Kobe beef comes from the Wagyu cattle around the city of Kobe in Japan. The Wagyu cattle produce a highly priced meat considered to be a delicacy, renowned for its flavors, tenderness, and fatty, well-marbled texture.

The popular belief is that the cattle are fed one beer per day and massaged with sake and brushed to set their fur, but that is more of a folk legend than the truth today.

The cattle was imported by American ranchers and crossbreed with Angus cattle in order to meet the demand for Kobe style meat in the US. When I refer to Kobe beef I mean the Kobe-Style beef produced in the US and not the original Kobe beef from Japan (which is ridiculously expensive).

The price of ground Kobe beef varies but I just bought some for the Kobe burger recipe and paid $65 for 5 lbs, so it is priced around 2-3 times the price of Angus beef.

So what is so special about this meat in comparison to Angus meat which is considered one of the best beef meats in the US? The Kobe beef provides a rich, complex beefy flavor and is marbled with fat and has a loser texture than Angus meat. See the pictures of Kobe vs. Angus meat. It is obvious that the Kobe beef has a higher fat content.

Although the meat has a higher fat content its ratio of monounsaturated fat over saturated fat is higher than Angus meat, thus making the meat a healthier choice.

So what has this to do with burgers? Well it has everything to do with burgers. Kobe burgers are probably one of the best burgers you can have but there are a few things you must know in order to make the ultimate Kobe burger.

Since the fat content is higher you have to be careful not to overcook the Kobe burger or all the flavorful goodness will disappear with the cooking. You absolutely can’t cook the burger more than medium-rare (125F internal temperature)! If you do, the burger will taste like less expensive beef. What if you don’t like your burger medium-rare? Well, just don’t make it with Kobe beef then. I have tried Kobe beef burgers at restaurants where the chef didn’t know this and they cooked it medium-well. It was just like another regular burger.

Another thing you can’t do to your Kobe beef is to mix anything into the meat. Leave it alone. You can season with salt and pepper and that’s all!

I prefer to cook my Kobe burgers Sous Vide but you can of course cook them the way you like it best. I suggest that you make the patties a little thicker than normal to ensure that they are cooked medium rare. Use a meat thermometer to monitor the internal temperature and take them off the heat at 125F or less.

So where can you get Kobe beef? It is usually not something any normal grocery store carry. Even specialty stores will not carry it, but they may be able to get some for you. You best choice is to order it online. It will be frozen when you get it, but is the best alternative if you just don’t have a specialty butcher near where you live.

I am waiting for my Kobe beef meat to arrive in the mail this week. Look forward to the recipe post here on this site.