Now to fraud. Or as I like to say: the American government s legal sanctioning of lying . As author

So .I was at Le Cirque the other night where they were charging an extra $140 for a wagyu ribeye which in the description was noted as kobe (yes, the quotes norwegian majesty cruises were included in the description). norwegian majesty cruises The waiter says this is real kobe beef. I questioned that since it is my understanding that real kobe never leaves Japan. I m thinking I m wrong or this waiter just thought I was some dumbass hick. Any thoughts?
The picture at the top of the page is true, Japanese, A-4 wagyu beef, certified as such by the Japanese Meat Grading Association , and available at CUT (where the picture was taken) for $165 for a strip steak, or $175 for an 8 oz. rib eye.
This meat has not been available in the United States for the past several years ( due to an outbreak of hoof and mouth disease ), but our government s ban has now been lifted and our luxury restaurants (like CUT, Le Cirque , et al) started stocking prime cuts of this fatty cattle last week.
is desirable for the tenderness it brings to the beef, while the more striated fat in the top picture norwegian majesty cruises leads to (slightly) more chewiness chewiness being the thing that is frowned upon in these steaks, which, like 0-toro tuna, are supposed to practically melt in your mouth. (It s an Asian texture-thing, just go with it.)
So the answer is: yes, you re getting true Japanese wagyu beef (which may or may not actually come from the Hyogo Prefecture ) but which the Japanese official board that controls these things has certified as being of that top quality. (BTW: wagyu is just the generic name for beef cattle in Japan it is decidedly not a breed (no matter what the American Wagyu Association tells you) and has no special significance, that is, until fraudulent American and Australian marketers got a hold of the concept. More on this below.)
The kicker in all of this (at least before we get to all the fraudulent marketing practices involving domestic Kobe and American wagyu ) is that there s a BIG secret that no steakhouse or fancy burger joint wants you to know, and that is: you really wouldn t like true Japanese Kobe or Mishima beef if you ever tasted it. It s too rich for you and basically flavorless at the same time. Quite a paradox I know, but one that lies at the heart of many an inscrutable norwegian majesty cruises Japanese meal (or foodstuff).
Now to fraud. Or as I like to say: the American government s legal sanctioning of lying . As author Larry Olmsted points out in this excellent analysis of the Kobe beef phenomenon , the American government has, for over 100 years, passed laws that legalize and  encourage the fraudulent labeling of foods, especially when those foods involve famous foreign products. This is why you can buy fake Parmesan cheese, fake Chablis wine, fake Champagne and fake prosciutto here. As Olmsted says: Anywhere else in the world you would go to jail for selling (these) here you can make a profit.
As for wagyu beef and other gimmicks used to add snob dollars to the price of steaks, the issue is slightly complicated , but boils down to this: any cattle norwegian majesty cruises breeder can take bull semen from any Japanese bull, impregnate his herd with it, and claim that his beef is wagyu and thus, better and worth more than the steaks coming norwegian majesty cruises from a regular, good old American steer. But it s not, and you shouldn t pay for it.
Kobe beef is merely norwegian majesty cruises the latest victim of American greed and duplicity. Perhaps, now that you can buy the actual Japanese Kobe-style and wagyu beef in America (at a price), every hambone waiter and greedy owner will be a little less eager to extol the virtues of their domestic Kobe. But I think not. If American avarice and stupidity hold true to form, the top down effect from our best steakhouses will be an increased interest in the real thing (by those who can afford it), followed by our national trait of happily overpaying for something that claims to be just like it, even though we know, and they know, and they know that we know, that it s not.
I wish I d read this a month ago. I took the leap up from USDA Prime and tried a Wagyu steak in your town a month ago. I tried the cut and preparation the waiter suggested the cut and preparation touted by some national magazines. The steak was as underwhelming as it was expensive at once charred and bland.
ELV responds: The cuts at CUT are certified Japanese wagyu and graded A-4 as such but do not come from the Hyogo prefecture. norwegian majesty cruises When I say true Kobe rib eye, I am, in essence adopting the generalization of the Japanese Beef Council which grades these things. I will change the caption accordingly. Thanks.
Kobe beef was, and is, almost never intended to be eaten as a steak, but rather, in shabu-shabu, where the richness of the fat adds to the texture of the dipping broth. The fact that some overindulgent diners wish to eat it in steak form wastes it, as much of the fat melts in the cooking process, unless it is ordered blood rare, in which case, to me at least, it reminds me of a wet dish rag. But go ahead and consider it gourmet food, suckers. I ll take American beef at half the price, thank you.
