We asked our friendly butcher Zak to prepare and explain each cut of meat to help you get the most out of every piece you decide to tackle. The great thing about Wagyu is that it is soft, juicy and full of flavour so every cut has the potential to make a dinner that will knock your socks off. The great thing about Zak is what he can do with a knife.
Tips & Advice
Bring your Wagyu steaks to room temperature before searing, this allows the meat to cook more evenly and guarantees a tender, juicy steak.
Chuck roll
The neck end of the longissimus dorsi muscle – the muscle that starts at the front as the chuck roll, becomes the ribeye then continues on to become the striploin, stopping when it hits the rump. The chuck roll is prized in Asian cookery because it is full of marbling and intensely flavourful. As a doing muscle, it needs to either be cut thin and quick cooked or braised long and slow.
Foreshin of beef
Nothing beats a cold winters day and bowl of rich, sticky Osso Bucco stew. Cooked long and slow, Grass-fed wagyu takes osso bucco from amazing to extraordinary.
Oyster, bolar & blade
Otherwise known as a flat Iron steak this is one of the great cuts. It is actually 2 muscles separated by a thick, chewy silver skin which takes a bit of practice to get out cleanly. Both muscles are great, the thick one is actually the second most tender muscle on the animal after the fillet. The bolar and blade are work horses, packed full of flavour they are a cost effective roast or can be ground to make a burger you would sell your grandmother for.
Short ribs
Intensely marbled, juicy and delicious. A doing muscle with relatively coarse muscle fibres. Leave the bone on and serve as a dinosaur chop or cut the meat off the bone. Slow cook all day and try not to make a pig of yourself and end up on the couch looking like a snake that ate an ostrich egg.
Flank Steak & Bavette (flap meat)
Derived from the flank of the animal, Bavette or flap meat is full of flavour and a fast frying favourite. Right next door, the flank steak is an interesting cut that also likes to be cooked hot and fast. Shaped like a dover sole with a long thick grain running the length of the muscle, slice thinly across the grain or it won’t just look like a sole it will have the texture of your jandal.
Ribeye, OP rib, Tomahawk
If Mohammed Ali was a steak he would be a ribeye - big, confident, sassy and super cool. Take your time until you find your marble score, the one that fits you like a new suit.
Tenderloin
The Tenderloin is tucked under the ribs where it does as little as possible. It is the most tender muscle on the animal. It never lets you down which is why people love it. Grilled or roasted, serve it pink.
Striploin
In America they call it the New York. We have no idea why but we suspect it’s because everyone loves a striploin, just like everyone loves New York. More of a doing muscle than the ribeye the New York will benefit from having a bit more marbling. Here’s a tip, if you are a marble score 4 ribeye, you are a marble score 5 Striploin (trust us).
Brisket
Wars have been started over brisket recipes. Whatever your rub or marinade Brisket loves smoke, country & western music and time. Start thinking about taking off your low slow heat after 6 hours, then leave it on for another 6. Serve with BBQ sauce and a bib.
Rump, rump cap, heart of rump & tri tip
Always #4, the D rump never quite makes the podium. The D Rump is the huge steak you see at the supermarket with a thick seam through the middle. That’s because the D rump is actually 3 muscles, the cap, the heart and the tri tip. We think the cap, heart and tip are better friends than lovers so we separate them and treat them like the unique individuals they are.
Rump cap – in South America the Picanha has achieved cult status. Picanha is the second most popular boys name after Angus. Caramelise the fat on a high heat then back it off to medium, close the lid on the BBQ or put in the oven to medium rare. Great with chimichurri or salsa verde.
Rump Heart – The absolute all-rounder, the rump heart can be roasted, BBQ’d, minced, skewered on kebabs or our favourite – eaten as a steak. The Rump heart is tender and juicy, with a beautiful deep beefy flavour.
Tri tip – in summer the whole West Coast of the US smells like BBQ’d Tri Tip. Californian’s invented them, buy them like crazy and are rock stars at cooking them. BBQ them like a thick steak and eat in the sunshine.
Hindshank / Osso bucco
A real doing muscle the hindshank can be diced and cooked boneless or sliced and cooked bone-in as osso bucco. Delicious either way it is full of sinews, which turn into a sticky gelatinous flavour explosion.
Silverside (eye round and flat)
Shaped like a tenderloin the eye round is tasty but tough. The shape makes it perfect for cooked and cured meats, try grass-fed wagyu pastrami on your next cheese platter and wait for them to start cheering. The silverside is a big old cut that does a lot of work, great corned and served with mustard sauce.
Topside
One of the big boys. In France topside roasts and sunburnt Englishman are known as Rostbiff. It’s the English that have the last laugh though, as they tuck into their roast beef with lashings of gravy. The smell of roast wagyu topside on a Sunday afternoon is enough to put you off frog’s legs forever.
Knuckle
Another doing muscle the knuckle can be cut into pieces and roasted, or our favourite - thinly slice, fry in butter and olive oil and serve to your German friends with a stein of beer and some Oom Pah Pah music.