Kobe tube steaks

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A few months, ago Venice-based sausage king Jody Maroni introduced third-pound hot dogs made from ‘Kobe’ beef (it’s actually beef from Japanese Wagyu cattle raised in Australia). Now you can also buy Kobe dogs at the supermarket -- in a variety of sizes, from half-pounders down through the usual fifth-pound size to half-ounce Kobe cocktail franks (you might have to special-order them). And golf star Greg Norman has his brand on a line of 4-inch Kobe dogs, available mostly at golf course cafes.

Well, how about that? Hot dogs made from Kobe-style beef, the super-premium pride of fancy steakhouse menus! The mind reels. How do you deal with such a thing?

The only way is seriously and systematically. I steamed a 6-incher and tasted it; good and beefy, with bright garlic and paprika flavors, less impression of beef fat than I would have expected.

But what should you have with it? Probably not bright yellow baseball park mustard, right? Maybe Dijon? Steak sauce? Since it’s made from Kobe-type beef, maybe teriyaki sauce? How about wasabi?

Here are my tasting notes. Dijon mustard: passable, no real chemistry. Steak sauce: better, but a bit too sour and did not go well with the garlic flavor. Teriyaki: way too sweet; soy overwhelms the beef. Wasabi horseradish: sharp taste played well off the beef and garlic, and the vaguely alfalfa-like aroma seemed to speak to the very spirit of the cow.

So wasabi it is. Basically a Kobe dog tastes like a good beef hot dog, but it has all those Kobe beef bragging rights, so I say run with the Japanese motif.

Third-pound Kobe dogs are available at Jody Maroni locations; visit www.jodymaroni.com. All sizes can be ordered from Whole Foods meat sections. You can also get all sizes from Broadleaf Venison, 5600 S. Alameda St., Suite 100, Vernon; place your order by phone first, (323) 826-9890.

-- Charles Perry