WAGYU BEEF

[bbqhead]

I did temp it in the center with thermopen , 205* , pulled out and wraped in towel and cooler .  it cooled down but I was short on time for turn in and did not temp it then. just trying to get nice slices to turn in , had nice color , flavor, just not texure .but I only took one brisket so not many choices .  Monday I tried a slice to see how it was and how to fix it ,it was not real bad at all .I tried something I had no idea about and at a cook off at that, my big mistake.......however I still want to work on it and learn the correct way to cook WAGYU briskets . have not found the info I need yet, but its out there somewhere , and I will find it hopefully ! any ideas ?                                                       thank you !

 

[stanton]

You cook a Wagyu the same way as you do a SAMs brisket. Cook till tender which occurs around 190 to 203. Wrap it when the color is good (about 4 hours) and finish it. Rest it after it comes off and let cool down below 170 then hold until ready to slice and turn in. Don't let it cool below 130 or so, or it will tighten up. If it is close to turn in time and it hasn't cooled down, separate the flat and point, trim the fat from the bottom of the flat and place on a cold pan to suck out the heat.

If you go above 203, it will get more tender, but also dry and crumbly. " Butter" the slices with sauce to add that little extra flavor. Just a little sauce, it's a meat contest, not a sauce contest.

S.

 

[bkbuilds]

I had the fortune to visit Kobe Japan for business back in 2008.... I was able to try authentic "Kobe beef" and it was just pure joy. 

The only reason I haven't tried it again is I'm not sure how the taste maybe effected by the freezing, import, distribution process when I was able to have it straight from the butcher over there.... now my mouth is watering just thinking about it! Jerks! =)

 

[kc5tpy]

Hello.  Thanks for all the replies.  Well BKBuilds seems you have brought us back to the original question:  Is the Wagyu we get worth spending the money on??  Some folks in competitions say yes but what about the rest of us?  From the info I have read and the feedback I have gotten I know my answer.  Thanks to all.  Keep Smokin!

Danny

 

[jarjarchef]

We got some waygu tenderloin to make carpaccio at work. It was from Australia and did not show signs of freezing. After trimming it to what I needed, I did a quick seasoning of S&P and grilled it. It was fabulous. Very moist and tender. For us and from our vendor the price was not too bad. It was around $28 per pound, that is not cleaned and steak ready. Our regular tenders we get that are cleaned and ready for us to portion and it runs around $19 per pound.
I have eaten a lot of steaks and my favorite cut is a NY strip or ribeye. Not a big fan of the tenderloin, it is dry and flavor less in my opinion. However the waygu was probably some of the best I have ever eaten, even cooked on an electric grill. I did take a few pieces and do a reverse sear on it and it was simply amazing. I do not think I will fully change how I feel about waygu and not sure if it is worth some of the prices they charge for things like brisket and other long cook cuts, but for the fast cook cuts I will say that I am starting to see the why.......

 

[m-fine]

I have had a good bit of the stuff. Real Wagyu that has not been overly cross bred is very noticeably different from normal beef. The texture of the meat and fat and the melting point of the fat is different. The best experience comes from the fast cook cuts done extra rare, and with technique modified for the low melting temp fat. The meat and fat melt in your mouth in a way no angus can.

I tried smoking one brisket and it was not great. It needed different technique than a normal brisket and it didn't seem worth the money time and effort to figure it out. Now a brisket that is a cross with angus or mostly angus with a little Wagyu mixed in might be a different story. If you end up with something close to an angus brisket, but slightly more tender with more marbeling, that could be a darn good smoked brisket. Based on my experience, if you are cooking a Wagyu brisket to 200+ degrees and having success, your Wagyu is genetically pretty different than what I have had. I guess that is to be expected with poor labeling laws.

In short, the real deal fast cook cuts can be a real treat. For a brisket I would be more interested in a cross breed or pure black angus.

 

[ak1]

So, let's ask ourselves, What is it that makes Wagyu beef so desireable? Is it Wagyu beef or is it Kobe beef? Is it a breed of cattle, is it a method... then, how does it relate to a cut of meat. Honestly, are we all getting our asses all puckered up because some hoity toity chef is telling us how wonderful this stuff is and charging stupid money for nothing?

