SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE WESTERNER

Pop a top again, time for one more round of beef

By Julie Carter

Not long ago I heard that a newly opened local upscale resort - with a high class restaurant housed within- was going to offer Kobe beef on the menu.

Living in the heart of beef country most of my life with a good portion of that life directly affected by the price of beef on the hoof, I was pleased to hear beef would be a choice item even if it was on a pricey menu.

My next project was to figure out just what is Kobe beef? Someone said something about it being Japanese beef that is fed beer and massaged with sake to make them tender. Several parts of that statement piqued my interest beside the vision of drunken cattle.

I wasn’t happy that it was possibly foreign beef when ranchers all around the mountain where this resort resides raise prime beef and are working their third and fourth generation butts off getting it done.

So I did what I usually do when I don’t know what I’m talking about; I look it up in a book, on the internet or ask an old timer about it.

Kobe beef is a special grade of beef from Wagyu cattle raised in Kobe, Japan. They are indeed fed large amounts of beer to stimulate their appetite during the hot summer months when the heat would depress their food intake. I bet I know a few cowboys that will jump on that line of thinking for themselves.

Japanese producers believe that the hair coat and softness of skin are related to meat quality. It is believed that massaging the coat with sake improves the appearance and softness and is therefore of economic importance.

The result of this practice is said to produce meat that is extraordinarily tender, finely marbled, and full-flavored, unlike any produced anywhere any other way. It is also extremely expensive, often costing more than $100 per pound. It’s not your average Big Mac material.

Kobe beef became a home grown product when Wagyu cattle were first introduced to the United States in l976. Kobe Beef America was born in Redmond, Oregon to a fourth generation beef producer, R.L. Freeborn. Others followed with the idea and Kobe beef is available in the U.S. from U.S. producers.

So knowing there is a market for Kobe beef so close by, I began mentally trying to put the local ranchers to work raising it. The more I thought about it the funnier the vision became.

I don’t think they sell sake down at the convenience store on the corner but they do offer plenty of beer there. Most the local cowboys have already established routine pathways to the part of the cooler that houses their brand of choice.

Thinking the locals would want to start small to try the program, a thirty-pack and steer could be the whole program.

Getting the average cowboy to share his cool can of “spring water” with a beef will be the first program hurdle. I’m absolutely positive massaging it with a six pack isn’t going to be a popular idea.

I foresee a problem in the counting while working. One for me and one for the steer. One for me, one for me and one more for me.

I’d say Kobe beef exporters from Nebraska, Oregon or wherever should not feel threatened any time soon by an upstart local producer.

Julie can be contacted for comment at jcarter@tularosa.net. She prefers her beef sober.

© Julie Carter 2005

I welcome submissions for this feature.

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