What Makes Wagyu Beef So Good?

wagyu steak

What makes Wagyu beef so good? To find out, we need to learn what wagyu Beef really is. Simply put, wagyu, pronounced “wa” meaning Japanese, and “gyu” meaning cow, is an old breed of Japanese beef cattle, but there is much more to this tasty breed of cattle than a name. Originally, wagyu were selected for their physical endurance. The livestock with more intramuscular fat cells was chosen because of their ability to easily store energy… What we in the business refer to as “marbling.”

The distinctive flavor and tenderness of wagyu beef is a rare eating experience due to its finely marbled consistency… A super beef, famous for its appearance, and so tender, it literally melts in your mouth…

It’s not only a gourmet pleasure, it’s also safe for you. The un-saturated to saturation fat ratio in wagyu has been discovered by health experts to be higher than in other beef. 40% of the saturated fat is a stearic acid form, which is considered to have minimal cholesterol effects.

Wagyu is also higher in fatty acids known as CLA, linoleic conjugate acid. Due to higher concentrations of linoleic acid, wagyu beef contains the highest CLA of foods per gram— around 30 percent higher than other cattle breeds.

I got to have real wagyu beef last November, and I was not disappointed at all. I took a trip to Japan, just for fun. I love to travel the world, see the sights, meet the people, and of course, eat the food. I was traveling with my friend Joey. We have been several world cities together including New York, Dallas, Kansas City, Atlanta, Berlin, Istanbul, Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. The latest trip was to the Japanese cities listed. Joey had told me Japan was one of his favorite places he had ever been to. He had insisted I go there. It didn’t take much convincing since I had an awesome travel voucher from Google Fi burning a hole in my pocket. So we did just that.

Here’s a referral code to get a $20 credit when you join Google Fi! Redeem it at https://g.co/fi/r/8UH82X

I had so many great meals, but I was blown away by my first wagyu experience. We were in a train station in Tokyo, with some nice restaurants all around the food court area. We had been in Tokyo a few days, and by that time we were starting to look for something besides noodles or fish. So we decided upon a restaurant that had steak on the menu. As you began to learn in Japan, most if not all restaurants have visual representations of their foods from the menu right outside the entrance to lure you in. It worked.

We sat down, were promptly greeted with warm, damp towels, and offered water as we looked through the menu. A beautiful looking dish with 3 different cuts of wagyu beef and side of fried potatoes? Yes Please!! With a reasonable price of 3500 Yen, (Just under $35) it was a no brainer for us to order this platter, knowing we would be experiencing something we couldn’t easily experience at home.

My first Wagyu platter.
My first ever Wagyu platter.

The platter was served with a little salt, real wasabi, and a dish of Au Jus on the side. The steak from all 3 cuts was so good I rarely dipped them in anything, however, I tried all of those things as well. The steak itself when cooked looks and smells like any other steak I’ve had, but when I took that first bite and the steak just melted in my mouth, I knew it’s something I had never experienced before. Of course, the steak texture was still there, but it was so tender and the flavor was as rich as heaven.

After we returned from Japan, and having had the best steaks of our lives, we decided to see if it was possible to get that amazing experience in The States. We did our research and this is what we found… My Experience with American Wagyu

How good is American Wagyu Beef? My Experience with American Wagyu

American wagyu

After my friend Joey and I returned to The States from our trip to Japan, we were wanting to try American wagyu to see how it compared to Japanese wagyu. We found the website MishimaReserve.com which specializes in selling American Wagyu beef. We opted for the highest quality rib-eye they carry. It came in a day later than anticipated, but was still frozen. We were a little worried since we dropped about $100 a piece on them. Once the order came in, our worries subsided. There they were… beautifully marbled frozen American wagyu rib-eyes. As our worries faded momentarily, we then realized that we had to cook these things. I shouldn’t have been worried I’ve cooked countless steaks, and the only critics were ourselves, but when you have invested in such an expensive cut of meat, you definitely don’t want to mess it up.

Weber with Steaks

The steaks turned out amazing! Such a tender texture with buttery taste seasoned with our own Steak Beautiful – Hickory. The recipe was quite simple. In fact, it was really just a matter of cook time.

2 Steaks (we preferred these American wagyu rib-eyes)
1 Bottle of Steak Beautiful – Hickory
A hot charcoal fire

(Prep) If your steaks are frozen like ours were thaw them in the refrigerator overnight.

  1. Once thawed, remove steaks from fridge season them with Steak Beautiful – Hickory
  2. Light fire. Get coals peak hot.
  3. Place seasoned steaks on grill, over direct heat, and let them cook 4 to 5 mins
  4. Flip steaks. Continue to cook 3 to 5 mins for medium rare, 5 to 7 mins for medium, and for well done, just open the charcoal bag and grab a few briquettes to snack on.
  5. Let steaks rest. Serve with a baked potato or grilled asparagus.

