sirloins and tenderloins for burgers. there'll still be cuts that will be tough and little bits and ends that can be turned into burgers.
i don't think i would ever pay for it though.

[ronin1701]

well, i don't think they are gridning up sirloins and tenderloins for burgers. there'll still be cuts that will be tough and little bits and ends that can be turned into burgers.
i don't think i would ever pay for it though.

That's still a lot to pay for the parts that no one else wants.

The other problem is that once it's been ground up, who the heck knows what cow it really came from, unless these guys are hand-grinding them in the restaurant every day, and assuming they're not trying to rip you off (any more than they already are).

[Justpete]

Kobe is meant to be the tenderest beef, so why in the world would you grind it up (for either hot dogs or burgers) and kill any advantage you are getting from buying Kobe??

Being the most tender beef is only one attribute - the marbling makes it most flavourful, and as a result, also very rich. Most people eat Kobe in small portions, as it's so rich that it'd be hard to eat an entire steak. I couldn't imagine eating it as a burger, either.

[technopop]

I could be wrong, but I also thought the point of Kobe beef was that it gets eaten sashimi style or just barely seared on the outside, thinly sliced and dipped in sauce.

Not the same way we cut hunks of steak for ourselves and grill it up.

[flashy_mcflash]

“Why meatheads eat Kobe burgers.” by Anthony Bourdain

Enterprising restaurants are now offering the “Kobe beef burger,” enticingly priced at near or above $100 a pop. And if there’s a better way to prove one’s total ignorance of all three words – Kobe, beef, and burger – this, my friends, is it. It’s the trifecta of dumb- ***** . The Kobe experience is principally about the marbling, the even distribution of fat through lean. A hamburger is a bunch of lean beef thrown into a grinder with varying degrees of fat. If you are foolish enough to order a Kobe burger, you are entirely missing the point. Firstly, the fat will melt right out of the thing while cooking. Secondly, you are asking the chef to destroy the very textural notes for which Kobe is valued by smarter people. Thirdly, for an eight-ounce Kobe burger, you are paying for the chef to feed you all the outer fat and scrap bits he trimmed off the outside of his “real” Kobe so he can afford to serve properly trimmed steaks to wiser patrons who know what the hell they’re doing. And fourthly, you’re paying a hundred bucks for a freakin’ hamburger! Get over yourself! You’ve already established you’re too drunk and stupid to enjoy it in the first place.

From Maxim, May 2007

[ronin1701]

From Maxim, May 2007

LOL, awesome (I mean the quote, not where it's from).

[technopop]

Ask Gordon Ramsay to cook one up well done for you. Take a grainy cell phone pic of it and confront him later in another part of the world as to why it was crappy. Watch the world laugh at you.

[ippon]

From Maxim, May 2007

he wrote it that long ago, eh?
he said something very similar on Medium Raw.

[ihacki]

I thought you're supposed to feed 'em beer and give them massages or something.

[Pete_Coach]

From Maxim, May 2007
I really don't like Bourdain, he is a pompous a$$, but, he sure is right on with his take on Kobe burgers.

[Catherine111]

Lol good way of advertising. But yeah article is on exceptional topic, glad to have that information. :)

[AA0913]

kobe in north america means, they added terriyaki sauce to the meat.

same way that pad-thai in north america is made with ketchup...

[Justpete]

same way that pad-thai in north america is made with ketchup...

Depends entirely where you order your Pad-Thai from. :)

[BongoBong]

Ask Gordon Ramsay to cook one up well done for you. Take a grainy cell phone pic of it and confront him later in another part of the world as to why it was crappy. Watch the world laugh at you.

eh? Did this happen?

[iliketoeat]

eh? Did this happen?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=809UNNTGDhM

[flashy_mcflash]

People who order well-done meat are getting scraps too. Bourdain also talks about this in his books but even from observation, why would anyone want a piece of burned leather?

[ronin1701]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=809UNNTGDhM

Awesome!

Ambush journalism at it's stupidest :lol:

[ronin1701]

People who order well-done meat are getting scraps too. Bourdain also talks about this in his books but even from observation, why would anyone want a piece of burned leather?

I'm trying to recall which restaurant it is that'll refuse your steak order if you ask for anything above "medium".

There's probably a few, but I'm thinking of one specifically - fairly famous. Hm.

[dealguy2]

Everyone knows that Matsaka beef is better than Kobe anyway.

[duckdown]

What, you've never had the amazing "Kobe beef sliders" at Milestones!?!

Lmao.. I chuckled

[duckdown]

I really don't like Bourdain, he is a pompous a$$

He was good in the beginning but he's just brutal now. Such a drama queen