jupetaaa
Member
Don't get me wrong, A5 Japanese Wagyu is worth more than typical beef but for the price many restaurants are charging it is ridiculous. What's so special about Japanese wagyu? Well it's the amount of marbleized fat that is glued to the meat. If properly served which is usually best served rare and anything more than med-rare is a waste of money. Because when the wagyu is cooked to medium-rare the fat content is 50% cooked and becomes melted butter essentially and the meat itself is not much different when the fat is melted. So the best way to serve it is rare or slightly rare. If you like the rare bloody beef natural flavor then wagyu itself is like chewing very buttery, tender, and soft meat. It is so tender that you barely have to chew. It isn't like a medium rare ribeye that you still need to chew to break down the meat flavor. Why is it overated? Because of the prices restaurants are charging and improperly cooking it. So many places offer a thick wagyu that after it's cooked, it loses a lot of it's fat content and taste no better than a good quality prime steak. Instead of paying $300+ for a 10oz Wagyu, I rather pay $120 for a 14 oz dry age sirloin or ribeye. Since most wagyu aren't dry aged, the flavor isn't locked into the meat and you're getting the flavor from the fat. A dry age wagyu would be the solution but that combo can set you for $500+ for a 12oz dry age ribeye wagyu. And guess what? It doesn't taste much better than a normal prime grade dry age sirloin for only $120.
A5 Wagyu is definitely amazing because of that incredible marbling, which makes it super tender and buttery. 
But yeah, the prices can be outrageous, especially when it’s not cooked right. 
Cooking it rare or medium-rare really lets that fat shine, but if it’s overcooked, it just doesn’t deliver the same experience. I get why you’d prefer a good dry-aged ribeye instead! Sometimes, it really is about flavor over hype. 
