1y ago

I don't like Wagyu beef

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.

/rant

54 comments

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.
- Yes I had stripes, cubes, whole steaks, burger mince and whatnot, and just don't enjoy it in whichever fashion.
  
  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?
- Technically is was matsuzaka a5 as part of the course menu but they definitely served it that way.
  
  Holy shit get help

If I eat a meal that costs $700 and don't literally cum from how good it is, I'm demanding a refund.
- I don't even WANT a $700 meal. Either you don't get your money's worth, or you do, and all other food is ruined for you.
- 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.

Take my upvote and take your broken ass taste buds back to Applebee's.
- Never set foot into any of those establishments.
- This person is eating $700 a plate beef and complaining about it. I hate them so much.

Right there with you.
I eat beef to eat meat, not fat.
Yes, some intramuscular fat improves taste and mouth feel but when there is more fat than muscle...pass.
- 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.

- Which explains the popularity of adding Gold to food and drink. It is literally just to make it expensive and therefore exclusive
  
  Yeah and then you poop glitter. The canal workers are gotta be mightily impressed.
- I agree, but Wagyu is hyped all around, so some people must actually like it.
  From all the "rich people foods" I'd say lobster is the one I truly love. Beluga caviar is nice but way overpriced, and oysters are just the devil's snot. Baked and with a pile of minced garlic they are barely palatable.

I too dislike eating a stick of meat butter.

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.
- That's how I had it and I really liked it. Of course it's not a typical western steak.

I'm getting the sense that Arby's claim of have a Wagyu beef burger is not quite true.

All that value isn't necessarily because it's good (which is wildly subjective) but because of the intensive preparations that go into raising it.
I think beluga caviar is okay. I didn't hate it but I wouldn't seek it out, never mind pay what it costs
- Right, so in that case I'd say it's time wasted on raising something of a sub-par standard.
  Beluga is nice, very rich and intense, but unless someone else is paying, I'm having none of that either.
- I could spend 40 years sculpting a 1/4 scale Godzilla out of my boogers, that doesn't mean anyone should pay a lot for it.

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.

Ground beef with lots of fat = low quality
Steak that's seemingly >50% fat = PREMIUM OMG
I don't get it. Give me a nice prime or choice steak please. I want fat flavor enhanced meat, not meat flavored fat...

Hard disagree. Best beef experience I ever had was a kobe steak in Japan, prepared by a top chef.

I have literally never had enough money to know wagyu beef even is, but if it's as you described, then I don't think I'm missing much.

That's fair. I've never had it. But I'm also not a fan of chewing on the fat even on a regular old steak.
I can't imagine id enjoy wagyu either.

You're not obliged to like anything. Nobody can tell you how you feel. We may be a little sniffy if you tell us our cooking sucks.

When I want to eat steak, I want to eat steak, not fat masquerading as meat, thanks, keep your waygu kobe whatever nonsense

I had a Wagyu ribeye last year that cost like $120 and it was very good. That being said I would never pay that much for a steak.
- 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.
- I wasn't feeling exactly great either. Didn't throw up, but for sure had some digestive issues throughout the night that really don't need repeating.

Wagyu give me the runs. Too much fat.

54 comments