I first heard of the term "Kobe Beef" in 2011, when unpretentiously discussing random things with a work colleague of mine while in Germany. The legend was that Kobe Beef was a kind of beef sold in Japan, United States and other countries derived from cows which had been through very careful and special treatment, such as being fed only the best alfafa, being massaged by humans as to cause the fat to get into the cow's tissues, and even played music to. The most remarkable thing about them was supposedly their unique and distinguished flavor and being very expensive. It was an interesting and funny conversation, and upon hearing that they were massaged and played music to, I couldn't help it but laugh on my colleague's comments.
Amused, I put it on my "Things to do before dying" list, but it wasn't until I returned to Brazil in 2013 that I felt that it was time to cross that item off the list. I invited a dear friend over for dinner in a respectable Japanese restaurant in Sao Paulo and ordered their Kobe Beef. It was all but an underwhelming experience: their beef was hard, chewy and by no means it resembled what I had heard from my colleague two years earlier. The only characteristic it indeed had in common with what we had discussed was that it was VERY expensive.
I was still curious and wanted to try the real thing, but I concluded that if I wanted to get the real deal, I would probably have to look elsewhere, maybe in another country (perhaps only in Japan!). In the meantime, some professional changes required me to move to the United States, where the hopes of getting the real Kobe Beef were re-ignited in 2013. I consulted with locals who had supposedly tried it in America and went to two or three restaurants in California that advertised selling Kobe Beef on their websites. In all occasions, what I ate was indeed better than what I had gotten in Brazil, but when doing some basic online research I found out that the USDA (US Department of Agriculture) actually did not allow the importation of the real Japanese Kobe Beef into the United States. What a bummer!
Clearly, there was blatant lack of knowledge on the topic on my part, and I decided that there were two things that needed to be done in order to get Kobe Beef off of my "Things to do before dying" list:
a) study a lot more about the topic as to be able to properly identify if what I am being served is the real Kobe Beef or some other similar product;
b) go to Kobe, in Japan, to try to find the real Kobe Beef there.
After some research on the Internet, I learned a lot about what Kobe Beef really is, how to identify it, where to get it and the truth about how the cows are actually bred and raised.
What is Kobe Beef?
Answer: Kobe Beef is a trademark owned by the "Kobe Beef Marketing & Distribution Promotion Association" and is used to classify cows that meet very strict criteria.
What does it take for a cow to be certified as "Kobe Beef"?
Answer: a cow only receives the "Kobe Beef" certification (the trademarked brand) if it meets *ALL* of the following criteria:
- It is derived from a pure lineage of Tajima-gyu cattle and born in breeding farms within the Hyogo Prefecture, Japan;
- It is fed within feeding farms within the Hyogo Prefecture, Japan;
- It is slaughtered in slaughter houses within the Hyogo Prefecture, Japan;
- It is a bullock or virgin Tajima-gyu cow;
- It has a marbling index (BMS) of 6 or higher (see classification below);
- It has a meat quality score of 4 or 5 (see classification below);
- Gross carcass weight of 470kg or less.
The marbling index (BMS) and meat quality score are defined by the "Kobe Beef Marketing & Distribution Promotion Association" as shown below:
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| Figure 1 - Meat Quality Score and BMS requirements for a Tajima cow to be considered "Kobe Beef" (source: http://www.kobe-niku.jp/english/contents/pu/pu_a.html) |
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| Figure 2 - Official Kobe Beef definition (source: http://www.kobe-niku.jp/english/contents/pu/pu_b.html) |
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| Figure 3 - Kobe Beef logo stamped on certified cow parts |
Having learned precisely what Kobe Beef is, how to identify it and what grades of it exist, the next (and hardest step) was to actually go to Kobe, in Japan, to finally get the real deal.
It fit perfectly in a family trip we had planned to Japan for 2014, which was primarily aimed at sightseeing and visiting some uncles, aunts and cousins who immigrated from Brazil to Japan in the mid-90's. I made sure that Kobe would be one of the places in our itinerary.
