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BBQ Lesson: Kobe, Angus, Choice

PWise
PWise Posts: 1,173
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Last monday I hosted a BBQ class at my house... I was the teacher haha :P

I began with some basic theory regarding protein and techniques and such...

We tried out (all of them 2-3 in and pulled out at 120°F):
2 Choice Ribeyes
2 Angus Ribeyes
2 Kobe Ribeyes
4 Choice bone-in Tenderloins

Hope you enjoy the photos:
meat1.jpg

meat2.jpg

meat3.jpg

meat5.jpg

meat6.jpg

meat7.jpg

meat8.jpg

meat9.jpg

kobe1.jpg

kobe2.jpg

kobe3.jpg

kobe4.jpg

Cheers!!

Comments

  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,671
    i like the idea of the bone in tenderloin, they wont cut it that way up here. with the ribeyes i like top choice the best for some reason
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • omba
    omba Posts: 241
    Pato,

    Talk about a mountain of beef!
    I am curious ...
    Was there a taste-test winner in that bunch?

    Thanks,
    Peter
  • PWise
    PWise Posts: 1,173
    The bone-in tenderloin I like the best of all cuts...

    You can do it yourself at home if you purchase some Porterhouses and hack them up with a saw hehehe... you'll end up with bone in tenderloin, and new york...

    cheers!
    pw
  • Wheres the BEEF!!!
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,671
    ive got the saw, but then your paying tenderloin prices for the other side, what a gimic those butchers have :laugh:
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • PWise
    PWise Posts: 1,173
    There were some mixed responses, the women liked the choice bone-in tenderloin... the guys, some liked the choice ribeye, and some preferred the kobe... the angus was right in the middle...

    I think knowing WHAT they are influences a lot on someone's decision as to which one was the best... I personally did prefer the kobe because I like the sweet-nutty flavour... but that's me... :P

    cheers!
  • Now that's a taste test! I'm interested in the Kobe now...might be my weekend adventure to try.
  • PWise
    PWise Posts: 1,173
    Well heheh in theory you should be paying Porterhouse prices and if the market holds perfection you would be screwing the butcher hahaha (of course that won't be the case :P )

    Cheers!
  • PWise
    PWise Posts: 1,173
    I sure enough recommend it!

    cheers!
  • "angus" is a marketing term... black angus vs red angus... all that is immaterial and mostly marketing.

    however, "certified angus beef" is good stuff. but not because it has anything to do with the angus breed. simply because it is 51% black (literally, the coat color), and has angus characteristics doesn't mean anything as far as taste (though the folks selling angus would say otherwise). to say there's a taste difference even between black and red angus (down to including 51% black but excluding 'only' 50% black) is a stretch. but the criteria they use to certify the meat itself (degree of marbling, texture of marbling, etc.) is stringent enough to make it somewhat better than other beef in the case. markedly better than "choice" though? if you can tell the two of them apart side-by-side, you are a better man than i.

    frankly, it's a way to step outside the usda grading criteria in an attempt to upsell the meat.

    it's like "chairman's reserve". top-choice ("choice+") isn't a separate grade. it's still "choice". but if you can upsell top choice or CAB, and make a little more cash, why not?
  • PWise
    PWise Posts: 1,173
    I agree, it's more of a brand than anything else, although it does supposedly have better marbling, yield grade, etc...

    I guess, flavourwise everyone was expecting something way better because of the "angus name" and in the end tasted the same as the "choice" ribeye and they got disappointed and automatically discarded the option of "liking the angus the best" (IMHO)...

    Cheers!
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    "angus" (which is a term found on almost all supermarket beef nowadays) is not the same as "certified angus beef". the CAB program was so successful in creating a premium product in the minds of the consumer, that anything that didn't meet the criteria was still marketed as "angus" because people assume it means it's better for some reason.

    "certified angus beef" is at least grounded in specifications. "angus" means the cow was angus. i bet your choice beef was angus anyway.

    i'm not sure what the percentage of the total cattle in the US angus make up. i just can't remember NOT ever seeing a sticker on beef in the grocery store that didn't say "angus". almost seems like the "brown" versus "white" egg debate....

    in general i think select/choice/prime are the things to look for. anything else is (mostly) marketing hype.
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • PWise
    PWise Posts: 1,173
    Well, I don't know all the details, except that it was a marketing-purposes-made-brand... The Angus ribeye WAS "Certified Angus Beef", although, no better than the Prime Ribeye....

    cheers!
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    yeah. the CAB will be a bump in quality.

    interesting experiment you put together. i just wasn't sure that when you were saying it "was angus" whether it was what i normally see in the case. typically it's just a sticker some teenager in the meat department put on the package that says "angus", versus truly CAB. i don't know how CAB relates as far as choice or prime. nice to at least hear you thougt it matched the prime. anyway, you spent some cash rounding those up! nice dinner.
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • PWise
    PWise Posts: 1,173
    Tell me about it! good thing "I" didn't precisely pay for it haha....

    cheers!