Honestly, I could appreciate having a steak, but a brisket or a burger.  I'm calling stoopid foodie bull poop.

 

[chestnutbloom]

Kobe beef comes from the city of Kobe Japan and is exceedingly rare in the United States. Beef from waygu cows have been crossbred here but many unscrupulous websites still describe it as Kobe beef. Very, very sad....

 

[jarjarchef]

So, let's ask ourselves, What is it that makes Wagyu beef so desireable? Is it Wagyu beef or is it Kobe beef? Is it a breed of cattle, is it a method... then, how does it relate to a cut of meat. Honestly, are we all getting our asses all puckered up because some hoity toity chef is telling us how wonderful this stuff is and charging stupid money for nothing?

Honestly, I could appreciate having a steak, but a brisket or a burger.  I'm calling stoopid foodie bull poop.

Kobe beef is a spacific breed of cattle only found in Japan and processed in spacific places. A lot more to it, but that is the simple version.

Waygu simply is any beef in Japan. Again the simple version.

I would agree to a point it is a marketing campaign that is very successful. However there is some merit to the quality of the Japanese breeds of beef and the way the fat is marbled throughout the muscle. Yes you will not find any legal Kobe in the US, but you can find Waygu that is pure and cross breed with domestic cattle. I would say for steaks you can notice a big diffrence as long as it was cooked properly and not too well done. However for a long cook and or a ground product I would say the domestic will do just fine. You can adjust the fat ratio on your ground to get the same effect.

Supply and demand drive the price of waygu, but I would also say some great marketing campaign is the biggest reason. It is like many things a matter of opinion on weather you can taste a diffrence or not.

 

[m-fine]

Lots of misinformation in this thread. Wagyu refers to four breed of cattle from Japan. Some of these cattle have been exported and are being bred pure and crossed in other countries including Australia and the US. Labeling does not seem to be regulated so you need to know and trust the source to know what you are getting.

In Japan, Beef from different areas is often sold with that area name. Kobe beef is meat from a Wagyu cow raised in Kobe Japan. Matsusaka beef is meat from a Wagyu cow from Matsusaka Japan. That is all that it means. Think Vermont cheddar or California raisins.

Wagyu cows are genetically different than normal breeds and produce a highly marbled meat with a different kind of fat. The fat has more unsaturated fats and a lower melting temp. It is also supposed to be higher in Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids. I can't verify that, but I can assure you the fat is very noticeably different on real deal Wagyu vs normal American beef. It is not a scam, or hype from some celebrity chef. The meat is different and for those who like it, it can be a real treat. Whether or not it is worth the current prices or is even a good choice for smoking is a totally different question. $175 retail for a 9lb Wagyu brisket to smoke? I think I'll pass.

 

[venture]

Very interesting thread.

At those prices?  I can imagine one loin strip steak, and only one, on my bucket list.

As for que?

At least in the U.S.?

Always saw it as a great way to use "lesser" cuts of meat in a wonderful way.

Tradition handed down to us by great folks that came before us.

Still wouldn't mind that one strip steak, grilled, on my bucket list?

Anyone buying?

Good luck and good smoking. 

 

[m-fine]

Still wouldn't mind that one strip steak, grilled, on my bucket list?

You can mail order one at New York City prices. $122 per pound. I am sure you could get one hand delivered from Kobe for even more.

https://www.lobels.com/store/item/wagyu-dry-aged-boneless-strip-steak.htm

And I agree with you. Even at more reasonable prices this stuff is not what the tradition of Q is all about.

 

[geerock]

Tell 'em a bull**** story and they will come. I've had Wagyu (supposedly) at a bbq fest and at a fair for meat packer of some kind. Selling small sandwiches at 9 bucks a piece. I'll take the choice brisket I make at home anyday. People were standing around the sandwich booths trying to convince each other how good it was. I'm always amused about how good people think a product is because of the hype.....and because other folks tell them so. They jump into the 'oh this is great' mindset because they don't want to seem ignorant even though they can't tell the difference. Amazing how gullible people can be. $122 / lb. for the COW to get some beer and a message?? For that price I better be the one getting beer and rubdown...... and a little something else.

