Bought my first mail order wagyu. Any tips? | FerrariChat

Bought my first mail order wagyu. Any tips?

Discussion in 'Drink, Smoke, and Fine Dining' started by kingjr9000, Jun 15, 2019.

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  1. kingjr9000

    kingjr9000 Formula 3

    Sep 16, 2014
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    As the title states, since this is the fine dining section, I was curious if any of you have done a home cooked wagyu. If you have, do you have any tips? Also, happy fathers day to you fathers.

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  2. tomc

    tomc Two Time F1 World Champ

    Apr 13, 2014
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    Looks like a ribeye steak of 1.6 lb. How thick? My best advice would be ...

    - cook it to a temp less than you would otherwise. Nothing worse than overcooked "special" beef IMO. If you are set up for it, consider reverse sear in the oven and then final sear on a cast iron griddle over a real fire. Charcoal/wood fire is best with bacon fat to lube things up for the searing.

    - season simply (let the flavor of the meat do the talking). My go-to is pink Himalayan sea salt, and maybe a little fresh cracked black pepper after cooking. If you want to flavor things up, do so with sides - truffle mac & cheese, creamed spinach, or some summer corn.

    - make sure to rest the meat before cooking. Applies to everything, but it becomes much tougher to wait when that awesome looking steak comes off the grill! :)

    - I also would keep in mind that you typically want to eat less than you would if it were a cheaper steak. Wagyu is pretty rich, and a little goes a long way.

    Good luck, and let us know how it turns out. Oh yeah, with pictures! :)

    T
     
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  3. arizonaitalian

    arizonaitalian F1 World Champ
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    #3 arizonaitalian, Jun 15, 2019
    Last edited: Jun 15, 2019
    This was the subject of a thread either here or in silver, I can't recall which (try search).

    Most folks sear Japanese wagyu briefly. I don't cook it like a normal steak at all (I do those the BBQ/grill). For the Japanese, I cut smaller pieces, not too thick. Just salt. Sear on a griddle or pan briefly, no crust on the outside. ...actually the cooking is closer to how I sear Ahi to rare in the center now that I think about it.

    What grade is the beef?
     
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  4. arizonaitalian

    arizonaitalian F1 World Champ
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  5. kingjr9000

    kingjr9000 Formula 3

    Sep 16, 2014
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    thickness: about an inch. After seeing a few videos and also knowing my cooking skill when it comes to thick cuts of meat, I went and and cut it in half. After I did that, I split it in half to half an inch.

    seasoning: is regular sea salt okay? This was kind of ordered at the last moment and I haven't had a chance to get anything special.

    cooking: My mom is not into anything rare to probably medium. (I know. Its not the best way, but due to medical reasons, she can't eat red meat any other way but nearly well done.). I on the other hand can handle it any way. Is medium okay?

    I thought people were exagerrating when they say the fat starts to melt when you hold it, but they weren't...

    It is about half an inch thick. Grade A5. Their sites says they only sell A5.

    I went and and cut it in half. After I did that, I cut it in half to half an inch.
     
  6. arizonaitalian

    arizonaitalian F1 World Champ
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  7. kingjr9000

    kingjr9000 Formula 3

    Sep 16, 2014
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  8. arizonaitalian

    arizonaitalian F1 World Champ
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    Cut thin like that, I'd take a piece of edge fat and melt it in the pan. I'd sprinkle the steak with salt (sea salt is fine to answer your question). Then I'd sear it in the pan HOT. I'd guess not more than 30 seconds per side to start. Try some like that first. Then, if you really want it cooked more...
     
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  9. kingjr9000

    kingjr9000 Formula 3

    Sep 16, 2014
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    Got it.
     
  10. tomc

    tomc Two Time F1 World Champ

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    ^ Slip in a cheap 5 steak for Mom! Just kidding. F-chat rules say - if Mom wants medium, Mom gets medium! :)

    Regular salt is fine. It's there for flavor. For hard searing it helps to make a crust, but as AzIt suggested,
    you want to cook this lightly, so in your case, regular salt should be fine, just don't overdo it. If push
    comes to shove, you can always add more @ the table.

    A5 is top of the line, and the fact it's melting in your hands, is a good indication that you got the good stuff.

    T
     
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  11. kingjr9000

    kingjr9000 Formula 3

    Sep 16, 2014
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    Thanks!
     
  12. kingjr9000

    kingjr9000 Formula 3

    Sep 16, 2014
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    Don't worry guys. When I cook it tomorrow, I'll take pics before I eat it.
     
