Why Would you Wagyu?

Heard about Wagyu steak? Seen the price? Still breathing? Maze Grill chefs Ben Waugh and Gohei Kishi explain the fuss about these super-premium steaks.

Fine Meat

As head chef of Maze Grill, Ben Waugh has everyday access to the finest meats in the world. He’s got the best British rare breeds, carefully dry-aged in Maze Grill’s own salt lockers. He’s got USDA prime grain-fed beef. And still he thinks Wagyu steak, which can cost £130 for a 12oz steak for two, is ‘worth every penny’.

‘Japanese Wagyu is amazing because the process is phenomenal,’ Ben says. ‘The producers have so much passion for their produce, they want to make it the very best.’

Wagyu cattle are famously pampered with massage and fed a special diet that, in the old days, used to include beer and sake! ‘It’s enjoyable to appreciate when someone has put so much effort into something,’ says Ben.

Traditional Methods

Why are the animals so well looked after? Partly because of Japan’s rugged terrain – historically the cattle simply weren’t able to roam widely on grassy fields, so farmers developed other ways to look after them and bring out the best in the meat.

The term Wagyu means ‘Japanese cow’ and different breeds can be classified as Wagyu. The beef is also talked about in terms of the area it comes from. Kobe is probably the most famous region, but there are several other good Wagyu-producing areas too.

More than Marbling

It’s important to realise that Japanese Wagyu steaks are vastly different from other steaks. Comparing them with British or American cuts is almost pointless because Wagyu has an extraordinarily high level of visible fat. In fact it may have you wondering where the muscle meat is!

‘It’s almost like butter,’ says Ben. ‘Eating it is unbelievable.’

Yet unlike other forms of beef (or indeed butter), Wagyu’s fat contains a high level of healthy monounsaturated fats. 

Wagyu in Japan

According to Maze Grill’s Japanese food expert Gohei Kishi, Wagyu is considered an exceptional luxury item even in Japan. ‘When I was growing up it was very rare to have Wagyu,’ he says. ‘As a kid I was told I was too young to understand it.’

During his culinary apprenticeship, on days off Gohei would go to yakiniku restaurants – barbecue places where you cook the food yourself on a grill in the middle of the table – and order Wagyu.

‘I remember feeling excited every time we were going,’ he says. ‘The raw Wagyu slices would be presented on plates and I’d sit there cooking and thinking: “This is the best of the best!”’

‘This caramelising releases the flavours and makes the wild garlic taste more rounded and soft,’ he says. 

Don't be Fooled

Several countries around the world, including Scotland, the US and Australia are now producing Wagyu-style beef but with varying degrees of authenticity. At Maze Grill we insist on Japanese Wagyu.

‘Japan stopped exporting Wagyu for a period but now they have reopened the export market it is quite usual to find Japanese Wagyu in London, and even Kobe Wagyu,’ says Gohei. Look out for it in high-class butchers if you want to try cooking it at home.

At Maze Grill Park Walk and Royal Hospital Road we offer Wagyu fillet steaks while Maze Grill Mayfair serves Wagyu rib-eye steak.

If you’d like to learn more about Japanese food, and enjoy cherry blossom festival celebrations in London, Gohei will be hosting a supper club at Maze Grill Royal Hospital Road on April 16^th. Book your table now.