Where would you buy wagyu?

[Huskee]

Meathead's favorite is Allen Brothers https://www.allenbrothers.com/shop-by-type/wagyu. If you scroll down they have the A5.

Me personally I've never bought a full on Wagyu (I have 5 mouths to feed so I don't intend to) although I've had it gifted to me once. When I splurge I can only afford the high-Prime mixes, or "American Wagyu", which is still fantastic but probably not the Wagyu you're asking about so no "my favorite" here, sorry.

[58limited]

Wild Fork has wagyu for decent pricing, but not cheap. In Texas HEB carries some - a wagyu ribeye is about $42/lb

[fkrall]

That seems like a good price to me; I just paid $37.99 at a local butcher for CAB prime (which I personally prefer to Wagyu, which is too greasy for me).

[58limited]

fkrall The wagyu at HEB is American, it would grade similar to A2 or A3 on the Japanese scale so the fat isn't overwhelming like A5. The best wagyu I've had for a great price was from Click Akuashi in Texas, it is no longer being sold to the public unfortunately.

[fzxdoc]

This is going to sound terrible, but I'm not a fan of high fat (Japanese) Waygu. It's too much of a good thing for someone of my pedestrian tastes, perhaps.

Sure, fat is flavor, but for me the fat has to be in balance with the red meat in the cut. Plus for high fat Waygu, the taste can be good, but the texture can be offputting.

True, I've only experienced the real deal it a couple of times (shared with a friend), but prefer to save my money and taste buds for either lower fat Waygu or a really good piece of Prime.

To illustrate the difference, here are a couple of photos.

I have enjoyed some American Waygu cuts with the kind of marbling shown here (Lobel Brothers):


but when it gets to this point, I have to pass (Japanese A5):


More out there for you all who like A5 level Waygu!

Kathryn

[RonB]

I agree - there can be too much of a good thing.

[acorgihouse]

I agree, I had the "real thing" a few times traveling. It was greasy, and there is something about looking at it that reminds me (forgive the visual) of caul fat. Not what I want in a piece of beef. I like tender beef, not beef flavored fat, so I pass. Good prime beef suits me fine.

[Willy]

I agree. Tried Japanese Wagyu once--split a 10 oz. strip steak amongst five people. Did not enjoy, WAY to fatty. First bite OK, not many bites after that. Coupled with cost, avoiding it is good by me.

[grantgallagher]

On the east coast i am a huge fan of alpine butcher. Im in NJ so a little closer than you but ive never had any of the thawed/warm on delivery issues with these guys. High quality product all the way.

Online Butcher Offering USDA Prime Hand Cut Steaks For Home Delivery– Alpine Butcher (alpinebutchershop.com)

[SheilaAnn]

At my old job, we would get A5 every now and again. It came with papers and everything. Guess what one of the designation-type pieces of information was? The animals nose print! Just like a finger print.

one bite and I’m satisfied. I don’t need A5 in my life.

[glitchy]

I’ve been extremely satisfied with anything I’ve ordered from Snake River Farms. However, their pricing seems to have gone up or they have fewer sales. I used to buy provision packs at a decent price per pound. Also, the Akaushi beef I’ve gotten from Click and from The Upper Cut last time I was in KC has been some of the best beef I’ve had. I’ll probably bring a cooler and stop at The Upper Cut again next time I’m going in or through KC.

I’ve never had any A5 wagyu though.

[BBQPhil]

Found A5 Japanese Wagyu at my Costco in a special display for......$49/pound! That's less than a third of what it costs elsewhere.

[SheilaAnn]

Wow, at that price, I question the provenance. I sold it for $150/#.

[troymeister]

I am a Carpenter for a higher end grocery end chain here in Chicago area.

Here's what I do. It's normally $49.00+ lb. I ask the butcher, "What is the 'sell by' date on this batch?"

That day, it will be on sale for 50% off. I snatch it up as early as possible, put it in the cooler in my truck and cook it that night. But I have the advantage of being in grocery stores all day watching for the sales.

If you know the sell by date and get there early, you have a good chance of scoring a nice piece of American Wagyu for +/- 50% off.

[Mosca]

Same here. I’ve gotten genuine A5 as low as $42/lb, but it’s usually American Wagyu. See my post below.

[johnec00]

Wild Fork store here has Australian cross bred wagyu and Japanese A5 wagyu. Meat and Bone has a good selection of various grades of American (Angus cross bred) wagyu and Japanese A5. (Whole Japanese wagyu tenderloin $1599.99!).

I've had SRF cross bred American wagyu a couple of times (NY strip, culotte, and brisket years ago when it was BOGO). Can't say I was impressed. Ordered several times from an outfit in Ohio named Double 8 Cattle Company that was selling full blood wagyu (culotte, tri tip, chuck eye steak and back ribs) and there's a world of difference (IMHO). They were driven out of business during the pandemic and sold their herd to Wilders in North Carolina. They offer full blood mail order, but their prices are almost twice what Double 8 charged, so I lost interest.

[Mosca]

SheilaAnn it happens.

[Alan Brice]

We have a Giant Specialty Market that does bourbon, beer to japanese veggies. It offers "Sakura" Wagyu beef briskie for almost $10 a pound. Soo I am thinking wagyu/brisket...is not that a bit redundant? How much tallow do I need in my bris?

[Spinaker]

SJUfeller Has great stuff! For sure check them out and they are a MN producer.

[BBQPhil]

Costco A5 Wagyu @ $49/lb

[Spinaker]

There is a local MN producer!! Also a member here!
Fellers Ranch

SJUfeller

[STEbbq]

I mentioned it earlier too! So, that’s like 3 times! 🤣

[Spinaker]

Hahaha, honestly, I was scrolling on my phone. Not used to that, so it was a little a different.

[Draznnl]

We’ll get you into the 21st century Spinaker even if we have to drag you kicking and screaming.

[SJUfeller]

Thanks for the shout-outs for Fellers Ranch! We appreciate all of our BBQ customers and partners.

If you are travelling either I-90 or 1-35 in Minnesota, stop by to see us!. Our cattle are raised near Albert Lea (which is at the I-35 & I-90 Intersection), on a farm owned by one of our partners (Ryan). It is located one mile east of Conger, and our USDA certified butcher shop is located in Conger. The butcher shop (Conger Meat Market) is owned by another partner of ours (Jeremy), and he loves having visitors. Jeremy and his team inspect and grade all of our product before it goes out the door. If it is not BMS 6 or above, it will not be sold with the Fellers Ranch name on it.

Right now, most of our calves are grading at BMS 8, 9 & 10 -- which is amazing . . . and the best we've ever consistently had. (BMS 6 is above Prime. US Prime is comparable to BMS 3/4.

We are a relatively small Wagyu producer (compared to, for example, Snake River Farms), but we will compare our product to theirs 7 days a week, 365 days of the year. Right now, we have a large group of very extremely high quality calves attaining the proper weight. We were processing 3 head/week over the winter, but we are ramped up to 4 head/week at the start of May. Our goal is to reach 10 head per week.

If anyone has any questions, reply on this forum, or feel free to email me at [email protected]. We love talking all things Wagyu.

Have a great weekend!