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  13. arizonaitalian

    arizonaitalian F1 World Champ
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    Pre-cook, cook and post cook if you can...we are living vicariously through you! :D
     
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  14. tomc

    tomc Two Time F1 World Champ

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    Hilarious. OP...You're golden! Based on that story, you can't blow it!

    By the way, I like champagne or prosecco with my top of the line beef. I find the bubbles & acid cut through the greasy, fatty awesomeness...T
     
  15. tomc

    tomc Two Time F1 World Champ

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    Yes, vicariously, the way my doctor prefers me to eat steak. OP...we need the whole experience. You focus on the cooking and presentation. Let someone else record the action!
    T
     
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  16. kingjr9000

    kingjr9000 Formula 3

    Sep 16, 2014
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    Since you mention wine, could you tell me about a "good" chardonnay wine that is around $100-200. If there are any good ones around that price. Also a sweet red wine.

    Thanks in advance.
     
  17. tomc

    tomc Two Time F1 World Champ

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    I don't drink a lot of chardonnay and not much still white wine in that price range. I can say that just about every white wine that I've had from New Zealand has been great, in every price range. I also find Vivino ratings to be good, if it has a sufficient # is ratings. I'd start a new thread. There's a lot of knowledge on wines here on F-chat...T
     
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  18. kingjr9000

    kingjr9000 Formula 3

    Sep 16, 2014
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    Roger. I'll check them out. Thanks again.
     
  19. arizonaitalian

    arizonaitalian F1 World Champ
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    Well...depends upon what kind of Chardonnay you prefer...

    I don't like heavily oaked, full malolactic style (which basically rules out most Cali Chards).

    I prefer more mineral and slighly higher acid, less oak. So that steers me to Burgundy (and New Zealand a bit). Even in Burgundy, there are more popcorny styles (Batard Montrachet for example) and low oak, high acid, high mineral (many, but Chablis fills that role).

    Let us know what you liked and we can recommend a few in similar style. $100-200 (retail) is well more than enough to get a fine chard.

    Wrt "sweet red wine", do you mean fortified like Port, or ?
     
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  20. kingjr9000

    kingjr9000 Formula 3

    Sep 16, 2014
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    I just found out that I'm going to have to drop the price to no more than $50. My friend doesn't want to pay a lot for a drink and they're tryin git out for the first time. Are there any sweet chardonnay that you know of? This is for a person who's new to wine. Thanks for any help you can offer.
     
  21. arizonaitalian

    arizonaitalian F1 World Champ
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    sweet as in residual sugar (aka a "dessert wine"?) Or "Sweet" as in your palate somehow recognizes a dry wine as having a "sweet" flavor profile?
     
  22. kingjr9000

    kingjr9000 Formula 3

    Sep 16, 2014
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    I'm assuming sweet to the taste. They've heard about red wine being sweet, but they would like to try chardonnay instead of red.
     
  23. arizonaitalian

    arizonaitalian F1 World Champ
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    ah, okay. Not a sweet wine then. Very few red wines are actually 'sweet', so its a bit hard to know what they are actually referring to in the taste profile. Likely low acid wines with high fruit from ripe years and forward oak treatment (is my guess).

    Presuming that is correct, they will prefer riper, lower-acid, "rounder" chards most likely (vs. high acid, high mineral, "bright" chards).

    Hmmm...well, cali fits that bill well, as does sub $50 price point. With the caveat that I don't drink those wines any more (as I mentioned my palate leans to other types), there are many well-known wines that should fit the bill...

    This is one list I found of mostly lower end wines: http://wineiq.org/best-buttery-chardonnay-wines-10-recommendations/

    Here is a link that further explains the types of chards and has some recs: https://winefolly.com/review/chardonnay-wine-guide/

    I guess I'd lean towards Cakebread to start with if you can find it.

    I have to say I hope this isn't to drink with the Japanese Wagyu :eek:;)
     
  24. arizonaitalian

    arizonaitalian F1 World Champ
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    OP - btw, did they ship the beef fresh (unfrozen) or flash frozen solid with dry ice?

    (asking because I'm going to order some Japanese Wagyu for July 4th with the family)
     
  25. kingjr9000

    kingjr9000 Formula 3

    Sep 16, 2014
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    :D No worries about the Wagyu part. I just spoke to them and you are correct in assuming that it means a high fruit content. So that should make this easier. I just typed in cake bread on "Specs" site and they do have some available. I'll let them know.
     

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