(Photo by Allan Salvador via Flickr)

Dish of the Week: A5 Wagyu Beef

Where: Charlie Palmer Steak, The Source, Union Meat Company, Nobu, Thunder Burger & Bar

In the world of premium steak, there’s “standard” Wagyu beef, and then there’s the super-premium, imported from Japan variety of Wagyu beef. The serious stuff is fat marbling upon fat marbling. But be wary: there are lots of impostors out there.

For some time, American consumers were most familiar with Kobe beef, somehow both premium and accessible. It’s not hard to find an appetizer menu, whether at a burger bar or bowling joint, that features Kobe sliders. That kind of beef is usually the byproduct of crossbreeding famed cows from a certain area of Japan with domestic American cattle. Loose food-labeling rules also help.

These days, you may be more likely to see Wagyu beef than Kobe listed on menus. Wagyu translates into “Japanese cow”—specifically, four breeds of cattle that are genetically predisposed to have nicely marbled meat. The marbling comes from a mix of flesh and fat that makes for really tender and flavorful eating.

That can still mean a lot of different meat on our plates, whether from crossbreeds destined for burger buns or, in a representation more honest to the word Wagyu, cuts of livestock tracing a pure lineage back to Japan, though now bred and raised in the United States.

But if you see A5 Wagyu on a menu, you are dealing—literally—with a whole different animal. And you can expect to be asked to pay decent money for it. A5 is the good stuff imported from Japan. The A5 is part of the Japanese grading system, with the number indicating high quality (five is the highest it can be graded) marbled meat.

Charlie Palmer Steak (101 Constitution Ave. NW) earlier this month unveiled a redesign of the dining room after 14 years, along with a refresh of the menu. One new feature includes a rotating selection of Japanese Wagyu beef cuts. To start out, thin slices from Iwate prefecture are fanned out on a pink Himalayan salt block at a price of $45 for two ounces. The meat comes close to melting on your mouth, a characteristic of A5’s legendary marbling. Cuts will rotate based on what the market has available.

“There are no … wrong way[s] to enjoy A5 Wagyu,” explains Chef Palmer, who was on hand recently for the restaurant’s relaunch.

Bourbon Steak (2800 Pennsylvania Ave. NW) sticks with Miyazaki Prefecture in Western Japan for all of its A5 needs. The restaurant offers different cuts nightly: a chuck, a rib eye cap, and a NY strip. If you want to compare and contrast the taste of the cuts as they move from the head towards the tail, grab a group and an expense account. A tasting of 3 ounces of each of the three is $295, a discount from the per ounce prices. Each are served with a trio of the kitchen’s steak sauces which you ought to use sparingly, if at all, with steak like this.

Bourbon Steak also makes for the perfect place to put slices of Japanese Wagyu against a heftier cut raised elsewhere to judge and value the differences yourself. A 16 ounce New York Strip from Austrailia is $85 next to three ounces of Mizayaki New York Strip, which runs $164.

Miyazaki steak is also what they sell at Union Meat Company in Eastern Market (225 7th St. NE), one known place to get the beef retail in Washington. All you really need is the briefest sear anyway to let the product speak for itself.

With Nobu (2501 M Street NW) taking dings for being a bit haughty, it’s no surprise the new entrant in the D.C. restaurant scene has a luxury steak program. Whereas Bourbon Steak is about the cut, here it’s about the style and sauces. Nobu diners can choose their two ounce minimum order in ways like tataki style (thinly sliced and seared), new style (seared in hot sesame and olive oil with a yuzu soy sauce), or other options.

While A5 is best left on its own, slightly lower graded cuts or American Wagyu also allow chefs to get playful. At The Source (575 Pennsylvania Ave. NW), Chef Russell Smith chops up Wagyu beef short ribs into a fried rice with wok-roasted parsnip and pomegranate. During lunch, it offers the short rib in a Japanese curry bowl with fragrant jasmine rice.

And as for your Wagyu burger? You can always head to Thunder Burger (3506 M Street NW) and order the Big Pimpin kobe burger with seared foie gras, morbier cheese, and a balsamic reduction.

Previously On Dish Of The Week:
Churros
A Roast Chicken For The Table
Eggs In Purgatory
Chirashi Sushi
Greek Fries