Kobe Beef is a type of meat coming from the Tajima breed of Wagyu Cattle from Japan. Kobe is known as one of the finest meat cuts in the world. It is known for its marbled texture, flavor, and its fat to meat ratio. The Kobe beef is used for many Japanese dishes including sashimi, teppanyaki and shabu shabu. It can also be cooked into western dishes or made into steak.
There are specific standards that a slice of beef must have in order to qualify as Wagyu Beef. The following standards are as follows:
4 Slice Toaster
· It must be of the Tajima breed of Wagyu cattle and must come from the Hyogo Prefecture.
· It must be fed and raised in the Hyogo prefecture.
· The beef must be slaughtered and processed in the Hyogo Prefecture specifically in Sanda, Himeii, Kakogawa, Nishinomiya and Kobe.
· It must have a Marbling ratio (BMS) of Level 6 and up.
· It's meat quality score must be level 4 or 5
· One animal must produce a gross weight of 470 kg or less.
In order to create the fine meat that Kobe is so well known for the, cow is taken very well care off before it gets slaughtered. It is said that the Tajima cattle is fed a bottle of beer a day, fed grain and massaged with Sake. The end result of the hard work and care that the farmers go through in order to tenderize the meat is Wagyu Beef.
The result is nothing less than outstanding. Wagyu beef is one of the finest and most expensive pieces of meat in the market. Eating a piece of Kobe is decidedly healthier than eating a regular piece of meat. This is because Kobe beef is much leaner. The fatty part of the meat contains unsaturated fat. So it is less fatty than regular beef. It is also more flavorful than regular beef. The marbled effect of Kobe beef is so famous for is unparalleled. It is as beautiful as it is healthy-and tasty.
The Wagyu was originally introduced to the farmers of Japan as beasts of burden. Wagyu literally means Japanese Cow. There are five main types of Wagyu namely Japanese Brown, Japanese Polled, Japanese Shorthorn and the Kumamoto Reds.
The price of Wagyu beef can be very steep. If it is bought in America or another country other than Japan, it can go for more than 0.00 a pound. But considering how and where Kobe beef is made, it is no doubt that such a meat would go for that price. The Kobe Beef is hard to find in other countries so some people have to have it delivered straight from Japan in order to have it cooked.
Many have tried to recreate the quality and texture of Wagyu beef, but no one seems to be able to recreate the exact taste of Kobe beef. While there are replications, nothing compares to the original Kobe beef originating from Japan.