Wagyu Beef

[Dallas Tex]

I just had my first ever taste of Wagyu beef. I’ve honestly never tasted anything even close to how incredible that was. Amazing.

[dashDustin]

so...The Pub in downtown McKinney advertises their burgers as being Wagyu beef....believe it or not.

new-pub-mckinney | Dinner

[alexstar]

so...The Pub in downtown McKinney advertises their burgers as being Wagyu beef....believe it or not.

new-pub-mckinney | Dinner

"local" wagyu. The word "Local" being the most important part. American "Wagyu-style" beef is but a pale imitation of the real thing.

[Dallas Tex]

"local" wagyu. The word "Local" being the most important part. American "Wagyu-style" beef is but a pale imitation of the real thing.

Not at all, American Wagyu is exceptional. At one point American Wagyu was exported to Japan. Some say that Australian Wagyu is better than Japanese. The different herds in the different countries have similar genetics and trace lineage directly to japan. The Wagyu category and different grades (1-5) are carefully protected. I don’t think you can simply call something Wagyu Style, but I may be wrong. I believe that restaurant may be purchasing scraps from a Texas Wagyu operation & mixing with hamburger, sounds fun to me. I’ll definitely try it next time I’m in the area.

[slwrnu]

In the UK, real Japanese wagyu is about GBP300 (say USD400) for a kilo. I would be very nervous cooking that. So if you can get something approximating it from the US for a good price you are lucky. If you want to take someone out in Tokyo somewhere high end you are talking a fair chunk of a Crumpton. At least you wont have to wait for your gratification.

[Lionel]

Some "local" silicon valley steak houses have $400 way steaks on the menu. Just saying.

[mzilliox]

We ate Wagyu in Kyoto, we ate Hida Beef in Hida. Maybe the Hida beef was a wagyu breed, but they did not like to call it "wagyu", rather "Hida." Hida beef was superior to the Wagyu we had in Kyoto, same marbling, cheaper and nicer flavor.
highlight: They do a soy paste cooked on a leaf with onions and Hida beef. it just cooks right in fornt of you on the hot plate, all sizzly. OH MY aching soul. ive never had such a good tasting meat experience.

[dgaddis]

These folks are really popular in the BBQ world :: Buy American Wagyu and Prime Beef | SRF Snake River Farms

Haven't splurged on any yet myself.

[boydcycling]

I have it every time I go to Taiwan and China. In China we are usually just north of Macau and so the chef drives down to Macau everyday to pick up dinner supplies.
It's always fun to see people's reactions the first time they taste it.

[Chik]

This is one of those things where you tend to get what you pay for. There are plenty of so called Wagyu beef from Australia being sold in my neck of the woods for a fraction of what the "real" stuff costs. The important part to keep in mind is that it is not simply about the breed or stock.

The Australian stuff I've had is still very nice, and I have no doubt that they are from the same breed because Australians tend to be truthful about things. However, they don't compare to the real stuff: they are not very marbled, if at all.

Making the meat marbled is a very labour intensive process, which contributes to the steep price of the real stuff.

Also, Wagyu is a generic term that refers to Japanese cow. In comparison to beef that is offered as Hida, Kobe, Matsuzaka, etc. that specifies the region of origin that carries some prestige, "Wagyu" in Japan tends to be a more economical offer with mixed origin (albeit usually confined to Japan unless it is disclosed as imported).

All that said, like anything else, just because it costs more doesn't mean it's better either.

[Dallas Tex]

This is one of those things where you tend to get what you pay for. There are plenty of so called Wagyu beef from Australia being sold in my neck of the woods for a fraction of what the "real" stuff costs. The important part to keep in mind is that it is not simply about the breed or stock.

The Australian stuff I've had is still very nice, and I have no doubt that they are from the same breed because Australians tend to be truthful about things. However, they don't compare to the real stuff: they are not very marbled, if at all.

Making the meat marbled is a very labour intensive process, which contributes to the steep price of the real stuff.

Also, Wagyu is a generic term that refers to Japanese cow. In comparison to beef that is offered as Hida, Kobe, Matsuzaka, etc. that specifies the region of origin that carries some prestige, "Wagyu" in Japan tends to be a more economical offer with mixed origin (albeit usually confined to Japan unless it is disclosed as imported).

All that said, like anything else, just because it costs more doesn't mean it's better either.

So you are saying that there is beef out there that is even better than the American Wagyu that I recently ate? My mind is now officially blown.

[Cookietruck]

i bought a bunch of cuts from a kinda local rancher, wagyu beef. think it's Akaushi, not positive though.
some of the cuts were a step above what we normally buy.
they threw in some "fajita meat"...blew us away. we were like...we should just stock the whole freezer with this cut...

i will say, it is a different technique grilling. so much fat starts dripping off anything immediately that the fire just flares up. i think the best method was to use the hottest indirect heat i could get until they were almost done, then move them right over the coals and let the flames char it up a bit.

