Delving deeper than just the cuts, steak's variety of texture and flavor can be traced back to the animal's origins, according to ranchers.

"Different genetics create a variance in the meat product. Angus has a different cell structure than Holstein," said R.L. Freeborn, a fourth generation cattle rancher from Redmond, Oregon, and the founder of Kobe Beef America, the first company to raise Japanese Kobe cattle in the U.S.

The great majority of U.S. beef is Angus, a Scottish breed that is naturally hornless.

Japan has its own cattle, commonly known as "Wagyu," which literally means "Japanese cow." However, beef consumption is a relatively modern practice in Japan. Traditional Japanese meals consisted of rice, vegetables, fish, and occasional pork or even dog or cat.

Cows were used as draft animals and therefore were seen as too valuable to eat. Instead, they were pampered with massages after work, given beer to drink as a stimulant to their appetite, and brushed with sake.

When Catholic missionaries arrived to Japan in the mid 1500s, they brought with them European dietary customs, which included the taste for dairy products and meat.

Shortly after, before the newly introduced eating habits could spread throughout the empire, Catholicism was banned. Hundreds of thousands of Japanese Christians along with foreign missionaries were violently persecuted and many were martyred.

The foods associated with the religion were also prohibited, from bread, which symbolizes the body of Jesus, to beef.

Japan closed its doors to the rest of the world, discontinuing imports and exports. This is why wagyu cattle developed as a secluded breed with unique qualities in the island's province of Tajima, of which Kobe, one of the largest Japanese cities, is the capital (Kobe beef also goes by the name of Tajima beef).

The prohibition ended in 1868, when Emperor Meiji decided to modernize Japan and allow Western culture to penetrate. Industrial techniques were introduced in rice farming, which led to a greater availability of cattle for food, and the Japanese developed a taste for very thin strips of wagyu beef, known as yakiniku.

Because of the high prices of land and feed, Kobe beef is very expensive in Japan, and American ranchers took on the opportunity to import and raise the wagyu breed in America and export it to Japan.

To qualify as Kobe beef, cattle don't have to be massaged, given beer, or bushed with sake. Kobe beef means that the animal must have at least 50% wagyu genetics. They're usually crossed with Angus, either naturally or through artificial insemination. They may also be purebred, or cross-bred with any other breed of cattle.

"Wagyu breeds are genetically predisposed to intense marbling, and contain a higher percentage of unsaturated fat than other breed of cattle in the world," said Freeborn. Their fat is unique in that it has 3 parts unsaturated fat to 1 part saturated fat, while regular cattle has the opposite ratio of 3 parts saturated to 1 part unsaturated, according to Jay Theiler, marketing director at Snake River Farms.

Kobe beef is usually graded by the USDA as "Prime" because of its high marbling, which means it contains more intramuscular fat, making it extra tender.

Some critics believe that Kobe cattle are locked in small crates to prevent them from exercising, therefore increasing the fat content, but this is not standard practice; it's the producer's choice. Wagyu cattle may be grain- or grass-fed, but grazing usually leads to leaner cows (there are, however, some producers of Prime, grass-fed Kobe beef in the States.)

Perhaps the most famous restaurant featuring Kobe beef near Salem is the collection of Rogue Ales brew pubs in Portland, Eugene, and Newport. Their menu features 1/2 lb. Kobe burgers, Kobe "Bleu Balls" (meatballs with blue cheese), and Kobe chili, tacos, and "Haute Dogs," all for under $10. It's a steal, compared that to the nearly $200 per pound for which this prime beef sells in Japan.

Rogue's Kobe comes from Snake River Farms, in Idaho, where cattle are fed potatoes, wheat, corn and alfalfa hay. Their American Kobe cattle are not fed antibiotics or hormones to promote growth, but are allowed to grow slowly over a period of 30 to 32 months to allow the animal's natural marbling to settle.

"Wagyu beef is rated on a 12-point-scale marbling score, and it gets higher the longer you feed them," said Theiler.

This is one reason why it is difficult to find Kobe beef at a regular grocery store and why enthusiasts must find specialty retailers.

"Feeding it four times the amount of regular cattle makes it more expensive and therefore non-mainstream," said Theiler.

As to the flavor, Rogue Brewery must be doing something right to attract Salem residents Blake White and David Quezada, who frequent Newport's Rogue Ales Public House just for Kobe.

"It tastes like candy," White said.

Theiler explained the other attributes of the beef.

"It makes a really juicy hamburger product that tastes different. And this difference is absolutely because of the breed, because of the properties that come with genetics and long feeding. It has a sweet, buttery taste."