I’ll show you how to cook Japanese Wagyu beef and American Kobe beef with simple seasonings and topped with fried garlic. Learn the differences between these two premium varieties of beef and how to prepare delicious steaks every time.
My late grandfather had a number of businesses and one of the ventures was the restaurant business. He had a couple of teppanyaki-style steak restaurants in Osaka and I was lucky to grow up enjoying the best premium Japanese beef, wagyu beef.
What’s so special about Wagyu? The perfectly marbled wagyu beef is legendary for buttery texture with superior flavor, and the best grade wagyu literally melts in your mouth. You’ve probably heard of Kobe beef, but that’s just one type of wagyu beef from, you’ve guessed it, Kobe.
Wagyu Beef vs. American Kobe (Steak Recipe)
Japanese Miyazaki Wagyu and American Kobe Steak prepared with minimal seasoning and paired with fried garlic. Simply divine!
What’s Wagyu?
Wagyu (和牛) literally translates to Japanese cattle, and the 4 Japanese cattle breeds are world-renowned for its distinct web of marbling. You can enjoy this tender beef in many ways including Sukiyaki, Shabu Shabu, and steak.
What makes this Japanese beef different is that it’s intensely marbled with softer monounsaturated fat. What’s even better about this fat is that it’s considered “good fat”, containing omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, and is lower in cholesterol than other types of beef.
The name of the Japanese Wagyu doesn’t tell you what breed they are, but rather the location where they are raised. Popular and well-known ones include Matsusaka beef (松阪牛), Kobe beef (神戸牛), Ōmi beef (近江牛), Yonezawa beef (米沢牛), Miyazaki beef (宮崎牛) in Japan.
Four Breeds of Wagyu
For Wagyu, regardless of where they are raised, they will be one of the four breeds: Japanese Black (黒毛和種 Kuroge washu) which consists of 90%, Japanese Brown (赤毛和種 Akage Washu or Akashu), Japanese Polled (無角和種 Mukaku Washu), and Japanese Shorthorn (日本短角和種Nihon Tankaku Washu).
Even though many places in Japan raise Wagyu, the 3 best known and elite brands of Wagyu are called Sandai Wagyu (三大和牛 Three Big Wagyu); and they are Kobe beef (神戸牛), Matsusaka beef (松阪牛) and Ōmi beef (近江牛) or Yonezawa beef (米沢牛). What these cattle share in common is that they are all from the Tajima strain of Japanese Black.
Marbling & Rating of Wagyu
There are different marbling system used by the US and Japan. In Japan, there are 12 grades of Beef Marbling Standards (B.M.S.). Typically to be considered the “branded beef”, it has to be higher on the BMS grade. For example, to be considered and recognized as Miyazaki, the beef needs to have a marbling grade of 5 or higher. Beyond the marbling, the beef is also rated based on color, firmness, and texture of the meat, and color/luster of the fat. Each factor is graded from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest score. You can learn more about B.M.S. and Japanese grading system here.
My reader Kathryn Dodd told me about the great episode “Delicious Wagyu Beef 和牛” on BEGIN Japanlology. This episode features the relationship the Japanese have with cows by looking at how this world-famous beef is produced.
What’s American Kobe Beef?
The increase in popularity of tender and well-marbled beef in the United States has led to the creation of American Style Kobe Beef (or American Kobe). There are many farms in the US now that either raise 100% full blood Wagyu beef or hybrid crossbreed between Japanese Wagyu cattle and European cattle such as Angus or Holstein.
(To be fair… this photo was taken under studio light at night)
Misconception and misused of the word “Wagyu” & “Kobe”
A lot of restaurants and meat stores outside of Japan, including the United States, market steak that is incorrectly labeled as Kobe Beef due to a lack of legal recognition of the Kobe Beef trademark.
Some use the term “Wagyu” as being synonymous with Kobe Beef when Wagyu simply means Japanese cattle. True Kobe Beef or Wagyu Beef is 100% full-blood wagyu (Japanese cattle).
So be careful what you pay for when you order “Kobe Burgers” or “Kobe Steaks” from restaurant menus because authentic Kobe beef or wagyu beef outside of Japan is rare.
For the history on American-Style Kobe or American Kobe, I recommend reading these 2 great Forbes articles, Food’s Biggest Scam: The Great Kobe Beef Lie and The New Truth About Kobe Beef: Scarce Amounts Now Available In The U.S., But Not In Europe.
