"Kobe" beef in America?

[Big John]

Had a Kobe burger of Kobe steak in America? It was not Kobe.

 

http://www.npr.org/2012/04/22/151153503/fake-food-thats-not-kobe-beef-youre-eating?sc=fb&cc=fp

 

 

An increasing number of restaurants in the U.S. display signature dishes made with Kobe beef. From Kobe steak raviolis to Kobe beef burgers, you name it, Kobe beef seems to be popping up everywhere — except it's not Kobe beef.

Food writer Larry Olmsted of Forbes.com couldn't help but notice the trend and decided to bust everyone's bubble in a three-part expose of the so-called domestic Kobe beef industry.

What we've thought was Kobe beef was most likely U.S.-raised beef, Olmsted tells weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz, not the expensive delicacy raised in Japan.

"You can guarantee that it was not real Kobe beef because real Kobe beef from Japan is not imported in the United States at all," he says.

Under Japanese law, real Kobe beef actually comes from a particular breed of cow known as Tajima.

"Most importantly," Olmsted says, "they have to be slaughtered in Hyogo prefecture where none of the slaughter houses are approved by the USDA for export," he tells Raz.

So, how is it possible that Kobe beef is advertised all across the U.S.? While Kobe cattlemen in Japan have both patent and trademarks on the different terminology for Kobe beef, U.S. law does not recognize or protect these trademarks.

"So, we can call pretty much anything we want Kobe," Olmsted says. "The Department of Agriculture cares that when you call something beef, it's beef, and that's about it."

 

[detlef]

Meat purveyors have been trying to sell me "American Kobe" beef forever. Basically, it comes from the same breed they use in Japan (though I was always told it's Waygu, not the Tajima listed above, which could be yet another layer of misinformation). I never got into it because I was always under the impression that, part of what made Kobe beef, Kobe beef, was the manner in which the cows were raised and the aging process. Stories of the sides of beef being massaged with sake and things like that. At any rate, not knowing exactly what the treatment was, but assuming the crazy Japanese are particular as hell about that sort of thing, I assumed that nobody in the US was doing anything anywhere near that and, thus, I was going to be spending a bunch of money for something that wasn't nearly as special.

 

Additionally, kobe burgers seem like about the stupidest thing ever. It's ground beef. You can make as delicious a hamburger as you want using good old fashioned US ground beef from normal cows.

[bpwallace49]

Meat purveyors have been trying to sell me "American Kobe" beef forever. Basically, it comes from the same breed they use in Japan (though I was always told it's Waygu, not the Tajima listed above, which could be yet another layer of misinformation). I never got into it because I was always under the impression that, part of what made Kobe beef, Kobe beef, was the manner in which the cows were raised and the aging process. Stories of the sides of beef being massaged with sake and things like that. At any rate, not knowing exactly what the treatment was, but assuming the crazy Japanese are particular as hell about that sort of thing, I assumed that nobody in the US was doing anything anywhere near that and, thus, I was going to be spending a bunch of money for something that wasn't nearly as special.

 

Additionally, kobe burgers seem like about the stupidest thing ever. It's ground beef. You can make as delicious a hamburger as you want using good old fashioned US ground beef from normal cows.

 

 

I have had purveyors try to sell Kobe beef by showing me a lineage chart of the cows. Thanks . .. that family tree makes it even more delicious

[muck]

Similarly, "Certified Angus" has ZERO correlation to whether or not the animal has Angus genetics or not. It's quite possible that "Certified Angus" steak you ate last weekend was nothing more than a mutt breed of Holstein, Red Poll, Gelbveih, or whatever else they wanted to put in the pedigree. The only thing that's required is that (i) the cows' hide is at least 51% black and (ii) the carcass grades out with a certain minimum amount of marbling.

 

PS --- Anyone wanting answers to some of these issues should read the "STEAK" book that I'd linked to a few months ago...it's all covered in there.

[detlef]

Similarly, "Certified Angus" has ZERO correlation to whether or not the animal has Angus genetics or not. It's quite possible that "Certified Angus" steak you ate last weekend was nothing more than a mutt breed of Holstein, Red Poll, Gelbveih, or whatever else they wanted to put in the pedigree. The only thing that's required is that (i) the cows' hide is at least 51% black and (ii) the carcass grades out with a certain minimum amount of marbling.

