Wagyu beef

[AZGiantFan]

I'm at a stage in my life where I 'm certainly not rich but I can pretty much afford anything I'd like, within reason.  And my Dr. says I am a little anemic but have excellent cholesterol levels.  When I told her I would eat more steak she laughed and gave me the go ahead.

I'm a pretty simple filet mignon guy, and I graduated from buying my meat at the supermarket to going to a very good butcher.  It's more expensive, but the quality makes it worth it to me.  I've been getting 'high choice'.  While it sounds a little gimmicky and there is no such 'official' rating, it seems reasonable that within such broad categories as Select, Choice, and Prime, there is quite a bit of room between categories.  Some countries have significantly more grades.  And it does seem like the meat is better than the choice I can get at the supermarket.

So last time I was at the butchers I picked up a couple of my regular filets, and then just for the heck of it I picked up a Prime filet.  I want to see whether the higher cost is worth it.  And then I got to thinking, which is always dangerous.  For the last several years the buzzwords in the world of beef are Kobe and Wagyu which, while denoting different things, are interchangeable.

There are primarily three different options, American Wagyu, Australian Wagyu, and Japanese Wagyu.  Besides the obvious geographical differences the difference is the genetic percentages.  Japanese Wagyu is purebred wagyu beasts and A5 is the highest grade. Needless to say, it is not cheap. Apparently they have a gene which causes an insane amount of marbling.  American Wagyu is typically 50% Japanese and 50% American, although there is no regulation of the term.  And Australian Wagye is in between.

So I've been thinking about trying one or more of them.  Especially since I found out that Costco, of all places, now sells Japanese A5 Wagyu for $100/lb., which is actually a pretty good price compared to other online outlets.  I'm not sure, but I think they only sell ribeyes and new york strips.

So I'm in a bit of a quandry.  Should I start with American Wagyu, then try Australian, then Japanese?  (None of them are going to become a regular thing for me, maybe a once a year or 6 months)  Or should I get a little of each and taste them side by side to see how the taste and texture match up with cost.

So, does anyone have any experience with these ultra costly, ultra quality steaks?  Or have any comment on how I should go about this?

[Jolly Blue Giant]

I've had the actual Kobe beef in Tokyo. I was on a business trip and was being "courted" by a company that wanted to do business with my company. I won't go into great detail about the overall meal, but just say that it was beyond impressive...sort of an onslaught of hors d'oeuvres, brought out by waitresses that were trained to not be seen. The plates were removed with new plates and I didn't even know it. Of course, sake helps the invisibility of the waitresses. Anyway, when getting to the main course, it was Kobe beef cut so thin as to resemble a slice of dried beef you get in a jar in America. It was served raw (like everything in Japan), so I was told to roll up a slice with my chopsticks, dip it in a very hot liquid solution and count to three, then eat it. It was the best meat I've ever had in my life. I asked the guy picking up the check what it cost and he simply said, "you don't want to know". I was warned by my company that I should be extremely careful with the dinnerware, because each item probably cost a thousand dollars...quite an experience

In the states, I've tried a lot of different Wagu steaks and to be honest, I don't think the cost is worth it. A butcher can give you a great cut of meat that is just as good IMO as Wagu. You have to be a "meat snob" to notice the difference to any degree

I took a picture of the beef in Wegmans a few years ago when they had some Kobe beef. 475.00 a pound and the pieces of meat for sale were vacuum sealed and about the size of an average ice cube and cost around 125 bucks each. That's basically one bite of Kobe beef. Wegmans hasn't been selling it lately because they probably couldn't sell it and it was a big loser for them. Maybe the Wegmans in NYC still carries it...I don't know. I know Japan requires an huge fee for the "rights to sell it"

Anyway, as far as Wegmans goes, here's a picture of their Wagu beef they sell for 150.00 a lb


Here is a really good video of a person trying Kobe beef for the first time and the background on the meat https://www.cnbc.com/video/2020/12/14/we-tried-a-450-kobe-steak-worth-the-money.html

[LennG]

 I do not eat red meat, so I cannot even comment here, but for that amount of money for a pound of meat, WOW, it had better be better than good.