# I have tasted Kobe beef! Good lord! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 19, 2002, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-tasted-kobe-beef-good-lord/132916 "2002-10-19T00:40:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-tasted-kobe-beef-good-lord/132916/1 "2002-10-19T00:40:55Z")
Okay, I have to admit that it wasn’t THE Kobe beef from Japan, but Faux Kobe raised in the Kobe style here in America. And priced affordably (relatively speaking) at $15 per pound. (It sells for up to $500 per pound in Japan and $100 per pound at at least one market .[here](http://www.cbbqa.com/beef/Kobe.html) .) I bought a half-pound piece. I didn’t even recognize the cut, it was just a square of extraordinarily marbled meat. I have never seen anything like it. Brought it home, sliced it thin against the grain, splashed some soy sauce on it and threw it into a smoking pan for about three minutes. Whoa. Let me say that again. Whoa. Does it make sense to say that it was SO tender that it just missed being kinda disgusting? I have never dreamed that beef could taste or feel like that in my mouth. Amazing. This is your meat reporter signing off to go buy another chunk of Faux Kobe beef… ---
**Author:** ![Dumbguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Dumbguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dumbguy)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-tasted-kobe-beef-good-lord/132916/2 "2002-10-19T01:29:55Z")
When I read the OP I thought, “the Lakers can’t need to sell tickets that bad.” ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-tasted-kobe-beef-good-lord/132916/3 "2002-10-19T03:17:48Z")
Whoa. ---
**Author:** ![AmbushBug](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ambushbug/32/4600_2.png) [@AmbushBug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AmbushBug)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-tasted-kobe-beef-good-lord/132916/4 "2002-10-19T03:45:08Z")
According to [this site](http://members.tripod.com/~BayGourmet/wagyu.html), a lot of real Kobe beef is farmed & raised in America. -AmbushBug ---
**Author:** ![Peach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/67e7ee/32.png) [@Peach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peach)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-tasted-kobe-beef-good-lord/132916/5 "2002-10-19T04:54:44Z")
what make Kobe beef so tender? where is it cut from (what part of the cow?) isn’t “marbled” meat undesirable?😕 ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-tasted-kobe-beef-good-lord/132916/6 "2002-10-19T05:10:51Z")
\*\* Peach, \*\* marbling is the MOST desirable thing you can have in meat. Marbling marks the differences between grades of Select, Choice, and Prime. The more marbled, the better the grade. Of course, if you are attempting to avoid fat, then no, marbling is not desirable. One of the interesting things about the Kobe beef is that the fat it is marbled with is apparently unsaturated! At least, that’s what one of the sites I visited said. Anyway, it was remarkable. ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-tasted-kobe-beef-good-lord/132916/7 "2002-10-19T09:54:12Z")
Good, well-marbled beef is amazing stuff. I don’t think the meat we buy from Uwajimaya is Kobe beef, but it’s still damn good. You can spoil yourself big time if you eat it too often. ---
**Author:** ![JavaMaven1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cab0a1/32.png) [@JavaMaven1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JavaMaven1)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-tasted-kobe-beef-good-lord/132916/8 "2002-10-19T14:36:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stoid \* > \*\* > One of the interesting things about the Kobe beef is that the fat it is marbled with is apparently unsaturated! At least, that’s what one of the sites I visited said. > \*\* I doubt that it’s unsaturated fat. One way to tell the difference if a fat is saturated/unsaturated is to see it at room temperature. If it’s solid–it’s saturated (butter, lard, etc) and if it’s liquid, it’s unsaturated (like olive oil). What shop did you pick this up at? I’m pretty sure I can get it at Gelson’s, but I hardly venture into there. ---
**Author:** ![Iteki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eada6e/32.png) [@Iteki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iteki)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2002, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-tasted-kobe-beef-good-lord/132916/9 "2002-10-19T16:51:08Z")
_bows down in front of you_ One of my major goals in this life, is to eat me a slice of Kobe. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2002, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-tasted-kobe-beef-good-lord/132916/10 "2002-10-20T00:33:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JavaMaven1 \* > \*\* > What shop did you pick this up at? I’m pretty sure I can get it at Gelson’s, but I hardly venture into there. \*\* I got it from a small gourmet market in West Hills called Jim’s. I’ve never seen it at Gelson’s. ---
**Author:** ![JavaMaven1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cab0a1/32.png) [@JavaMaven1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JavaMaven1)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2002, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-tasted-kobe-beef-good-lord/132916/11 "2002-10-20T00:47:50Z")
West Hills! Where is this shop in West Hills? I’m in Woodland Hills, so it’s close by. I must go there. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2002, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-tasted-kobe-beef-good-lord/132916/12 "2002-10-20T00:58:59Z")
Kobe beef. Isn’t that where they sing to the cows regularly, and give them massages? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2002, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-tasted-kobe-beef-good-lord/132916/13 "2002-10-20T03:33:55Z")
The cattle are fed beer. Whether this is the sum total of their food supply, I don’t know. I am insanely jealous. It is a life goal to try Kobe beef some day. Now I must seek out a source in Wisconsin. Maybe there’s a supply in Chicago? My costs will be doubly high. I am completely incapable of preparing food for myself, and would quickly die outside of an urban environment. So I must eat in a restaurant with Kobe beef on the menu. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2002, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-tasted-kobe-beef-good-lord/132916/14 "2002-10-20T03:40:41Z")
(scrabbles frantically for her copy of _The Man Who Ate Everything_) It’s supposed to have three times more marbling fat than prime U.S. beef, and less cholesterol. They’re fed beer to keep the microbes in their stomachs happy. Their fat contains a high ratio of monosaturated oleic acid (also found in olive oil). I want some. Right now. There’s a whole chapter on Waygu, or Kobe beef, in the abovementioned book. The book’s a great read for lots of other reasons, too. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Nice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/59ef9b/32.png) [@D\_Nice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Nice)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2002, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-tasted-kobe-beef-good-lord/132916/15 "2002-10-21T06:15:05Z")
I’ve had Kobe beef once in Toronto alittle over a year ago. Cost me $150 Canadian. They asked me how I wanted it prepared. I responded, "Slice it thinly across the grain and seer each side for no more than a minute and bring it to me. It was like heaven. The meat damn near melted in my mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2002, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-tasted-kobe-beef-good-lord/132916/16 "2002-10-21T07:24:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JavaMaven1 \* > \*\*West Hills! Where is this shop in West Hills? I’m in Woodland Hills, so it’s close by. I must go there. 😃 \*\* Ah! No prob, you are mere minutes away. It’s barely south of Oxnard on Fallbrook. Little hole in the wall. West side of the street. Jim’s. They are all about the meat, it’s why I (and everyone else who shops there) goes there. I have friends who drive in from Hollywood to do their meat shopping there. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2002, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-tasted-kobe-beef-good-lord/132916/17 "2002-10-21T13:01:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yojimboguy \* > \*\*The cattle are fed beer. > \*\* Yojimbo guy, I’m too lazy to find a cite right now, the cattle are given _beer_ massages on a daily basis. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2002, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-tasted-kobe-beef-good-lord/132916/18 "2002-10-21T14:19:31Z")
Wow, so is my chin.