[Chik]

So you are saying that there is beef out there that is even better than the American Wagyu that I recently ate? My mind is now officially blown.

No, because I don't know what you had.

I understand that most of American Wagyu are crossed with Angus, so they are actually a different product. There are purebreds that are registered with the trade association etc, but just because it's a pure inbred stock doesn't mean it's of one quality. In Japan, the meat is generally categorised into 5 quality levels, but I don't know if that is done in the US.

[Chik]

i bought a bunch of cuts from a kinda local rancher, wagyu beef. think it's Akaushi, not positive though.
some of the cuts were a step above what we normally buy.
they threw in some "fajita meat"...blew us away. we were like...we should just stock the whole freezer with this cut...

i will say, it is a different technique grilling. so much fat starts dripping off anything immediately that the fire just flares up. i think the best method was to use the hottest indirect heat i could get until they were almost done, then move them right over the coals and let the flames char it up a bit.

I think it's better to cook on a plate / pan rather than a grill. It wouldn't be charred in Japan, but that's just a matter of preference. If I were having some Piedmont sirloin, then I would want it to be a tiny bit charred...

[crumpton]

for the record Wagyu is a collection of Japanese cattle breeds. In Japan they are pure even if crossbred within the 4 breeds(brown, black, polled and shorthorn). Wagyu from other places are generally(should be) regulated and are cross bred from pure japanese animals and something local.

american wagyu is less Japanese wagyu and more black angus.

if someone tries to sell you Kobe that isn't from Japan and incredibly expensive, you are being scammed. Kobe isn't a breed but rather a process/location where pure wagyu cattle are rasied to be Kobe beef.

but most of you already know all this.

lots of BS out there when it comes to labeling wagyu in the states right now.

[dgaddis]

People, the proper way to cook a steak is the reverse sear. If you've got a sous vide cooker, even better, but it's certainly not required.

In short, low heat until you get the internal temp close to your target. Take it off the heat. CRANK THE HEAT. Put it back on to sear the outside. Rest, slice and enjoy.

The Reverse Sear Is the Best Way to Cook a Steak, Period | The Food Lab | Serious Eats

Here's a few non-Wagyu tri-tip I've cooked recently.







Non-wagyu petite tender.

[Dallas Tex]

People, the proper way to cook a steak is the reverse sear. If you've got a sous vide cooker, even better, but it's certainly not required.

In short, low heat until you get the internal temp close to your target. Take it off the heat. CRANK THE HEAT. Put it back on to sear the outside. Rest, slice and enjoy.

The Reverse Sear Is the Best Way to Cook a Steak, Period | The Food Lab | Serious Eats

Here's a few non-Wagyu tri-tip I've cooked recently.







Non-wagyu petite tender.

I swear by reverse sear for all cuts of meat. I only recently learned about the sous vide cookers, from a friend who says it’s the ultimate way to cook beef. I’m eager to try it.

[Chik]

People, the proper way to cook a steak is the reverse sear. If you've got a sous vide cooker, even better, but it's certainly not required.

In short, low heat until you get the internal temp close to your target. Take it off the heat. CRANK THE HEAT. Put it back on to sear the outside. Rest, slice and enjoy.

The Reverse Sear Is the Best Way to Cook a Steak, Period | The Food Lab | Serious Eats

Here's a few non-Wagyu tri-tip I've cooked recently.

Non-wagyu petite tender.

Isn't reverse sear suitable for thick cuts but not so much for thin cuts? For a top grade Wagyu that actually warrants a nomenclature like Kobe or Matsuzaka, I've never seen something that is served at a thickness that is suitable for the technique. I think they were all less than an inch. I am guessing that that's because of the cost primarily but wouldn't mind trying a 2" cut of A5 Kobe if someone else is paying for it, at which point, I might top it with some generous shavings of a knuckle-sized white truffle.

[Chik]

for the record Wagyu is a collection of Japanese cattle breeds. In Japan they are pure even if crossbred within the 4 breeds(brown, black, polled and shorthorn). Wagyu from other places are generally(should be) regulated and are cross bred from pure japanese animals and something local.

american wagyu is less Japanese wagyu and more black angus.

if someone tries to sell you Kobe that isn't from Japan and incredibly expensive, you are being scammed. Kobe isn't a breed but rather a process/location where pure wagyu cattle are rasied to be Kobe beef.

but most of you already know all this.

lots of BS out there when it comes to labeling wagyu in the states right now.

Correct. Kobe beef cannot be from anywhere other than the Kobe area (Hyogo prefecture). Furthermore, any "Kobe" stuff being offered to the general public outside of Japan needs to be treated with suspicion as I do not believe there is enough production for some of it to be exported through commercial channels and end up at some retailer or restaurant down the road.

Laker Star Kobe Bryant Sues Japanese City Over Naming Rights To High-End Beef | L.A. Weekly

[Chik]

BTW, the surname of the lawyer representing Kobe "I'm not a fat steak" Bryant in the above-linked case is Rundvlees, which means beef in Dutch.