It’s kind of ironic that the hamburger gets saddled with a stigma as the lowest rung of entrées. Sure, it’s a staple of cheap, low-quality fast food chains, but it’s also beef, the highest form of our three most commonly eaten meats, and as such deserves a certain measure of respect.
That goes double for the newest hamburger from Japanese hamburger chain Lotteria, since it’s made with the most respected beef of all: Kobe beef.
Recently, Lotteria’s been backing off a bit on maintaining its image as the king of fast food zaniness. In recent months, the same restaurant that brought us the 10-patty Attack on Titan sandwich and milkshakes based on Japanese horror classic The Ring has rolled out a couple of limited-time items that don’t sound so much crazy as crazy-tasty, such as the Tochigi wagyu burger with strawberry sauce that we tried back in October (and crave another of right now).
On January 29, Lotteria is set to release its newest high-grade beef temptation, and this time it’s sourcing its ingredients straight from the top by using Kobe beef.
The Kobe beef hamburger steak burger features a coarse-ground patty made from select livestock raised with premium feed and pure water. Hardcore burger aficionados in Japan often shun ketchup in favor of specially crafted sauces, and Lotteria’s Kobe beef burger delivers on this front with a decadent double punch.
To start with, even more Kobe beef is combined with sautéed onions grown in Awaji (which, like Kobe, is in Hyogo prefecture) and tomatoes to create what Lotteria dubs Kobe beef meat sauce. This is mixed with a rich demi-glace sauce seasoned with bullion and apples, and the resulting hybrid is dolloped onto the patty before the whole thing is crowned with a soft rice flour bun sprinkled with sesame seeds.
The limited-quantity burger is sold in a set with a medium soft drink for 1,500 yen (US$12.50). You could argue that’s a lot for fast food, but hey, it’s still a bargain for a meal with Kobe beef.
Sources: Entabe, Lotteria
Top image: Wikimedia Commons/Kici
Insert image: Lotteria