Is Wagyu Better Than Steak?

Here we will see how wagyu steak compares to other steaks and what the main differences are. We will check out the texture, the taste and the appearance of the steak on their surfaces. This will help to give a better understanding on which one is better, and why it is better. We will also check the pricing of each one too to see which one provides a better cost for what it is providing.

The main reason why some individuals may or may not prefer steak, is first the texture of the steak, then the flavor of the steak. These two attributes are very important, which usually make or break the steak when it is eaten. A beautiful steak that looks mouth watering and appetizing is great, but it’s the other two factors that are more memorable when a steak is eaten.

There is nothing like tough steak that is so tough that it has to be chewed like bubblegum before it can be digested. There is also nothing like a tasteless steak either; but the worst is a tasteless hard to chew steak that gets stuck in your teeth.

Both the wagyu steak and the traditional steak come from cows, which means that both should experience the same problems when the steak isn’t prepared correctly. However, when most individuals try wagyu steak, they describe it as a whole new experience than eating the regular steak from a cow. So the real question is:

Is wagyu steak better than other steaks?

If you like your steaks to be more tender than anything else, and can’t really get that ultimate experience from a regular steak, then wagyu is for you. Here are some things that make wagyu different from the steaks you get at your local grocery store:

Rich Marbling

There are many kinds of wagyu cows, but the main ones are from Asakushi, Hida, Hitachi, Ishigaki, Iwate, Kazuksa, Kobe, Kyoto, Miyazaki, Ohmi, Ushi, and Yonezawa. These cows from these places are all from Japan, and are bred from the best cows of their types. They are fed for the purpose of making the marbling in the steak better.

Marbling in meat is the design of the fat in between the meat, and how it is structured. Some of the best marblings in wagyu steak can be seen in the Miyazaki wagyu. The patterns on the pinkish steak with the fat in it looks like many white vines growing through the steak. The fat can be seen as thin lines weaving all throughout the pink steak, which gives a beautiful display of marbling.

This is different than most steaks, which display a clear separation between the meat and the fat on the steak. They usually have a part made mostly of red meat, with a few lines of thick fat going through them or around the edges. The distinction of the marbling compared to other steak types is how real wagyu can be told a part from the fakes. It is something that can only be bred through cattle.

America also has their own wagyu that can be purchased and cooked, but there is still a big difference between the Japanese wagyu. America’s wagyu steak is only 50% wagyu bred, so the marbling is less of that from the original wagyu. It can be told in the texture as well when it is cooked and eaten.

Flavor Of Wagyu vs Other Steaks

The flavor of wagyu is something that many describe as buttery. This is because the fat in the steak is distributed all across the meat. Since, the flavor comes from the fat of the steak, wagyu has a better flavor than the regular beef.

Some however do describe the flavor as being the same as other prime steaks. It could be because the wagyu is so expensive, individuals tend to season it better most of the time and cook it better, so it can be indistinguishable from other well cooked steaks with marbling too at times.

Since there is more marbling in a wagyu steak most of the time, then it generally has a better flavor than most steaks. Individuals do still season wagyu steaks before cooking them, and eat them with sauces for better taste.

Texture

Before cooking, wagyu sometimes can be a little tougher to slice when trying to slice off a piece for steak from a wagyu meat chunk. I’ve witnessed many individuals attempting to slice into it, and it wasn’t as easily sliced as steak from a regular cow. When it is cold, it is more difficult to cut into the wagyu meat, because of the way the fat is distributed.

However, after the wagyu steak is cooked properly, it melts in the mouth like a warm piece of cake. The texture of wagyu for some types can be so good that it isn’t suitable for making a burger with it. The meat just isn’t going to stay together. Because of this, wagyu also cooks faster than regular steak.

It is the texture of the wagyu steak that most people love and are after. It amazes them that a wagyu steak can have such a texture in it, that the steak barely has to be chewed. Chewy tough steak just isn’t a thing for high grade wagyu. Mostly without the texture, wagyu steak would just be regular steak.

Cutting the wagyu steak is the opposite of what it is when it is cold, after it is cooked. It is much easier to slice into pieces than a cooked steak from the grocery store. The long sliced pieces are very tender, and they flop over when picked up.

Pricing

The price of wagyu can be up to ten times more than the price of regular steak per pound. As mentioned, it is the texture and the years of breeding out this texture that people are paying for. Steak just isn’t so supposed to be that juicy and tender. A wagyu cow can also be around the same price as the meat: ten times more than the regular cow. Wagyu steak is definitely worth putting on the menu if you own a fine dining restaurant in an expensive area.