All the Way to Tokyo for Real Waygu Beef

Those of you who follow BBQ or just like to eat have probably heard of Kobe beef.  Kobe is legendary for its beef.  I have heard that the Kobe cows are suspended so their meet isn’t toughened by having to bear its own weight.  They are brushed and lovingly fed beer to ensure a happy, well marbled beef that is the best in the world!  It is also one of the most counterfeited/faked foods in the world as well!  In fact there are only 9 restaurants in the United States that sell real Kobe beef, so forget those Kobe sliders on your local bar’s appetizer menu.

Kobe is a variety of Waygu beef and the good news that while still expensive, non-Kobe Waygu beef is something that is available to mere mortals like myself.  In fact there is an American Waygu, that is a crossbreed of angus with Japanese Black Cows.  This American Angus has become very popular in the competitive BBQ circuit, because the amazing marbling helps even lean cuts like brisket to be delicious and tender, I wanted my family to try the real thing, so we got some at a Yakiniku restaurant.  Yakiniku is like BBQing at your table.  The staff brings you a small charcoal grill and you order meats and vegetables ala carte.  Then you just cook it piece by piece at your table.

This particular restaurant featured a lot of organ meat, which I don’t really dig on, so we stuck with more American mainstream (albeit pricier) options.  At first my daughter was a bit intimidated by the flames that flared up from the fat dripping off the meat, but once she built her confidence up she had a blast.  It is a nice social way to cook, lots of time to visit, while you cook.  In fact, this could be a cool way to do food for an outside movie.  A small hibachi grill with a screen over it, so the bite sized food doesn’t fall in…but I digress.

The Waygu we ordered was about 8-9 dollars for 5 pieces, so not cheap, but damn it was good.  You can tell it is a superior cut of meat right when you see it.  My daughter commented about how amazing it was and she doesn’t have all that sophisticated appreciation of what she was eating.  I think the pictures say it all.

So what was the point of this post? 1) I thought my readers would be interested in a different style of BBQing (.i.e. Yakiniku)  2) I thought my readers would be interested in real Waygu beef 3) I wanted to help spread the word to keep people from spending money on mislabels Kobe Beef.

Disclosure: Some of the links on this page may be affiliate links.   If you click on the link and make a purchase, I receive a small percentage of the sale.   My goal is to provide you with my personal experience with products whenever possible and I will always disclose whether or not my knowledge is based on the input of others.

BackyardMovies is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Those of you who follow BBQ or just like to eat have probably heard of Kobe beef.  Kobe is legendary for its beef.  I have heard that the Kobe cows are suspended so their meet isn’t toughened by having to bear its own weight.  They are brushed and lovingly fed beer to ensure a happy, well marbled beef that is the best in the world!  It is also one of the most counterfeited/faked foods in the world as well!  In fact there are only 9 restaurants in the United States that sell real Kobe beef, so forget those Kobe sliders on your local bar’s appetizer menu.

Kobe is a variety of Waygu beef and the good news that while still expensive, non-Kobe Waygu beef is something that is available to mere mortals like myself.  In fact there is an American Waygu, that is a crossbreed of angus with Japanese Black Cows.  This American Angus has become very popular in the competitive BBQ circuit, because the amazing marbling helps even lean cuts like brisket to be delicious and tender, I wanted my family to try the real thing, so we got some at a Yakiniku restaurant.  Yakiniku is like BBQing at your table.  The staff brings you a small charcoal grill and you order meats and vegetables ala carte. You then cook your meat piece, by piece while visiting.  It is a very social way to eat and could be described as slow food.

This particular restaurant featured a lot of organ meat, which I don’t really dig on, so we stuck with more American mainstream (albeit pricier

) options.  At first my daughter was a bit intimidated by the flames that flared up from the fat dripping off the meat, but once she built her confidence up she had a blast.  It is a nice social way to cook, lots of time to visit, while you cook.  In fact, this could be a cool way to do food for an outside movie.  A small hibachi grill with a screen over it, so the bite sized food doesn’t fall in…but I digress.

The Waygu we ordered was about 8 dollars for 4 pieces, so not cheap, but damn it was good.  You can tell it is a superior cut of meat right when you see it.  My daughter commented about how amazing it was and she doesn’t have all that sophisticated appreciation of what she was eating.  I think the pictures say it all.

So what was the point of this post? 1) I thought my readers would be interested in a different style of BBQing (.i.e. Yakiniku)  2) I thought my readers would be interested in real Waygu beef 3) I wanted to help spread the word to keep people from spending money on mislabels Kobe Beef.

Disclosure: Some of the links on this page may be affiliate links.   If you click on the link and make a purchase, I receive a small percentage of the sale.   My goal is to provide you with my personal experience with products whenever possible and I will always disclose whether or not my knowledge is based on the input of others.

BackyardMovies is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.