The Taste Test
Today I’m comparing with 100% pureblood Miyazaki Wagyu I purchased from DeBragga and American style Kobe Beef from Snake River Farms. For the taste test, I prepared them the exact same way. Please note these are not two exact same cuts of beef, one is a New York and the other is ribeye. We searched for the exact same cut everywhere, but couldn’t get the same cut with the quality I looked for; hence we opted for the best quality we could get instead of the same cut.
The Miyazaki Wagyu we purchased had a rating of 5 which falls within BMS 8-12, and Snake River Farm black label falls within BMS 6-9. For authenticity, DeBragga sent us upon request the certificate for the beef, including the rating as well as the cattle’s parents, and grandparents to authenticate it’s a full blood Wagyu. One more thing to note, Miyazaki Wagyu won the past 2 Wagyu Olympics in Japan.
Easy Way to Prepare Delicious Steak
When you enjoy steak in a Japanese restaurant, all the fat and tendon are removed prior to cooking. You should do the same as well so the meat will cook evenly. When you experience mouthfuls of buttery tender meat, you don’t want to be interrupted by the tendons in between.
When you buy quality meat, it already has amazing flavor naturally. To enhance the flavor, we only use seasonings that brings out the flavor, and not overpowering the meat. My grandfather’s restaurant uses 4-5 seasonings for steaks – their original salt & pepper mix, squeeze of lemon juice, wine, and sometimes (not always) a tiny dash of soy sauce.
The most important point when it comes to cooking wagyu beef is the heat. To retain maximum flavor, wagyu beef should not be cooked further than medium-rare. Wagyu beef fat melts at much lower temperatures 77°F (25°C) than the melting point of regular beef. You’ll notice that even handling the meat in your hand sometimes melts the fat. Therefore, if cooked for too long or the heat is too strong, the well-marbled fat simply melts away, losing the outstanding buttery taste. Do not barbecue this steak! Lastly, make sure the steaks are at room temperature prior to cooking.
So the final decision. Which steak is better?
As wagyu beef has a buttery texture and really high “good fat” content, to be honest half of this steak is more than enough for one person. I believe it tastes the best when it’s eaten in a small quantity at a time. Even for a big meat eater like Mr. JOC, he was very full with half of the steak. So if you’re planning to buy these steaks, you probably don’t need much per portion. After all, you can’t keep eating butter, right?
The wagyu beef has amazing flavor and tenderness and my family fully enjoyed this experience. Wagyu has it all – flavor, tenderness, and fatty marbling… The combinations of these deliver soft, tender, buttery flavor compared to other beef, and it’s unparalleled.
The American Kobe beef has a more meaty texture although this piece was much more tender than ordinarily USDA prime steaks we taste at restaurants. I enjoyed the bolder flavor of the American Kobe. As I chew (yes, this doesn’t melt in your mouth, so you have to chew), the flavorful juice comes out from the meat and it’s simply delicious!
Both steaks were amazing; however, after eating wagyu beef, American Kobe simply can’t beat the overall experience from eating Wagyu. I actually recommend cooking both types of steaks and you can enjoy the best of both worlds. I recommend eating American Kobe first, then move onto Wagyu so you won’t ruin the tasting experience.
Finally, the price of these steaks is also not the same. Wagyu is $120/lb while American Kobe is $40/lb.
A good wine to go with steaks
To go with the steak, we enjoyed it with 2012 FEL Pinot Noir Anderson Valley.
Since we hardly season the steak, we wanted a delicate wine to enjoy with the Wagyu and American Kobe. The FEL 2012 Pinot Noir was perfect, the flavors were bright and refreshing with hints of berries and plum. As you sip the wine, it’s silky and does not leave any trace as it goes down smoothly. I couldn’t agree with the Winemaker’s note more, in addition to the berries, you taste blackberry, thyme, and a bit of cola. When you are looking for a great pinot that doesn’t overpower the food, give this 2012 FEL Anderson Valley a try.
Wagyu Beef and American Kobe Beef Steak Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 head garlic (use the large cloves)
- 3 Tbsp neutral oil
- 12 oz wagyu (or American Kobe beef)
- 1 lemon
- 1 Tbsp red wine
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Select and remove the large cloves from 1 head garlic. Thinly slice them and remove the green core (it will come out easily). You can omit this step; however, the core burns quickly and will darken the oil color. Therefore, I recommend removing it.