 

[jeepdiver]

Very interesting thread.

At those prices?  I can imagine one loin strip steak, and only one, on my bucket list.

As for que?

At least in the U.S.?

Always saw it as a great way to use "lesser" cuts of meat in a wonderful way.

Tradition handed down to us by great folks that came before us.

Still wouldn't mind that one strip steak, grilled, on my bucket list?

Anyone buying?

Good luck and good smoking. 

From what I have read on the real waygu it would be more like one bite. Most things I have seen say it is almost like eating beef flavored butter due the amount and type of fat. It is more of an appetizer than something to make a meal off of. Most people wouldn't be able to eat a whole stake.

And there is now limited amounts of true waygu in the States. One article said that true waygu in Japan is documnted as to the farm and even the parents of the particular cow. You van ask to see the certificate and if they don't have one you know it isn't the real thing.

 

[geerock]

Won't be long before they counterfeit the cert.....if not already. Then the buyers can go home and eat a piece of choice brisket and tell themselves how much better their "Wagyu" beef was.

 

[m-fine]

$122 / lb. for the COW to get some beer and a message??.

Just to clarify, the $122 16oz strip steak I linked comes from an American Wagyu cow, and does not include the cow getting beer, sake, or any massages. Those would be extra. FWIW, that exact same steak could be purchased outside of NYC for a fraction of that price if you have the right connections, but it is obviously most profitable to sell the limited supply to the biggest idiots you can find and if there is one thing that NYC does better than anywhere else it is attracting and producing idiots.

 

[dcarch]

Originally Posted by m-fine   
--------------------------------but it is obviously most profitable to sell the limited supply to the biggest idiots you can find and if there is one thing that NYC does better than anywhere else it is attracting and producing idiots.

I had run into a "Biggest Idiot" from China last year in NYC. He represented a big steel manufacturing company which also has two thousand supermarkets. His specific assignments in this country were two. One was to organize a world class upscale luxury foods exposition to take place in China. The other was to negotiate the purchase of the entire supply of wagyu beef from the USA.

dcarch

 

[m-fine]

Sounds like he is not the idiot, as long as he can find people who will pay him even more for it in China. It is just like a rainbow elephant beanie baby. It is worth whatever someone is willing to pay you for it. Why sell it for $40 when someone will pay $122? If you can buy for $122 and sell in China for $250, why not?

 

[venture]

Jeep if you are buying, I would still take a shot at that grilled steak.  I can eat a lot of butter! 

Okey?  I don't think many people here pull their beef like that pic? 

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[ak1]

Lots of misinformation in this thread. Wagyu refers to four breed of cattle from Japan. Some of these cattle have been exported and are being bred pure and crossed in other countries including Australia and the US. Labeling does not seem to be regulated so you need to know and trust the source to know what you are getting.

In Japan, Beef from different areas is often sold with that area name. Kobe beef is meat from a Wagyu cow raised in Kobe Japan. Matsusaka beef is meat from a Wagyu cow from Matsusaka Japan. That is all that it means. Think Vermont cheddar or California raisins.

Wagyu cows are genetically different than normal breeds and produce a highly marbled meat with a different kind of fat. The fat has more unsaturated fats and a lower melting temp. It is also supposed to be higher in Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids. I can't verify that, but I can assure you the fat is very noticeably different on real deal Wagyu vs normal American beef. It is not a scam, or hype from some celebrity chef. The meat is different and for those who like it, it can be a real treat. Whether or not it is worth the current prices or is even a good choice for smoking is a totally different question. $175 retail for a 9lb Wagyu brisket to smoke? I think I'll pass.

I get & understand a lot of what you are saying. Where I have an issue is when you have stuff like Wagyu burgers... IMO it's an excuse to charge stupid money for crappy meat. I honestly don't mind paying for the nice prime cuts, but paying stupid prices for the off cuts is to me ridiculous.