Once you’ve had proper A5 Japanese Wagyu, it become something of an obsession. I’ve had it on two different cruises (albeit the same boat), at Victoria and Albert’s in Disney’s Grand Floridian, and at Prime Steakhouse in Bellagio.
What I’ve never done, is cook it myself. But that is about to change.
Enter Crowd Cow, an online store for craft meats, where you purchase meat for particular ranches.
One of their offerings is authentic A5-rated Japanese Wagyu from Kagoshima Farms. Technically, this is not Kobe beef, as it’s not from the Kobe region. But it’s the same A5 beef you’ll find in America’s most exclusive steakhouses.
It’s not cheap stuff. The A5 ribeye will run you about $10/ounce. Of course, you’ll pay five or six times that in a steakhouse.
So, I ordered some last week. I’ve been receiving regular updates of it’s shipping status, and look what I found a bit ago when walking up to my front door.
I quickly grab it and bring it inside, not willing to allow such precious cargo to sit in the September Texas sun for any longer than necessary. I opened the box, and here is what I saw:
The green insulation is biodegradable and even compostable. In fact, I’ve already placed it in the compost bin. I suspect it’ll dissolve to no much once a little water hits it.
Below the top layer was a nifty little introduction.
And then, I removed that layer of cardboard. Below that, were several bags of dry ice, and below them…
Crowd Cow was running a special for the 12-ounce A5 ribeye and one pound of American Wagyu ground beef for $90. I added some chicken thighs from Marble Creek Farmstead to get the total up to $100 (which gives you free shipping).
Lastly, here’s the beautiful ribeye itself.
Even after shipping, holding the steak (not the dry ice) was a bit painful. The meat all went quickly into the freezer.
In my experience with A5, two ounces is plenty. It’s so rich you can’t really eat more than that.
My plan is to have some friends over and do a comparison of ribeyes including the A5, an American-Wagyu cross from Winters Family Beef and a domestic grass fed steak.
All three will be cooked sous vide at the same time and temp, with simple salt and pepper, and then seared a few minutes on the plancha (to maximize the maillard reaction).
I’ll let you know how it comes out.