How To Cook A Wagyu Grade 5 Steak

Directions

Utilise this method to cook almost whatever Wagyu steak cut, similar Ribeye, New York Strip, Filet Mignon, T-Os, Porterhouse, or Pinnacle Sirloin. Wagyu beefiness, originally raised and perfected in Japan, is highly desired and precious among beef and culinary experts. A legendary beef, wrapped in legendary myths - like years of daily deep tissue massages for the godly cows, along with sake baths and a pint of beer with every advisedly crafted feeding.

Every bit fun as these are to think about, they are myths. Cattle are still cattle, and what you lot put into it, you get out of information technology. That's why humane treatment, nutritionally balanced and advisable diets, and stress-free lifestyles are so important for livestock, peculiarly when information technology comes to rare beef breeds like Wagyu. (Whether you recall humane treatment includes massages and sake baths is another story.)

If you're thinking almost ordering Wagyu from Bytable and having a legendary experience of your very ain, nosotros're here to help y'all make the about of it (and non mess it up!) At that place are a couple of different widely-accustomed means to cook Wagyu. Here we cover the traditional Japanese preparation in smaller pieces, though we've too written a recipe for our own American-Style Wagyu Steak Recipe that might be more like what you're used to.

Sizing Up Wagyu - How Much Practise You Need?:

Wagyu steaks are ridiculously loftier quality, flavorful, and ribboned with very edible fat, making them much more filling. At that place'southward a reason the Japanese method is to serve it in pocket-size pieces - information technology will fill up you lot upwards, and the richness of it can be overwhelming in quantity. Nosotros find a normal size, normal thickness Wagyu ribeye can easily serve ii-3 people. If y'all're going in solo, you tin cut the meat down to smaller portions and keep the other parts to cook upward later.

What You'll Need:

A Wagyu Steak . Shameless plug: Bytable sells Purebred Wagyu steaks , raised on pasture, finished on farm-grown barley, and processed on-farm for a supremely tender steak.
Cast iron pan, or another blazon of skillet that can withstand searing heat and being put into the oven after searing.
Searing medium - we recommend using either a flake of fat trimmed from the steak or high quality beefiness tallow. Avocado, Grapeseed, Safflower, or Peanut oil are other options. We highly adopt using trimmed fat or tallow - it keeps flavors consistent, keeps the smoke levels down, and to a higher place all, gets y'all a great sear.
Large-grain salt. A lot of it - enough to comprehend both sides of the steak generously. We prefer Kosher salt, either Diamond Crystal or Morton'due south.
A meat thermometer. This is optional but we highly highly recommend it to accomplish the results you want. Wagyu cook times tin can really vary from what you're used to, and it'due south improve safe than sad when it comes to a Wagyu steak!
Tin foil. Enough to tent over the steak while it rests.

Preparing a Wagyu Steak for Cooking

How to Defrost Wagyu:

When you first get your Wagyu steak, it's probable going to be frozen. You're going to want to defrost it, in its parcel, in the fridge. This tin take up to 48 hours. Practice NOT defrost at room temperature or in a microwave - yous'll lose fat and season and compromise the integrity of the meat.

Trimming (Optional):

Once your steak is thawed, remove information technology from the package. If it has a practiced strip of fatty on it, you can trim off a piddling flake and put it in the fridge to employ to oil up your pan afterward. On especially fatty steaks, nosotros like to trim off a good scrap of the fat strip and freeze information technology to employ for other things, too.

Salting:

We similar to common salt our Wagyu… and everything else, frankly. Salting meat tenderizes it by pulling moisture out of the steak, dissolving into information technology, and then diffusing back into the steak. The longer a steak is salted, the improve this works. You can salt a steak anywhere from 40 minutes to two-3 days before for tenderizing effects - our sweet spot is 36-48 hours. Alternatively, you lot can salt immediately earlier cooking for a fantastic, table salt-frontwards sear.

Common salt your thawed steak generously on both sides with a big-grain salt like kosher. Then, wrap information technology support in parchment or butcher paper and place on a wire rack in your refrigerator (or on a plate, though it's best if it's elevated to allow airflow underneath). If you're salting within two hours of cooking, you lot can go out it at room temperature.

A quick note about dry aging Wagyu:

Dry aging is a process that reduces the corporeality of moisture in beef for a richer, more full-bodied flavor. We exercise dry aging for 1-2 weeks before cutting, but that doesn't mean yous can't take information technology farther with your cut. Withal, brand sure you're doing it right. Your regular kitchen fridge likely will not practise the trick for this - and nobody wants Wagyu that tastes like the cut-up half onion you left in your fridge a lilliputian too long. Please see this post by Barbecue Bible for how to dry historic period meat at home.

Bring to Room Temperature Before Cooking:

When y'all're ready to melt, take your steak out of the fridge to bring it to room temperature. For steaks, this takes 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the thickness. Y'all tin go out information technology out for up to ii hours earlier cooking.

Showtime! Cooking Your Wagyu Steak

Traditional Japanese Grill Method for Cooking Wagyu Steak:

Okay, we're generalizing a bit because there are many, many traditional Japanese ways of preparing Wagyu. They range from eating thin strips raw by themselves, or in dishes like the tiresome-cooked ane-pot meal sukiyaki or broth dishes similar shabu-shabu. Nevertheless, one of the most popular ways is on a communal apartment grill (remember hibachi grill) or an iron pan heated over charcoal. The cooking method for both of these is very similar, and it's what nosotros'll go over below.

Showtime thing'southward first - when we say grill, nosotros mean more than like a griddle. Non the thing you have hanging out on your porch. A traditional grill is Not something we recommend using for cooking Wagyu, unless you're using information technology for indirect heat. This is because the fatty content of Wagyu is much higher, and that means there is more grease lost when cooked over open up flame. This is both much more than likely to showtime a burn, and simply a waste of fantastic quality fat that should stay in your steak.

A great way to cook Wagyu using the Japanese method at home is to apply a cast iron on the stovetop or over the grill, the apartment grill plate on your grill if y'all have one, or if none of those options are available, a skillet that can reach loftier temps.

The Steps to Perfectly Seared and Cooked Japanese-Style Wagyu:

Take meat out of the fridge and unwrap information technology. Look until it reaches room temperature (effectually 30 minutes)
Pat the meat dry.
If you're going to trim some fat to sear with, trim a little fat off at present. Effectually a small pinky finger size will work.
Slice your meat against the grain into strips. These should exist effectually i inch square and 3-4 inches long. Yous can besides cut the strips much thinner (around ¼-½ inch) but continue them wider - this is a personal preference. Try both, if you lot'd like!
Rut up your pan, grill plate, or skillet. Information technology should exist hot plenty that when you motion-picture show water at it, information technology boils off immediately.
Identify beefiness tallow or trimmed fat onto the hot surface until it melts. Swirl it around to brand certain you've got decent coverage.
Place the strips on the pan to sear. Sear for effectually 1 minute until the lesser side is golden dark-brown, then flip and sear another minute. And then sear on the remaining two sides for around 30-45 seconds until the meat is seared evenly all effectually. Note: refrain from poking, squishing, flipping, or sliding the meat while information technology sears. If your strips are thicker, you can besides slide a meat thermometer into the strip and place in the oven at 300ºF to finish at your desired temperature for doneness. (120º - 130ºF for rare, 130º - 140ºF for medium rare, and 140º - 150ºF for medium. USDA recommends cooking beefiness to 145ºF minimum.)
Residue meat nether tinfoil for 3-4 minutes, and then enjoy!

Wanting a cook method that's a bit more steak-housey? Bank check out our American-Mode Wagyu Steak Recipe!