 

PS --- Anyone wanting answers to some of these issues should read the "STEAK" book that I'd linked to a few months ago...it's all covered in there.

 

With that in mind, none of this means dick unless you actually know what is supposed to be good. And, for that matter, that an angus cow does, in fact, deliver a better steak than others. There's every reason to believe that they just have a better marketing department. More importantly, even if, by and large, angus cows make tastier meat, they may or may not do so grown in all parts of the country/world. One of the biggest problems with NC beef is that people are growing midwestern breeds that don't do as well out here. So, the cows don't thrive and the quality suffers. A few ranchers have realized this and are growing breeds that may not have the pedigree of the others, but do better out here and are getting better beef.

 

None the less, the industry thrives on a society that has no effing idea what is or is not supposed to be good and just assumes that, if you slap a name on it, it must be better.

 

Case in point, I saw a restaurant menu description that mentioned "Black Tiger Shrimp". Sounds cool, doesn't it? Well, except for the fact that black tgers are basically the lowest grade of shrimp you can buy. Both green and white shrimp tend to be more expensive and sweeter than black tiger shrimp but "green shrimp" doesn't sound as cool. Conventional logic would dictate that, if you use black tiger shrimp you simply say "shrimp". But that assumes anyone actually knows that you're advertising the fact that you bought the cheapest on the market. Sort of like saying "Grilled select ribeye". Ooh, it's "select"! Which, of course, means it's not good enough to be "choice".

[muck]

Which also goes to the fact that all the USDA graders are people whith eyeballs and personal preferences they rely on (or are subject to, depending on your perspective) when grading an animal. A better way to do it would be to use a pixilated picture that counted number of white dogs vs. red dots and determined fat.

 

And, not all marbling is the same ... big hugh swaths of fat cutting through the middle of the steak is largely wated ... however, small pockets of white evenly distributed throughout the steak is largely 100% useful tenderness. And, since marbling is institutionalized and subjective, as opposed to technical and scientific, there are many carcasses that are deemed "too lean" (and therefore something other than 'choice') and are graded "select", when in fact, due to the nature of the marbling, the animal actually has as much, if not more, actual fat deposits than the one with a "higher" grade.

 

And, Det is right ... the consumer has NO clue what is a good steak (or roast, or hamburger, etc.). Tasty meat requires four things --- (i) the right genetics, (ii) the right conditions when being raised, (iii) the proper processing and (iv) the proper preparation.

 

If you do the first three right and burn it, it'll taste awful ... and, if you do the first three wrong and badly, Det's only chance to save the meat is to put a nicely made sauce on it, or to mix it in with other ingredients.

 

To let a slab of meat prepared with a little salt and pepper and to stand on its own without other seasonings or sauces will really tell you about the cow the cut of meat came from.

 

And, lastly, older animals have a different flavor than younger ... steers taste different than cows ... etc ... most people have no idea if they prefer old or young, male or female.

 

If anyone really wants to research beef flavors, I will tell you to start with the STEAK book I have referenced several times ... and then, I can point you to the research.

 

Someday, maybe, the consumer will know as much about the beef they eat (and the cows the meat come from and the manner in which they're raised) as the wine they drink (and the grapes and soils the wine is made from).

[Hugh B Tool]

All of the above is the main reason to find a good butcher. Really get to know them. Where they get their meat, what they do to it once they get it etc. Any decent butcher on the up and up will be glad to tell you everything about the process.

 

Oh yeah, just wanted to say though, I can take any select piece of beef and doctor it with restaurant vodoo and it will come out choice or better to 90% of the consumers out there. Though for myself and my friends and family I go to my butcher and get prime for less than I pay for choice or select in a local supermarket. I know what these animals have been fed their whole lives and the conditions they were raised in, plus the aging process used before it hits my plate.

[Furd]

Does anyone know of a good book about steak? :oldunsure:

 

I'd like to read up on it.

[muck]

you mean like this one?

 

http://steakthebook.com/welcome/