I don't get it. Why all the the hype about Kobe/Wagyu beef?
I have had Kobe and Wagyu beef in many restaurants 2-3 times. The kobe is usually around $80 to $100 when a regular steak was around $35. It just tasted like I was eating a piece of fat. It was kinda disgusting.
Wagyu beef. I had it this past week at a Michelin 1-star restaurant. Tastes just like regular steak. What's the big deal?
I don't understand what all the hype is about this special fatty beef at all. It really does not taste any better than regular steak. In fact, some of the really fatty cuts are disgustingly gross; it tastes like a big glob of fat in your mouth. Can anybody explain why this beef is supposed to be so good?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SFflyer123
I have had Kobe and Wagyu beef in many restaurants 2-3 times. The kobe is usually around $80 to $100 when a regular steak was around $35. It just tasted like I was eating a piece of fat. It was kinda disgusting.
Wagyu beef. I had it this past week at a Michelin 1-star restaurant. Tastes just like regular steak. What's the big deal?
I don't understand what all the hype is about this special fatty beef at all. It really does not taste any better than regular steak. In fact, some of the really fatty cuts are disgustingly gross; it tastes like a big glob of fat in your mouth. Can anybody explain why this beef is supposed to be so good?
How was it prepared? Most places dont do it right.
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A lot of places serve it rare or sashimi style, which I think is a waste.
Even when properly prepared, I don't get much pleasure out of it. Then again, I don't get all worked up over a good dry-aged ribeye steak either, even if it is tasty.
I think people like the "story" behind wagyu/kobe beef, and the accompanying price tag.
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Preparation is the key and it is best used in small quantities in combination with other ingredients. The most enjoyable that I have had cost USD 20 as a wagyu beef roll (much like a sushi roll), as an appetizer. The beef was grilled with vegetables that soaked up the juices and there was this intense beefy flavour. Wouldn't have worked with regular beef. For steaks I much prefer grass-fed "free range" beef from Argentina or Australia or South Africa, tougher but more flavourful and less fatty than US beef. With Kobe the secret may be: less is more.
I've only had Kobe beef twice. Once, at Victoria and Albert's in The Floridian at DW and another time at Ruth's Chris. Victoria and Albert's Kobe was night and day beyond Ruth's Chris.
When you eat Kobe Beef you are eating Wagyu. But when you are eating Wagyu, you may or may not be eating Japanese beef from Kobe. It could be from one of several places where the fattier style favored here is sourced.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Braindrain
Personally, I can't stand N American stringy Sterling Silver/USDA Prime beef.
Exactly - à chacun son goût as Canadians say! Within the last couple of years we've had the chance to sample the best beef offered by Argentina (and Australia) and have sampled Wagyu beef as well. Would we say we can't stand it? No, we're obviously not as discriminating as you.
Yet our own preference is still grain-fed U.S. (or Alberta) beef, while realizing it's simply a matter of personal preference. We're pleased we can now buy Certified Angus Beef (a similar marketing program to Sterling Silver, which we've experienced on HAL cruises), at a market just up the road from us.
It's a worthy topic to debate, but it's doubtful that, for example, the grass-feed advocates will convince the grain-fed advocates, or vice-versa.
The best wagyu I have had was in Tokyo at a small kappo-style restaurant done ishiyaki-style. Basically, smooth river stones are heated and the slices of beef are lightly seasoned and cooked on the hot stones. By the time the dish reaches you, the meat is sizzling and has cooked to perfectly medium rare.
There was not a lot of beef but jut enough for the fatty-ness to bring a burst of flavor without the sickness that ensues after such a fatty binge. I find large quantities of O-Toro to be the same as large quantities of wagyu.
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i think that wagyu is a limited group of types of cow, pretty much from japan. like an Angus, or a Hereford, or whatever.
it is graded for us consumption 1-12(japanese have different grading system). the equivalent of prime us beef is about a #5. #10-12 is not really available in us. wagyu are also grown in new zealand, australia, and us. to be a genuine wagyu in the us, the cow has to be 50% wagyu. most are crossed with angus. most of the wagyu sold in us is 50%waygu, and from us. the better wagyu #6-9 comes from new zealand. it is available from specialty purveyors here in us. one of my squash partners carries new zealand wagyu. if i buy it from him, i have to buy a 15lb piece. wholesale is around $25-35 a pound. it is grade 8-9.
i buy us 50% grade 5. i have to buy 20-1lb steaks at a time from nyc wholesaler. they are flash frozen and vac packed. they look like the best or slightly better prime steaks from an upscale market(whole foods).
they come out quite nicely on a 4-500 degree grill.
japanese wagyu is NOT currently available in usa. japan beef has a hoof and mouth quarantine.
ground wagyu is available. it is about 1/3-1/4 the price of steak. i think a half pound, close to 1" burger is as good as a steak. the best wagyu i ever had was at a tasting dinner. burger with a foie gras/ truffle sauce.
I didn't really get the hype with Wagyu steaks, until I went to a restaurant down in South Australia (The Barn @ Mt Gambier for those wondering).
I had the best steak, I've ever had. It was a beautifully cooked medium rare wagyu eye fillet.
Apparently they have a local farmer that sells them a small portion (I assume before the majority gets shipped around the world), and they sell out of it every week.
Price was great too, only $50 - I would have paid $100 no worries.
The answer to the OP question is that either your normal meat is exceptionally good or the wagyu not particularly good. My best experiences of wagyu have been in Sydney and compared to the 21 to 28 day dry aged Scottish rib-eyer beef we normally have in the UK - which is good - the wagyu we've had has been exceptional.
