Incredibly disappointed in the TLB. I've been a fan for a long time, especially their dry aged…read moremeats, and am more than willing to pay for this type of product.
Today, though, I noticed them selling Japanese Wagyu as:
Sake Infused Dry Aged A9 Kobe Strip.
This is a very scammy way of selling a product.
First, meat is graded broadly on three scales - USDA (choice, prime), BMS (beef marbling scale - common in Aus), and the Japanese grading scale. (A1-A5, with most high end steaks being A4 or the gold standard, A5). https://meatnbone.com/blogs/the-clever-cleaver/meat-beef-grading-system-understanding
A9 doesn't exist. A BMS 9 could be an A5. But this is mislabeled. They have also used the term A11 in their instagram account. Maybe they are confusing BMS for A-scale, or maybe they are intentionally trying to make their product seem better than competitors.
Furthermore, not all Japanese Wagyu is Kobe beef. Kobe beef refers to Tajima cattle raised in Hyogo Japan. The export of this beef is highly regulated to only certain restaurants and purveyors, who will display a seal and certificate certifying the origin of the beef. It is rare, expensive, and most importantly, Bush Brothers (Local Butcher's wholesale purveyor) is not certified to sell, nor do they use in any way, the term Kobe Beef. So it is incredibly likely that this product is mislabeled. This isn't illegal (Kobe beef doesn't have a TM in the US), but it is disingenuous.
https://www.kobe-niku.jp/en/contents/certification/index.html
https://instagram.com/bushbros
Next, "sake infused"is incredibly confusing. Is it referring to the myth that Kobe cattle are massaged with sake? Is it referred to the use of koji (fermented cooked rice) which is often used as an aging accelerant? Or did they really take Japanese Wagyu and infuse (inject, soak?) with sake? And why on earth would you do that!? It would be like making sangria with a bottle of DRC.
This product is likely a A5 strip loin (which Bush Bros. does carry) that has been aged. Market price would be somewhere around $175-185/lb. (An unaged cut would be around $150/lb.)
When I asked for more information on the most expensive cut of meat in their shop, I was treated with disdain and a dismissive attitude. Neither member of the staff could answer my questions other than to say "It's the highest grade of Kobe beef."
To charge $215 dollars for a grade that doesn't exist, for a steak that isn't from Kobe, with an aging method that seems dubious at best, is disingenuous and plays on a lack of consumer knowledge. If The Local Butcher themselves don't know the differences here, they shouldn't sell this product. If they do, they should be ashamed of themselves.
