As featured in The Rosengarten Report... KOBE...OR NOT KOBE? Issue Number 37 - Release Date: June 20, 2005 By David Rosengarten Rated: 5 out of 5 Stars Jimmy P’s is your ticket to the terrific Wagyu beef being produced in Australia. Jimmy P's does not import the Australian beef—that is done by an importer and food-service distributor in Vernon, California called Broadleaf (Broadleaf says they will probably start retail sales on their web site, www.broadleafgame.com, at some point in the future). No, the only way right now to obtain this excellent Australian beef at home is through a butcher shop that buys it from Broadleaf. And Jimmy P's, well-equipped for mail-order shipping, is the first one that Broadleaf mentions. This Florida shop was founded in February, 2002 by father and son, Jim and Jimmy Pepper, who started selling Australian Wagyu beef in 2003. They say that the beef, which they ship fresh, not frozen, is between 50% and 75% Wagyu, and "is of very high quality." From what I tasted, this is not hard to believe; I had only three cuts from Jimmy P's, but they were all top-notch. (NOTE TO SELF: Get to Jimmy P's sometime soon, and check out their lunchtime menu, which includes 1-pound Kobe burgers, the 1/2-pound Kobe Cajun Bleu Cheese Burger, the Kobe Hot Corned Beef Sub, and the Kobe Meatball Sub with Provolone.) Prices to retail customers: very, very reasonable. FABULOUS SUMMERTIME OFFERS FOR ROSENGARTEN'S TABLE MEMBERS I've also worked out a deal to jump-start this summer's grilling season: Jimmy P's will send you a free, 1 lb. package of their Australian Wagyu Ground Beef with any order you place of $40 or more. (Offer valid through September, 2005.) GROUND BEEF AND GROUND BEEF PATTIES Same question again: is a Wagyu hamburger worth it? Totally different answer here! The best Wagyu hamburgers do have an extra richness, a butteriness that really does stand out. And prices are usually quite reasonable, just a little higher than good supermarket ground beef. I did a birthday party recently for my 13-year-old with Wagyu burgers on the grill; her gang absolutely lit up when they tasted them (I never mentioned "Wagyu") and, believe me, they were thinking a lot more about presents! One word of general advice: loose Wagyu ground meat did better in almost every test than pre-formed patties. Jimmy P's Kobe Ground Chuck ($4.99 a lb.) (Click here to buy online). Don't know how they get away with calling this Australian beef "Kobe," but I'm not complaining about the price. And, atypically, I'm not complaining about the fact that this product comes in patties—because the patties are very thick (about an inch) and very loose in texture, leading to a wonderful chew that's very juicy. Could be a little more beefy-buttery, but that won't stop me from putting another moist patty on the barbie! THE BIGGEST BARGAINS IN WAGYU The big surprise of this story was the great desirability of Wagyu versions of "lesser" buts of beef. Here are the items that most dramatically stood out for their ratios of quality to price: • Arrowhead/KBA Brisket, $2.95 a lb. • Arrowhead/KBA Eye Wagyu Beef, $11.99 a lb. • Jimmy P's Kobe Wagyu Top Sirloin, $12.99 a lb. • Morgan Ranch Wagyu Navel Short Rib, $8 a lb. SIRLOIN Some of the best values in Wagyu are in the sirloin category—as long as you're looking for good, beefy beef, and not expecting buttery velvet. Indeed, disappointments in sirloin are not uncommon, because the name itself sometimes gives consumers unrealistic expectations. A true sirloin is not a shell steak, not a strip steak, not from the high-rent short loin neighborhood at all. Butchers call the sirloin the "upper hip," and it is found behind the short loin (which is mid-steer), and in front of the round (which is the derrière). There are innumerable ways for butchers to divide it up, and a baffling number of names that include the word "sirloin." Usually, "top" sirloin is the quality cut. I never buy sirloin steak—but I will now be buying sirloin Wagyu, for sure, which benefits royally from its breeding. If you're looking for great hunk o' beef to throw on the grill, filled with quintessential beef flavor, pleasingly hearty and chewy in texture—Wagyu sirloin could be it. Prices are not rock-bottom, but they're certainly not at the levels of strip steak, filet and ribeye prices. Jimmy P's Kobe Wagyu Top Sirloin ($12.99 a lb.) (Click here to buy online). And this is teh sirloin you want—the best one, at one of the least expensive prices! Australian in origin, this was a wonkin' big steak, looking almost like an exaggerated strip steak: 8 1/2" x 3 1/2 x 1 3/4" (I really appreciate that 1 3/4" thickness). It was a dull reddish-brown, but had lots of very fine-filigree marbling. This visual clue paid off big-time in the tasting; when it emerged from my grill with a warm-rare center, it was more buttery at that center than many of the more-expensive strip steaks I tested. And the flavor—round, satisfying, complete—was some of the very beefiest in the tasting. A real crowd-pleaser at a great, great Wagyu price. THE HALL OF FAME: THE TEN HIGHEST-RATED ITEMS IN MY WAGYU TASTING Every item in my tasting received an internal rating from me. Items were not judged for their resemblance to traditional Kobe beef, nor did price play any role in these ratings. The system was simple: the more pleasure I got out of an item, the higher the rating I gave it. Platinum Medal Rank • Lobel's American Wagyu, Whole Tenderloin, $79.71 a lb. Gold Medal Rank • Allen Brothers Wagyu Filet, Comple Trim, $175 a lb. • Arrowhead/KBA Kansas City Strip Steak, $37.50 a lb. • Jimmy P's Kobe Wagyu Top Sirloin, $12.99 a lb. Silver Medal Rank • Allen Brothers Sirloin Strip Steak, $109 a lb. • D'Artagnan Wagyu Beef, Ground, $6.75 a lb. • Lobel's American Wagyu Short Rib, $23.98 a lb. • Morgan Ranch Wagyu Navel Short Rib, $8 a lb. • Uptown Prime/Snake River Farms Strip Steak, $40 a lb. • Uptown Prime/Snake River Farms Zabuton, $50 a lb. Excerpts taken from The Rosengarten Report, Issue Number 37, Article: Kobe...or not Kobe?, written by David Rosengarten. www.davidrosengarten.com

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