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
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?
Ribeyes can be nice, really depending on the particular piece of meat, but they can already be marbled beyond my liking. I eat my steaks rare, bordering on blue, so I want the meat to be on the leaner side since you don’t render all the fat out in the cooking process.
When I make my own I’ll usually go for picanha (rump cap), cut them into thick slices and grill them on the fat cap until it’s rendering in the pan and then brown the meat just for half a minute on either side in the fat.
You must hate sushi.
No, I love it. But then again I live in Asia where we get prime sushi, the stuff served elsewhere in the world is often miserable.
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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.
Back at a previous worksite I saw an expense claim for a business lunch that was $4k for 3 people.
Out of curiosity I asked one of the execs that I was on good terms with how the lunch was.
He said “Not bad, but their wine selection was limited”.
More than a grand a plate…
Eat the rich.
Take my upvote and take your broken ass taste buds back to Applebee’s.
take your broken ass taste buds back to Applebee’s.
Fucking harsh man, they don’t deserve that…
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.
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.
That’s how I had it and I really liked it. Of course it’s not a typical western steak.
Many foods for the wealthy, especially at occasions like you mention are not there to taste good. The purpose of these foods is to signal class distinction to the group.
Which explains the popularity of adding Gold to food and drink. It is literally just to make it expensive and therefore exclusive
Yep, they like things that are out-of-reach, impractical, difficult to acquire, rare, and ridiculous to normal people.
I can’t exactly judge. My classic game collection has some stupid titles just sitting there barely ever being played. My record collection has a few of those too. I got a record on my shelf by one of my favorite artists that I’ll never listen to because I hate it. It’s sealed, just sitting there so I can say, “Yes chuck, and if you’ll look over here I have the complete collection. Some very rare records there! Only 300 of this one in existence. It’s a terrible record!”
I can’t tell you why I’m like that either. Just part of human nature I guess and it scales with wealth.
If I can’t get a damn good deal though, I just don’t get it, whatever it is. I got my Mega Man NES collection (all 5) for 40 bucks.
I think collecting stuff you appreciate is different from buying expensive/rare type things for signalling. If you love caviar, cool, if you serve caviar to make your party more posh you’re signalling.
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.
Hard disagree. Best beef experience I ever had was a kobe steak in Japan, prepared by a top chef.
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…
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.
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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’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 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.
