Kobayashi Wagyu Steak: Sous Vide vs. Cast Iron

About Kobayashi City

Last year for Ocean Day, I spent the three-day weekend in Miyazaki Prefecture. The highlights of the trip included attending a festival, visiting beautiful “power spots,” and trying the local specialties. Miyazaki is known for its top quality wagyu beef; Kobe beef might be the most famous abroad, but it was actually Miyazaki that took home the top prize in the 2017 Wagyu Olympics.

I haven’t had the chance to visit Kobayashi myself, but when I make it back to Miyazaki, I’ll definitely make it a point to visit. To start, I’d love to go hiking in the Kirishima Mountains. The views look simply spectacular! 

After that, I think I’ll take some time to relax by visiting Kannogo Onsen, a natural hot-spring water bath. And of course, end the day with a dinner of Kobayashi beef!

Kobayashi Beef

Miyazaki was hands-down one of my favorite places that I’ve visited in Japan, so when I saw a promotion to cook and write about wagyu from Miyazaki’s Kobayashi City, I thought it was too good to be true. But sure enough, two beautiful sirloin steaks arrived via frozen delivery not long after. Check out that beautiful marbling!

Though I cook almost every day, I didn’t have much experience cooking wagyu, so I jumped online to do some research and consulted with friends who like to cook. Opinions were divided–some people swore by simply searing in a hot cast iron pan, while others suggested that sous vide (cooking in a fixed-temperature water bath) might be the best way to go.

I’m never one to turn down a fun cooking experiment, so I figured… why not try both and compare? Here are the two methods we tried:

Cast Iron

Preheat a cast iron pan over high heat until scorching hot. Meanwhile, divide the steak into 4cm strips and pat dry with paper towels, then season lightly with salt and black pepper. Sear each strip on all sides for 1-2 minutes, until the inside reaches 55°C / 130°F. Wrap in aluminum foil and set aside for 10 minutes to rest. This resting process allows the muscle fibers in the steak to reabsorb the juices and reach a perfect medium-rare.

Sous Vide

Sous vide at 58°C / 135°F for one hour. Remove the bag from the water bath and allow to come to room temperature. Preheat a cast iron over high heat until super-hot. Remove the steak from the bag and pat dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper and sear on each side for just a few seconds, until browned. Allow to rest for a few minutes while you plate.

The Verdict

After doing a taste test of each of the steaks, we were surprised to find a significant difference. The sous vide steak was more evenly cooked throughout, with a smaller ring of dry meat around the inside and more juicy medium-rare meat. (The left slices in the photo below are sous vide, the right are cast iron). The difference could also have been at least partially due to the steaks themselves, but given that the sous vide method wasn’t terribly difficult, I’d stick to it if I ever get the chance to cook these steaks again.

Serving Suggestions

During my research, I stumbled across this recipe for wagyu with cucumber, honeydew, and lime sugar from the famous Chicago restaurant Alinea. I just so happened to have cucumber and honeydew on hand, so I decided to try a home version by making little wagyu sandwiches with a dollop of honey and some sudachi zest. Even my cooking companion, who’s normally rather suspicious of fine dining, admitted that it was an excellent combination – the fruits and veggies were excellent at balancing the fattiness of the wagyu.

For sides, we made some garlic fried rice using the fat from the wagyu and sous vide asparagus with lemon zest and flaky salt. They were also great, but if I make this wagyu again, I’ll definitely be going with the cucumber-honeydew combo!

This post is supported by Kobayashi City Promotion Company Inc., one of City-Cost's Supporters helping City-Cost bloggers to enjoy life in Japan and engage in new experiences.