Poor Man’s Ribeye With Steak Beautiful

Do you like Ribeye Steaks? Why Hell yeah. We all do. But there’s a little known secret. You can pay half the price for the same steak but a smaller cut called the Chuckeye Steak. Whenever Ribeye Steaks are cut, the Chuckeye is the end piece marbled just the same but the butcher charges only half the price per pound. They’re inexpensive comapred to the Ribeye, but I will warn you, they go quick.

Here’s a recipe we like to use on Ribeyes and Chuckeyes and it is guaranteed to drop jaws when served.

  • 2 Chuckeye Steaks
  • 1 Bottle of Jim Quessenberry’s Steak Beautiful Hickory
  • 1 Clove of Garlic
  • 1 Bottle Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1/4 stick of butter
  • 1 Weber Kettle Grill (Offset charcoal fire or you can use a smoker if you want)
  • Charcoal

 

Let the steaks rest to room temp if they’ve been refrigerated. Lightly drizzle and rub the steaks on both sides with a thin layer of olive oil while gently massaging the Hickory Rub into the meat. This will insure the rub stays on and can form a nice little crust when seared. Now warm up your smoker/grill with indirect/offset fire. Get the fire up to a point where you’d normally smoke meats but not too hot. We use our hands to guage temp, but if you’re precise, try to hit at least 225F but no more than 250F. Place the meat on the surface and let these babies slow smoke up to 125F internal. This will give you a nice center.

In the mean time, while the steak is smoking, smash and chop the clove of garlic, place into a mixing bowl with 1/4 stick of butter at room temperature so that it is malleable and able to mix well. Mix well with the garlic until you have a consistent butter and garlic compound ready for the steaks.

Once the steaks hit 125F internal, you’re ready to take them up and let them rest. Now’s time for the searing. If you don’t have a second source of heat available, take time to stoke that fire up a bit and get the surface ready for searing. Take it up to at least 375F. If you want to sear in a pan on the stove, you can do that too, but we’re keeping this outdoors for today. Get that grate hot hot hot!

Now it’s GO TIME! Put those steaks on the grill for no more than 2 minutes per side. Don’t do anymore than that or you’ll be asked to leave promptly. Sear those beauties quickly and and pick em up. Plate them with a dollop of compound garlic butter and serve with your choice of salad, potato, or steamed veggies. Boom. Steak dinner for two under $25.

Steak Beautiful Hickory is featured in the February 2019 Grill Masters Club monthly delivery box. Use code ‘NEWYEARBBQ’ between now and January 31 for a 5% discount.

 

Dear Dad, We did it. We’re successful and growing every day.

Every so often I like to take a moment to pause and look around. I like to reflect on the successes and lessons learned during this journey. I often think to myself and wonder what my Dad would be thinking if he saw what we’re up to. I can’t help but wonder what he’d think of the time, organization, and production we’ve so meticulously developed through repetition, trial, and error.

Would he have better ideas on processes we use? What would his thoughts be on the new recipes we’ve developed on our own? I don’t doubt that he’d embrace and like everything we’ve done, but I would wonder what his first impression would be.

As I wonder all of this I begin to think to myself about the successes our team has had and the growth we’ve had that are beyond anything Dad ever produced and I smile. Moreover I think to myself how we couldn’t have done it without help from our partners, vendors, facilities, and more importantly, our fans.

Over the past 4 years we’ve had our ups and downs, but year after year we build upon the last. We’ve launched six products, three of which are original to the new generation of Jim Q. We’ve expanded our reach both online and in regional stores. We’ve made lasting connections with great people and we’ve added flavor and happiness to thousands of people.

To each and everyone who has and continues to support us, we thank you.

What’s New?

For starters, we have an all new set of products with maximum flavor. We have a Georgia gold style sauce with just the right amount of mustard tangy punch, a mix of spice, and finished off with a smooth sweet slather of brown sugar. It’s one of our new favorites and is featured in this month’s Grill Masters Club.

Sauce Beautiful Gold.

When you take the inspiration we’ve had over the years combined with the experience that was inherited from generations of recipes handed down from our family members, things get exciting in the kitchen. The last few years have brought two newer recipes to our collection that are sure to please those of you looking for a more savory flavor profile without a ton of sweet overpowering your palette. We learned from our good friends over at Big Bob Gibson’s that Alabama style white BBQ sauce is great for fish, chicken, and beef. It’s a tangy lemon, horseradish, mayonnaise blend with lots of zing.

Sauce Beautiful – White

The other savory option we have for you is our hickory seasoned Steak Beautiful , an Arkansas favorite featuring one of our favorite smoke flavors, Hickory wood smoke. This rub is absolutely made for steaks, brisket, beef ribs, or burgers. We’ll give any Texan a run for their money with real trees not bushes, because “God gave the Texans Mesquite. He knew their soil was too poor to grow Hickory.” ~Jim Quessenberry