How to Cook Wagyu Steak at Home

Wagyu steak is usually a special occasion meal; something you might order at a restaurant, and not something you commonly keep in your freezer. After all, this meat doesn't come at an everyday price.

There's a good reason for the high price. In short, it's a high-quality meat that is raised with care. It's got more flavor and better marbling than just about any other steak you'll try.

Wagyu as a term can be a bit confusing, and the term Wagyu is often confused with Kobe. Wagyu refers to a breed of cattle that originated in Japan. Kobe is one of many Japanese brands that raise and process Wagyu meat. For quite some time, these Japanese brands dominated the market by protecting their trade secrets. It was difficult to find any brand of Wagyu in the United States that wasn’t imported.

These days, this coveted breed has been made available to be raised by ranchers in the U.S. Finally, American meat producers can apply their generations of know-how to taking this amazing product to the next level. 

Frontière Natural Meats' American Wagyu is a unique blend of Japanese Wagyu bred carefully with Angus and Charolais to achieve an ideal product while maintaining over 50% Japanese ancestry. You'll be able to tell the quality with one look — and definitely with one taste. When buying Wagyu meat, look for the deep red color and intense marbling that Wagyu is known for. 

Frontière Natural Meats offers a variety of Wagyu products, including Wagyu Ribeye, Wagyu Strip Loin, and Ground Wagyu. These products are all considered high-end and top-quality.

Now that you have some background, here are a few tips for cooking Wagyu at home:

Be gentle with the heat

Set your temperature a little lower than normal. You should aim for a light sear — not overly hot, or the buttery fat in the steak will cook too fast and seep out, causing the steak to become overly chewy. Cooking gently will allow the marbled fat in the steak to render, resulting in a savory, buttery flavor throughout, with a pleasant, delectable tenderness.

Don't over-salt

Some meats call for generous salting to bring out the flavor and increase tenderness. Not so with Wagyu. The flavor is all in the tender marbling of the steak itself. Restrain yourself and apply just a sprinkle of salt and pepper immediately before cooking. 

Let it rest before and after

Pull your steaks from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes prior to cooking. This helps the meat come closer to room temperature so that it cooks more evenly when you do place it on the skillet. Similarly, factor in 5 to 10 minutes at the end for resting the steaks off the heat. This way, you won't cut into the meat too soon and release all the succulent juices onto the cutting board.

You can use butter ... but you really don't need it

Wagyu is incredibly tender and very flavorful on its own, so we recommend going with a "less is more" approach to cooking it. A lot of recipes omit any butter or oil completely in order to avoid tarnishing the natural flavor. Plus, with all the marbling, Wagyu certainly won't stick to the pan. However, we like a little bit of butter to enhance the steak's natural flavor profile. 

Cooking Wagyu at home can be intimidating. But with a bit of time and attention, you can cook up a quality steak at home for a memorable dinner.

Ready to cook Wagyu steak at home? Try our recipe for Wagyu Ribeye Steak.