The Magnolia Cattle Company describes cooking Wagyu perfectly:

“Wagyu is a fragile creature under heat. Treat it delicately and with the utmost care, and it will reward you with velvety perfection. A good analogy to cooking Wagyu is that of a baked Alaska—you need to sear the outside, but if you let it sit under the heat too long, it will melt the ice cream inside, and you will have an unappetizing mess. The physical structure of Wagyu beef is not unlike ice cream in that it can literally melt and change into something very different from its ideal form. The intermuscular fat melts at about 75 degrees F.”

“If you treat your Wagyu steaks as if you were cooking the beef you are familiar with, you will be sorry you did. You will look down at your plate and say, “Damn, I spent that much money on this?” Don’t do that.”

“Think about quick-sear cooking techniques used for things like rare tuna and foie gras. Open flames, intensely preheated cast iron and Wagyu beef are friends. Good friends. However, you cannot allow the steak to remain in contact with the heat long enough to melt all the fat and cause it to drip out of the internal structures of the meat. If you do you will end up with boringly tough, dry, expensive meat. “Well done” and “Wagyu” are not words that go well together.”

Tips for cooking Wagyu Beef:

  • Let the meat come to room temperature prior to cooking
  • Season lightly with sea salt and pepper just prior to cooking
  • Do not pierce the beef – doing so will allow moisture and the flavorful intramuscular fat to escape
  • Be patient – cook Wagyu slowly at low temperatures after searing the outside to seal in juices
  • Use a meat probe thermometer to monitor the internal temperature of the meat
    • Aim for an internal temperature of 125F (rare), 135F (medium-rare) or 140F (which is just shy of medium)
    • When cooking roasts, remove them from the oven 10F below the desired end temperature and let them rest for 10 minutes
  • Sear the outside of the meat on low broil in the oven, on a grill or in an oven-ready frying pan
    • Transfer the seared meat to a low-temperature oven set no higher than 325F
    • Use an oven set at 250F to cook roasts
    • Top round roasts may be cooked with dry heat with excellent results
  • The sous vide (pronounced “sue-veed”) is ultimate cooking tool
    • The immersion circulator unit is placed in a container of water and set to the desired end temperature of the meat you are cooking. The meat is placed in a plastic bag and placed in the water bath.
    • The result is a piece of meat that is cooked throughout to the exact desired temperature, and no moisture is lost in the cooking process. The meat may then be placed in a saute pan or on a grill to obtain a golden brown covering.