- Heat 3 Tbsp neutral oil in the frying pan over medium-low heat and fry the garlic until golden brown. Then, drain them on a paper towel. Transfer the garlic-infused oil to a small bowl.
- Remove the excess fat and tendons from a 12 oz wagyu (or American Kobe beef) steak. The fat separates different parts of the ribeye for wagyu so I cut into two parts (middle photo).
- Sprinkle a generous amount of salt and pepper on the steak.
To Cook the Steak
- Heat the frying pan over medium heat and add the reserved garlic oil. When the frying pan is hot, but not smoking, it’s ready to cook.
- For wagyu beef steak, place the meat in the hot pan and cook for 1½ minutes. Do not touch the meat during this time in order to get a nice sear. You can press the meat down gently to sear it evenly. Turn over and cook for another 1½ minutes.
- For American Kobe beef steak, place the meat in the hot pan and cook for 2 minutes. Do not touch the meat during this time in order to get a nice sear. You can press the meat down gently to sear it evenly. Turn over and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Squeeze some juice from 1 lemon and pour 1 Tbsp red wine into the pan.
- For wagyu, I cut it into bite-size pieces on the frying pan. For American Kobe beef, I took it out and let it rest for a few minutes before slicing the meat, so it’ll lose less juice when slicing.
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 3 days.
Nutrition
Please note: We received no compensation for the wine review. We received 2012 FEL Pinot Noir Anderson Valley from Jarvis Communications free of charge to use in exchange for an honest review.
Your using Ribeye steak vs New York Strip. That’s not a fair challenge. Ribeye by its cut alone is always going to be superior to Strip in its marbeling and overall texture. You should have used Ribeye vs Ribeye for a true comparison challenge.
Hi Roman! Yes, I’m aware of that, but there are no same cut available (I searched online and gourmet grocery stores)….otherwise I would get the same cut. So my comparison had to be the whole experience considering the difference.
Never had a real Jap Wagyu before and I had no idea that you can buy it online in USA! Thanks for reffering me to DeBragga. Also I LOVE Japanese food! Traveled few times to Japan when I was young. Everything I ate was rich in flavor and yummy even street food! In general it appears that Japanese takes a lot of care and pride about the food they serve. Anyway when I eat in Japanese restaurant where I live, it just doesn’t measure up (Sometimes I want to tell Yelpers they don’t know what they are talking about when they give 5 stars for mediocre “Japanese” restaurant. It’s like an insult to real Japanese food). Glad to find your site. Can’t wait to try some of these recipes.
Hope you enjoy Miyazaki Wagyu from DeBragga! 🙂 Yeah… I wish the Japanese foods are more authentic. But it is adapted to what people enjoy in this country. I always hope that it’s the beginning of Japanese food love, and hopefully one day they will be interested in the REAL Japanese food. 🙂 I’m happy that people eat some sort of Americanized sushi rolls than people do not eat sushi at all. Then maybe they will try to look how to cook it at home…find my site… and learn more about other authentic Japanese foods. Well that’s my hope! 😉
I really want to try wagyu beef…as in REAL wagyu beef. There are restaurants in Jakarta (Indonesia) which claimed that their steaks were from real wagyu. Priced like real ones but honestly to me they didn’t even look like the real ones at all. The marble, the tenderness…it’s disappointing. And there’s just no way I could find the award-winning Miyazaki Wagyu here. Maybe in five-star hotels they would serve real wagyu beef? But then the price would be five-star too… I don’t earn that much to spend on, sadly, a mere steak. Maybe I’ll go try it if I score the $150. That would be nice, making my tummy happy without making my wallet sad..haha 🙂
P.S.: I’ve been stalking your blog. I love that you provide simple but tasty recipes since I’m never one who likes buying hundreds types of ingredients only for a meal and the huge mess it leaves after LOL. I wish your book is also available as hard-copy since reading e-Book on iPhone is a bit painful;;
Hi Natasha! When you look at the real meat, you can tell if it’s high quality or not. Too bad the restaurant claimed they are serving wagyu and poor customers who believe and pay for it. 🙁 Thank you so much for reading my blog and for your kind compliment. Maybe one day I get to publish a cookbook. 😉
For a price of IDR600,000 I expected a high-quality meat (standard steak is usually around IDR50,000-IDR150,000), but it came out so-so. It was just slightly better than those steaks at mall’s foodcourt, and the sauce wasn’t anything outstanding either. So disappointed since I was craving for nice steak so bad at that time 🙁 Hopefully I would come across a real good steak (but one I still could afford haha) one day here..
