nope, never sunk my teefeers into that bad boy and never will but i got ya beat.
saw a mention on the news here about a japanese beef sandwich that costs much more, a whopping 85 gbp in u.k so that would be 124.409 euros for the spanish one
Because I am a dork and wanted to know what Wagyu beef was -- I mean I know Kobe beef, but Wagyu is new to me....FYI, see below (from an article on the internet):
Kobe Beef is a legendary delicacy of Japan, a type of beef that is so well marbled that it goes right off the charts for Prime grading in any other country. The meat ends up looking like it has been left out in the snow because of the intensiveness of the white fat marbling, rivals foie gras for richness and caloric content, and costs an obscene amount, often $300 a pound or more for the real thing from Japan.
I have been exhaustively researching the topic of Kobe Beef in the hopes of purchasing one of those legendary cattle for about a year, since I had heard that they were ranched successfully in the United States for sale to a hungry Japanese market. I finally succeeded, but it wasn't an easy task. Here's why.
Let's start with the basics—Kobe beef comes from a breed of cattle called Wagyu. In order to earn the designation/appellation of "Kobe Beef", the Wagyu beef must come from Kobe, Japan, and meet rigid production standards imposed in that prefecture.
However, land and grain are expensive in Japan. So what is happening is that the beef production houses in Kobe have been contracting out to other producers to custom raise their cattle for them. Most specifically, Harris Ranch in California, among other producers in America and Australia—land and grain is cheap over there, and it's worth the shipping costs to have the cattle raised overseas. So they have the cattle raised to their exactingly specified Kobe standards, and they actually fabricate the carcasses in Kobe, making them legally "Kobe Beef" even though the cattle were actually born, bred and fed somewhere else.
The "Wagyu beef" designation can legally be applied to the meat from any cattle of the Wagyu breed; it's a genetic thing, not a place appellation or a reference to how the cattle were raised and fed. This breed is genetically predisposed to intense marbling, and produces a higher percentage of oleaginous, unsaturated fat than any other breed of cattle known in the world.
The reason for this is that Japan has been selectively breeding for marbling grade for centuries, while cattle ranchers in America relied on external conformation until just a few decades ago. Even today, carcass evaluation is a relatively new step in show judging, and only beginning to be a factor in the professional stud books of other countries.
Posts: 73 | Location: Washington, DC - Madrid | Registered: 10 May 2005
As for the New York expensive hamburger mentioned in that article-it's not expensive for the beef itself, but what's inside it-foie gras and truffles-it's at DB Bistro. I've had it, and frankly, it was just gamey. But, people do rave!
As for Kobe beef, I just learned that it, like the famous Jamon Iberico de Bellota REALLY IS GOOD FOR YOU! Just as the Spanish keep telling us! Why? Because they both are full of monounsaturated fats that are among the few animal fats scientifically proven to reduce, in the human consumer's body, the polyunsaturated fats, cholesterol and triglycerides that clog arteries! I say, bring on the meat!!!!
azucar!
Posts: 321 | Location: NYC to Paris to Madrid!!!!! | Registered: 21 August 2003
- rent or buy a cell phone from me for your stay in spain, more info at 
- already have a cell phone, get a spanish SIM card for it at 
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