Wagyu Searing Advice


 
So, after the suggestions here and watching numerous Japanese restaurant experience videos, decided to cook it indoors on my grilling steel. Preheated it a good long time to get heat stable over the center burner on my gas stove. Didn't want to add any smoke/charcoal flavor by cooking it on the Q.

Seared it at 550 degrees using a bit of of the excess fat trimmed from the steak edge to lightly oil the grill first. Grilled about 2 minutes per side, nothing but good quality sea salt for seasoning,

Came out what I would call perfectly - exactly as I watched the Japanese chefs cook theirs. Nice, medium brown crust, medium rare'ish interior. Took it off to rest a couple minutes while I seared numerous type of vegetable on the grill as well as sides. Just kissed both side of the steak back onto the grill right before eating to reheat the exterior.

Sadly, and TBH, neither of us was overly impressed. Don't get me wrong....it was very very good - clean, great beef flavor with certainly an extra nutty/buttery flavor and amazingly tender...but, I don't know...sort of underwhelming in the end? We both found we missed the fire-kissed flavor of a great grilled "regular" steak. While the super-tender texture was a little treat, it was just not that big of a deal. Adding extra smoke/flavor would have "ruined" the taste of the wagyu I think, and yet, it almost needed it (IMO) or we are just "tuned" to that experience. Hard to explain. Perhaps it was because this was maybe an A4-A5 grade instead of some of the higher crazy marbled cuts? We already spoil ourselves with excellent quality beef here as well so maybe our expectations were out of bounds? Perhaps, like many things, it also just needs the extra part of the experience - the Japanese restaurant etc. It's like when wine always tastes better when you drink it at a restaurant....who knows.

Both of us said we were glad we tried it, but we would not do it again. Was just not worth the $120 the steak cost. To me, that is our measurement...when we do something, we ask about how soon we would want to do it again.
 
Thanks for the review Grant.
My wife and I use a similar measure.
We call really good new to us meals a “do over”.
I like it when a meal is done and we look at each other and say this is a “do over”.
 
LMichaels said:
Having never had it I can certainly understand why it might leave you underwhelmed flavor wise. If ya think about it sometimes the best flavor comes from cheaper steaks i.e. sirloin.
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filed under "it's not what you paid, but rather what you got."

i still don't seek USDA Prime cuts at Costco. while their brisket is Prime, a Choice brisket cooks up just fine too, and same for NY Strips and Rib Eyes.

personally, it's the wine paring that makes the difference in a good or great meal.
 
Nice review, I agree with pretty much everything you said. It kind of has a different flavor that you are not used to, so it's different.
You probably had an image in your head on how it was going to be, some sort of superstar steak or something and then its just different.
I chose not to buy it again. That steak is pretty darn rich, I only maybe ate 4 to 6 oz. of mine. And for Brett, similar here too.....I pretty much buy AAA grade all the time, which is 1 under prime here. We are used to it and I can make it taste good. Not everything is available in prime, if it is it really only is a buck or two more per pound but it's not necessary. I go through all the AAA cuts and pick out a few with excellent marbling and that is what I purchase.
 
Brett-EDH said:
filed under "it's not what you paid, but rather what you got."

i still don't seek USDA Prime cuts at Costco. while their brisket is Prime, a Choice brisket cooks up just fine too, and same for NY Strips and Rib Eyes.

personally, it's the wine paring that makes the difference in a good or great meal.
Click to expand...
For me, I enjoy the prime primals I buy at Costco. I save enough cutting them myself to make buying prime worthwhile to me. But, it also depends on the cut. On Ribeye with choice grade there is plenty of marbling that I don't bother with the prime grade but on strip steak (loin primal) prime is definitely worth the slight extra $$$
 
LMichaels said:
For me, I enjoy the prime primals I buy at Costco. I save enough cutting them myself to make buying prime worthwhile to me. But, it also depends on the cut. On Ribeye with choice grade there is plenty of marbling that I don't bother with the prime grade but on strip steak (loin primal) prime is definitely worth the slight extra $$$
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same here. the costco butchers know me well. i buy cryovacs only and hand cut myself. it's just easier and i get the thickness i want. a thick steak is what we all like as it can handle the higher sear temps we like and then the indirect for final temp. i can't remember the last time i bought meat at some place other than costco...
 
GrantT said:
So, after the suggestions here and watching numerous Japanese restaurant experience videos, decided to cook it indoors on my grilling steel. Preheated it a good long time to get heat stable over the center burner on my gas stove. Didn't want to add any smoke/charcoal flavor by cooking it on the Q.

Seared it at 550 degrees using a bit of of the excess fat trimmed from the steak edge to lightly oil the grill first. Grilled about 2 minutes per side, nothing but good quality sea salt for seasoning,

Came out what I would call perfectly - exactly as I watched the Japanese chefs cook theirs. Nice, medium brown crust, medium rare'ish interior. Took it off to rest a couple minutes while I seared numerous type of vegetable on the grill as well as sides. Just kissed both side of the steak back onto the grill right before eating to reheat the exterior.