Oh yeah I would be very disappointed paying that much difference! I recommend cooking good steak at home. Restaurant charge a lot for the same cut of steak and you can use that money for better beef instead of paying the restaurant. 😉
Yum! This looks super decadent!
Thank you so much, Sarah! 🙂
Sorry, wanted to post the comments on the giveaway page but posted here by mistake. Just want to say here that I stumbled onto your blog when I saw some of your amazingly yummy-looking pics on Instagram! Lovely! I look forward to trying out some recipes from your blog! Thank you!
Thank you so much for your kind words, Ping! Welcome to my blog! 🙂
(” ^ ^ “) Thank you for the video. My mouth is watering after watching you perfectly cook the steaks. I can only imagine how tender and juicy the Miyazaki Wagyu is in comparison. Also thank Mr. JOC for all of his photography and video work, really enjoyed the bloopers.
Thank you so much for your kind feedback, Carolai! Mr. JOC is happy to hear that you enjoy his videography! 🙂
The best I had was in Tokyo in Asakusa at a famous yakiniku place called Tosaya. It was to die for!
Hi Robert! Thanks for your answer – but please enter your answer in the giveaway page, not in this post. Good luck! 🙂
I was delighted to have Kobe Beef in Kobe, Japan in 1969 for less than $20 for the entire meal! How times change. Love your website.
Thanks so much Paul! Wow $20! But I assume it was a lot of money for a meal back then. 🙂
Lol I It’s so funny mixed up two different language like that.. been there many times!
Hi Junghee! Thank you for your comment! 🙂
Thank you for the recipe and the lovely video.
love your voice,and so nice to see you;
you re so pretty too!
Hi Helena! Thank you so much for watching my video and for your very kind words. 🙂
Those look great. My cooking question is whether the marbling precludes searing the beef at a high temperature too. As I personally like my beef rare, I most typically sear it in an extremely hot cast iron so that it forms a good crust on the outside but stays quite rare (and by that I mean the traditional rare that is still cool in the center). It sounds like that may not be wise with either true wagyu or Anerican style kobe. Would you mind elaborating a bit?
Hi JYC! It depends on the thickness of the steak too. For this thicker American Kobe or regular steak, your quick charring method will work, but thinner well-marbled Wagyu, it really should be cooked on medium heat. I used all-clad frying pan so that it will distribute heat more evenly (I truly believe this brand has excellent heat distribution), and do not decrease the temp when I put the steak on the pan because I do want to have my steak nicely seared too. I cooked these steaks four times (I only cook one at a time) and timing seems okay for each time and I could still achieve the nice char on the steak as you see in the pictures. Hope I answered your question?! If not, please write me back. 🙂
So wonderful to hear your voice, Nami! Thanks for the “meat lesson”–now I want to eat some good beef!
p.s. I LOVED the bloopers–you’re so cute!!
Hi Donna! Aww thank you!! I’m not sure how often I can do this.. too embarrassing… hehee. xD
I have always wanted to try Wagyu. Now I definitely will. Mr. JOC did a great job with the bloopers – very funny!
Thanks so much Matt! 🙂
Oh Nami – thanks for all this homework ahead! Reading about the supposed ‘good fats’ in Wagyu [a word hugely overused and abused in Australia] my first feeling was ‘no way – it is almost all fully saturated’! Especially with all that marbling . . . and yes, I have eaten the ‘real’ stuff many times 🙂 ! But, you were hardly going to be wrong!!!!!! So I have just spent half an hour of ‘work day’ talking to Mr Google and read the beginnings to a whole new set of facts and figures totally new to me!!! Not that Wagyu should be eaten in large quantities with impunity [at its price very few could do so anyway 🙂 !] – much of the fat content is still admittedly saturated and a small amount even transfat: but what an interesting study to follow – thanks for the story leading to it! Hope all of you totally over your colds/flus now!!!
Hi Eha! Thanks so much for letting me know. You’re right, we can’t say 100% good fat for all types of beef that call it “wagyu” since the term is used very loosely. However, I thought it’s a good characteristic/feature to mention though compared to regular beef. My cough is almost gone… just occasionally. Thank you so much for your warm thoughts, Eha! xo
I always enjoy reading your blog!!
Aww thanks so much for reading my posts! 🙂