Wagyu
Bos taurus · Meat
Top 10 pairings
Wagyu is beef from the Japanese cattle breeds — overwhelmingly Japanese Black, Kuroge Washu — selected for generations to lay down intramuscular fat. It sits at the far end of the marbling axis, well past the top of the American grading scale, and because that fat is unusually rich in oleic acid it softens near room temperature: the meat coats the palate and reads buttery rather than chewy.
Picking a good onedrag
Freshly cut, cherry-red, firmOff: tacky, slimy, smelling wrong
Counter freshEveryday bestSear, roast or braise, but mince needs 160°F (71°C). Pregnant? Cook all meat through.
ColourRed, a brownish cast under lights
Touch the surfaceMoist and clean, still not sticky
SmellMild, clean, faintly meaty
These cues are Beef's, and hold across its varieties; where this one differs, its own page says so.