There, I said it. Had some Wagyu A5, genuine certified import from Japan prepared by an actual chef on a handful of occasions. The last one was on Saturday as part of a business conference in the exec suite of some fancy hotel, talking to potential investors.
The set menu cost the equivalent of $700 per person, wines not included.
And. I. still. don't. like. it.
The meat is simply too rich, too soft, too greasy. There's no bite to it. Every time I try it, it reminds me of sucking on a piece of beef flavored butter. A slightly solidified cube of beef lard.
Just give me a Black Angus rump or sirloin steak if you must, that's pretentious enough at a fraction of the cost and provides such a nicer eating experience.
And please, PLEASE, for the love of everything holy, don't give me Wagyu cubes topped of with steamed foie gras. That's akin to buttering your lard. Maybe in 50 years when all my teeth are gone, I'll appreciate being able to grind down a piece of beef between my gums. But as it stands, the Wagyu hype couldn't die fast enough.
When I had it in Kobe they would cook the steak, slice it in to stripes and then cook the cut pieces. Lots of sear, most of the fat is rendered out and its great. You won't get it medium rare with this method but you really don't want a5 cooked less than medium or medium well because of the fat content.
If it's cooked like that and still too rich for your tastes then it's just not for you. If they're serving you a full steak of the stuff uncut and medium rare, they're fucking up the meat.
I'm having trouble with your preference for rump or sirloin. Maybe you just don't like beef if you didn't list ribeye first? Or maybe you like things well done?
I didn't pay for it either. If I'd have been the one to order, I would have settled for something way more budget friendly. Not that I mind splurging once in a while, but then only on stuff I actually enjoy.
Exactly that. Nothing against a bit of marbling, or else the steak will just dry out when you put some heat to it, but if there's more fat than actual meat, I'm not impressed.
Use of wagyu and it's consumption should be and usually is executed differently compared to most steaks and it's philosophy. Like you said that wagyu is so extremely rich and fatty that it cannot be eaten in large quantities.
When wagyu is tastefully used (no pun intended) it should be a few small slices on the side of a larger dish. It can also be added to smaller bite size pieces, like wagyu nigiri for example (I have had it and it is wonderful).
If it's properties are understood and it is used correctly it is certainly outstanding.
This is a common error: people import food from other cultures and don't import with it the way it is prepared in that other culture. Then they say "this sucks".
Similar thing happens with even something as basic and trivial as tofu: it's not a meat substitute, and if you try to use it as that it's going to suck. Make it the way it's made in the culture that invented it.
Funnily enough I also love tofu. My favorite recipe with it is very simple and only includes onion, scallion, mushroom, bok choy, pork, chicken stock, black pepper and of course tofu (soft).
It's also excellent when adding rice to thicken it, making it a sort of porridge
I do Wonder though because they said it was bought and paid for at a company function and prepared by a professional chef so you would think that their experience with A5 wagyu has been as Good as it gets.
As far as I am aware, I've never had it so I don't know which side to believe and I'm not about to shell out big money to give it a try.
I sort of agree. I enjoy it but it's a specific thing and there's better steak experiences out there at better prices. The hype is silly but I don't think it's ever going away unfortunately.
Sounds like you had some type of American "wagyu". And I'm not knocking it, I love steaks like these.
There are a number of American farms such as Snake River that have Wagyu/Angus hybrid cattle and the beef is very good. It strikes a good balance of having more fat marbling than prime Angus, but not the ridiculous high fat context like the genuine Japanese beef OP is talking about.
I've had it. I'm thankful I did not have to pay for it. Juniper paid for it. For the price, it was terrible. NY strip, ribeye, t-bone, tomahawk... A man steak is all I want. Wagyu is for pansies with money that are offended by real meat.
I agree with you. Something about the grease does not sit right with me. The last time I had wagyu, it was at a fancy restaurant tasting menu place where each dish contained some part of the animal. I ended up throwing up later that evening.