Finally on May/19th/2014 the day to put an end to the quest for Kobe Beef came to being. We were based in Osaka and took a local train to Kobe in the morning. Arriving at Sannomiya train station, we found some tourist information offices and were told where to go to get the certified Kobe Beef. The options were plenty, and they gave us a brochure with several locations of where to get it, all at walking distance from Sannomiya.
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| Figure 4 - Official Kobe Beef restaurant guide available at the tourist information office at Sannomiya, Kobe, provided by the "Kobe Beef Marketing & Distribution Promotion Association" |
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| Figure 5 - Some of the restaurants that served the real Kobe Beef |
About 100 meters from Sannomiya Station we found this advertisement about a local restaurant which supposedly served the real Kobe Beef:
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| Figure 6 - Ads on the streets promoting local restaurants that serve the certified Kobe Beef |
The ad worked as intended: we Googled the address of the place and rushed there. On the way, we found Kobe Beef on display in other restaurants:
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| Figure 7 - Neatly packed certified Kobe Beef (the Japanese chrysanthemum label denounces it) |
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| Figure 8 - Price for 100g of certified Kobe Beef: around US$ 20 (USD 100 per pound) |
A few minutes later we finally arrived at the restaurant, hidden in one of the narrow alleys that are part of every Japanese city.
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| Figure 9 - Arriving at RValentino Restaurant |
Inside the restaurant, it was clear that we were in a place that served the real deal. They had several of the Kobe Beef pedigree certificates affixed all over the walls:
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| Figure 10 - Kobe Beef lineage certificate, which includes information such as the cow's birth date, its name, its parents and grandparents' names, a tongue print, its slaughter date and its unique 10-digit identification number (sort of the cow's SSN in the US or CPF in Brazil. With this number one can go on the internet and find all about the cow) |
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| Figure 11 - The restaurant explains in detail how the Tajima-gyu lineage is formed |
For our big group of 9 people, the restaurant arranged a private room with 2 professional chefs who came to prepare the Kobe dishes and, most importantly, to ensure that all appropriate cooking techniques were strictly followed.
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| Figure 12 - Our family got a private dining room in the restaurant where everyone had a seat by the table! |
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| Figure 13 - Two chefs carefully orchestrated the preparation of all vegetable and Kobe dishes |
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| Figure 14 - Kobe Beef to the left, Kobe hamburgers to the right |
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| Figure 15 - The placement of all vegetables on the cooking plate is part of the show |
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| Figure 16 - All pieces were carefully arranged and grilled to perfection |
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| Figure 17 - Kobe hamburgers being prepared by the skillful chefs |
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| Figure 18 - Kobe Beef and its noticeable marbled texture |
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| Figure 19 - Chef sprinkles the Kobe Beef bits with salt and pepper |
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| Figure 20 - Perfect assortment of vegetables and Kobe Beef |
The preparation of the Kobe dishes by the master chef was a spectacle in itself. A lot of knowledge and technique for sure was employed in the process in order to make the overall experience an unforgettable one. After quite a while, it was finally the time to try the real Kobe Beef, the certified and trademarked one, cooked by trained chefs to perfection and ceremoniously prepared and laid out before us. Slowly we begun to enjoy each of the Kobe bits, for a delightful and pleasant experience: the marbled texture gives the beef as a whole a mix of unsaturated fat layers and meat, which translates into a very soft and tender texture that almost made it melt in our mouths. It also had a unique taste that was definitely different from all the other beefs I had eaten until then. Once finished, I asked the restaurant staff which BMS grade the meat we had just eaten was. We were informed that the Kobe Beef we were served was a grade 10 on the scale, so two grades below the very best beef, but nonetheless Kobe Beef certified!
Now, is it the best cow meet that there is in the world? Well, that is certainly more a matter of personal taste than it is of tradition and facts, so it is really up to oneself to judge that. But without trying the real certified Kobe Beef, ideally somewhere in Japan where the chances of getting the original thing are higher, there is really no way to make that determination.
Overall, the quest for the real Kobe Beef was an interesting 3-years journey that had its failed attempts in Brazil and in the US, but which came to a conclusion in the best of scenarios: in a family trip to an absolutely amazing country where tradition and modernity seem to have found a fragile balance and which allowed us to experience this delicacy that Kobe Beef is right in the heart where its fame and tradition came to being in the first place.
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