Max, that s an interesting take. And one I would be inclined to agree with had I not enjoyed the A-4 ribeye at Cut several years ago, prior to the Hoof and Mouth outbreak. Truly and extraordinary piece of meat. Impossibly rich- such that six ounces is PLENTY (this coming from a big guy who can usually kill a 30 24-30 ounce steak without difficulty.
I must say that Max j very eloquently spoke to a huge aspect of the Kobe ruse. It s a two-sided steak knife if you will the money-driven marketing schtick perpetrated on diners that ELV argues on one side, cut on the other side of the knife by the cooking technique that Max describes. Kobe, or whatever you want to call it, is specifically bred and raised to be used in dishes where the beef is thinly sliced not cut into caveman ribeyes and incinerated norwegian majesty cruises over a gas flame.
I m sorry, but these comments have truly pissed me off. Max described the Kobe (wagyu, whatever) rib cap at Stripsteak as the pinnacle of great American norwegian majesty cruises beef in a review. Rubes like me read that as an endorsement, end up ordering it, and are disappointed. I m troubled to read, now, that either 1) this was an expensive cut that should norwegian majesty cruises not have been prepared in the manner it was or 2) I overpaid for a piece of Angus beef that may have been cross-bred with a Japanese bull at some point.
Not that at matters to most, but my cousin owns one of the larger beef cattle operations in the Northwest. The family has been in the cattle norwegian majesty cruises business for over 150 years. They sell a small portion of prime-grade beef, but none of the Kobe stuff. If you ask us what we think is the best steak, we ll probably tell you a steak from Angus or Hereford cattle, raised on pasture and fattened on grain. norwegian majesty cruises And it doesn t cost $150 for 6oz. of ribeye.
I m among those who really enjoy the stuff. It has a certain feel on the tongue that s hard to describe and to me, the flavor norwegian majesty cruises is very good. Is it worth it? Probably not, but since I eat steak about once a year (less since the embargo), the price doesn t matter a lot.
Andy A I think Max s description was accurate, the issue was that you missed that he used the terms Kobe and American to refer to the same beef which is legally possible in the US and therefore an accurate norwegian majesty cruises description of the product. Truth is many Kobe or Wagyu branded norwegian majesty cruises beef products in the USA are of the best possible quality, but it is certainly not Kobe or Wagyu and frankly you probably would not want it to be because true Kobe is too fatty to be eaten as a steak as Max described in the above comments.
So although there is some false-yet-legal advertising regarding beef bearing the name Kobe or Waygu on the strip, chances are it actually is one of the best cuts you can get at that steakhouse nonetheless, sadly that is the paradox we cannot escape.
One more thing, I see the Cut chefs showing off the Kobe and think how hypocritical. There they are, holding a Ribeye with the cap on it, yet they are the same guys who send a ribeye to the table with the cap removed. Who the hell wants a ribeye with no cap and how could a steakhouse do that ? I was saying to myself, you know I think I ought to go back there then I remembered why I stopped going in the first place. Ribeye with the cap removed come on guys..
George and Dr .. you are so wrong about the restaurants motivation for removing the rib cap its laughable. To accuse an operation like Cut of stealing from the guest is downright libel. Anyone who orders Japanese marbled beef rib and expects norwegian majesty cruises a cross cut (untrimmed) slab is an uninformed consumer who deserves to pay for all the extra fat that the chefs typically trim from the cut in order to provide the BEST experience for the guest.
That operation trims the beef and then sets the price, not charging first and trimming later. Its not the same piece but a swap out to present to the guest. The kitchen keeps a trimmed and portion ready piece in the back and cuts to order by weight. Its the absolute most expensive way to do it (for the operation) but yields the best outcome/value for our precious norwegian majesty cruises guest.
The fat to meat ratio is the key and the guests who are paying upward of 23$ per oz deserve to have the tightest trimmed most appealing part. You also cant sear or get Maillard reaction flavor profiles onto fat so you want to sear exposed meat. If you want the Rib Cap you can specifically ask and if the chef hasn t already sold it will most likely provide norwegian majesty cruises it for you unless they have other plans for it (I assure you staff meal isnt part of that plan).
But that gets me to another point, where Max J is 100% correct. Nobody in japan eats marbled beef that way. It is always served shaved in Shabu Shabu or cubed cooked on the Teppan. If they saw what we do with it they would be horrified and laugh at the fat stupid Americans.
American beef is amazing and delicious but is the nail most chefs are used to driving. Japanese beef is something entirely different and isnt suitable for cooking the way