Sadly, and TBH, neither of us was overly impressed. Don't get me wrong....it was very very good - clean, great beef flavor with certainly an extra nutty/buttery flavor and amazingly tender...but, I don't know...sort of underwhelming in the end? We both found we missed the fire-kissed flavor of a great grilled "regular" steak. While the super-tender texture was a little treat, it was just not that big of a deal. Adding extra smoke/flavor would have "ruined" the taste of the wagyu I think, and yet, it almost needed it (IMO) or we are just "tuned" to that experience. Hard to explain. Perhaps it was because this was maybe an A4-A5 grade instead of some of the higher crazy marbled cuts? We already spoil ourselves with excellent quality beef here as well so maybe our expectations were out of bounds? Perhaps, like many things, it also just needs the extra part of the experience - the Japanese restaurant etc. It's like when wine always tastes better when you drink it at a restaurant....who knows.

Both of us said we were glad we tried it, but we would not do it again. Was just not worth the $120 the steak cost. To me, that is our measurement...when we do something, we ask about how soon we would want to do it again.
Click to expand...
You should give sous vide a whirl. I got into it a few years ago and it has been life changing. You can buy dirt cheap London broil and with almost no effort turn it into one of the best slices of beef you have ever eaten.

Alton Brown does a good job of explaining it in this episode: https://watch.foodnetwork.com/video/good-eats-food-network/immersion-therapy
 
I’ve had Wagyu Skirt that was amazing every time, I did a Wagyu rib that was too much , tasted like beef butter.
 
BDuggar said:
You should give sous vide a whirl. I got into it a few years ago and it has been life changing. You can buy dirt cheap London broil and with almost no effort turn it into one of the best slices of beef you have ever eaten.

Alton Brown does a good job of explaining it in this episode: https://watch.foodnetwork.com/video/good-eats-food-network/immersion-therapy
Click to expand...
How many London broils can one cook exceptionally well on the grill while they wait the 8+ hours for the sous vide version to be completed?? Also, do you do it before, or how much more time is added for the searing of the roast after it gets out of the water?

Curiosity has the best of me...
 
Wil A said:
How many London broils can one cook exceptionally well on the grill while they wait the 8+ hours for the sous vide version to be completed?? Also, do you do it before, or how much more time is added for the searing of the roast after it gets out of the water?

Curiosity has the best of me...
Click to expand...
So with sous vide its not an active process where you sit around and watch it/ monitor it. You just say hey I wanna eat in 8 hours so I am gonna pull my already packaged and seasoned meat out the freezer and drop it in the water bath. Then 30 minutes before meal time you start the grill and sear it to your hearts desire. Typically I sear over direct heat on my kamado running around 450-500 for 2 minutes per side so maybe 10 minutes total.
The magic is that long cook really breaks down that invisible connective tissue making the meat super tender and still medium-rare. It is not a silver bullet, but it does allow me to eat a very high quality consistent product with allot less "work".
 
I find sous vide changes the texture of the protein.....maybe not all of them as I have not tried them all sous vide.
I gave mine to my brother as he was interested in using one.
I can get it back anytime, as I may be making more larger cuts and then vac pacing them in serving sizes....I would like to have a dozen packs of pork and beef to just warm up for an instant brisket sandwich style meal.
So anyways I got away from the sous vide.....I believe a 250 smoke for 10 hours drastically wins over the water cook.
 
BDuggar said:
You should give sous vide a whirl.
Click to expand...

Have done many times... turning a beef chuck roast into prime rib is probably our favorite on the beef side of things. My wife likes tender meat so I'll sometimes use it for sirloin steak too...but as mentioned, it does change texture as well (which is not always a bad thing).
 
I tried the A5 wagyu from Costco and would just season it with salt before searing. Also, would recommend searing it on a flat top, griddle or pan as opposed to on the grill because that melted fat would just cause a grease fire. I cut mine into thinner strips and just seared both sides for a couple of seconds. It's literally just like eating butter. Was it good? Yes...would I do it again? Probably not as I would prefer a prime NY steak over it because eating butter is not my thing. Well worth the experience though.
 
GrantT said:
Have done many times... turning a beef chuck roast into prime rib is probably our favorite on the beef side of things. My wife likes tender meat so I'll sometimes use it for sirloin steak too...but as mentioned, it does change texture as well (which is not always a bad thing).
Click to expand...
Yeah. Tenderizing is what its best at. I make an Italian beef with sirloin and its out of this world.
 
Darryl - swazies said:
I find sous vide changes the texture of the protein.....maybe not all of them as I have not tried them all sous vide.
I gave mine to my brother as he was interested in using one.
I can get it back anytime, as I may be making more larger cuts and then vac pacing them in serving sizes....I would like to have a dozen packs of pork and beef to just warm up for an instant brisket sandwich style meal.
So anyways I got away from the sous vide.....I believe a 250 smoke for 10 hours drastically wins over the water cook.
Click to expand...

Sous vide does do a great job at warming up vac packed meet. Whole packer brisket is a tricky thing to get good at. Especially if your cooking choice or select grades. I did a smoke/sous vide Choice Brisket for the 4th of July and it turned out better than anything previous I had attempted. I smoked it at 220 for 3 hours and then vac packed and water bathed it for 18 hours at 155 and then back on the smoker at 280 for 2 hours. Took it off and sliced it. It was amazing.

https://www.reddit.com/r/sousvide/comments/vqndzr
 
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