NYE Steak Flight - Angus vs. Piedmontese vs. A5 Wagyu

[wesdaniel]

I posted last week that I had gone to SW Steakhouse at Wynn for my birthday and had Kobe beef for the first time.

Someone (off the forum) told me that I needed to try Piedmontese. It was the first time that I had ever heard of it, so I went and found a frozen flat iron steak (it was the only piece they had at the local where it's solds).

So, for NYE, I made a flight of Angus, Piedmontese and A5 Wagyu to do a side-by-side taste test.

We started with the Angus and it had a good flavor and seemed to be fairly tender. Then, after a bite of the Piedmontese, we realized that the texture of the Angus more closely resembled shoe leather. Despite having almost no fat, the Piedmontese was incredibly tender and had a very rich, buttery flavor. Moving on to the Wagyu, it was nearly melt in your mouth tender, but, compared to the Piedmontese, you could relaly taste / feel the fat in the meat.

Overall, if everything were equal (if we could have found the same cut - New York strip - and fresh), I'm pretty sure the Piedmontese would have won hands down. If you've never tried it before, strongly recommended.

Clockwise from top: Angus, Piedmontese, Wagyu

[42itus]

Thanks for sharing! I’ll be on the lookout for this beef.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JasoninDenver]

I was blown away by the ribeye I had in the Dolomites which was billed as “chianina” beef from the Florence region. Wonder if it is different from piedmontese?

[brandrea]

Never been a fan of Wagyu ... give me a good Angus

[Pw92676]

If you need another judge for your panel next time, I’m available :)

Nice idea and looks good. Thanks for sharing and I’ll be on the look for Piedmontese to try.

[JWD531]

Originally Posted by Pw92676

If you need another judge for your panel next time, I’m available :)

Nice idea and looks good. Thanks for sharing and I’ll be on the look for Piedmontese to try.

+1 :-)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[tudorbaja27]

Drool

[SPMN]

I'm unfamiliar with Piedmontese. I'll have to read up on it. I love having little cook-offs, or taste tests like you did. I did a similar one with wings where I baked some, fried some, and smoked others. Smoked won by a mile and a half.

[wesdaniel]

Originally Posted by SPMN

I'm unfamiliar with Piedmontese. I'll have to read up on it. I love having little cook-offs, or taste tests like you did. I did a similar one with wings where I baked some, fried some, and smoked others. Smoked won by a mile and a half.

Piedmontese is double-muscled and has almost no marbling or fat, but has an incredible taste and is fork tender.

Interesting idea on the wings! I recently started making them in the air fryer and they're great that way!

[Rad22]

I did something similar recently. Found some A5 at Costco out of all places. Had a head to head with usda prime rib eye (all time favorite). Grilled some and then cooked some in cast iron skillet. The Wagyu is an amazing piece of beef, extremely rich and melts in your mouth. But I if I was going to sit down and eat an entire steak I’d prefer my prime rib eye!

I’d love to try the Piedmontese. I’ve only had it as a burger.






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[wesdaniel]

Originally Posted by Rad22

I did something similar recently. Found some A5 at Costco out of all places. Had a head to head with usda prime rib eye (all time favorite). Grilled some and then cooked some in cast iron skillet. The Wagyu is an amazing piece of beef, extremely rich and melts in your mouth. But I if I was going to sit down and eat an entire steak I’d prefer my prime rib eye!

I’d love to try the Piedmontese. I’ve only had it as a burger.

I got my Wagyu at Costco as well! I would say that the quality of it was easily as good as the Kobe Wagyu that I had at SW at the Wynn and at a much more favorable price. The Piedmontese is really hard to find locally - only one shop within about 20 miles of me has it. I'm thinking about ordering a bigger quantity from their website.

[ltmgeller]

[1st amg]

The Wagyu is amazing, but really challenging to bbq...there is always a grease fire so you need to be extra careful. How do you guys bbq without destroying it?

[jrs146]

It’s 7:00am and now I’m dying for a steak!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Chiboy]

I guess it's just me, but that Wagyu beef raw looks really gross. I'm sure it tastes great, especially if you like fat dripping off your steak. I know people rave about it, and I love a good filet (also had one on NYE), but wasn't aware that Wagyu is so marbled.

[piratepress]

Wow, I wish my Costco sold A5 Wagyu! I haven't even been able to get USDA Prime Ribeye Cap there in the past year.

[wesdaniel]

Originally Posted by Chiboy

I guess it's just me, but that Wagyu beef raw looks really gross. I'm sure it tastes great, especially if you like fat dripping off your steak. I know people rave about it, and I love a good filet (also had one on NYE), but wasn't aware that Wagyu is so marbled.

I promise - once it's cooked, there's no fat dripping off your steak. The marbling melts very quickly over heat.

[Chiboy]

Originally Posted by wesdaniel

I promise - once it's cooked, there's no fat dripping off your steak. The marbling melts very quickly over heat.

Ah, good to know. Thanks!

[wesdaniel]

Originally Posted by 1st amg

The Wagyu is amazing, but really challenging to bbq...there is always a grease fire so you need to be extra careful. How do you guys bbq without destroying it?

I didn't BBQ it - I pan-seared mine in a cast-iron skillet.

[TheVTCGuy]

I’m Hungry

[520Matt]

I gotta try this

[Hard_Six]

I ordered some Piedmontese. Should be delivered tomorrow. Not gonna lie, I'm pretty excited about it.

[wesdaniel]

Originally Posted by Hard_Six

I ordered some Piedmontese. Should be delivered tomorrow. Not gonna lie, I'm pretty excited about it.

Awesome! Did you buy from the Piedmontese website? Which cuts did you get? Can't wait to hear more! I'm wanting to order, but it would take me forever to go through the box sizes they have.

Group buy anybody in San Diego?

[Hard_Six]

Originally Posted by wesdaniel

Awesome! Did you buy from the Piedmontese website? Which cuts did you get? Can't wait to hear more! I'm wanting to order, but it would take me forever to go through the box sizes they have.

Group buy anybody in San Diego?

Yes, I ordered direct from the website. Got two 8oz filets and two 10oz centercut ribeye's (both from the Dynasty selection). Looking forward to them.

[wesdaniel]

Originally Posted by Hard_Six

Yes, I ordered direct from the website. Got two 8oz filets and two 10oz centercut ribeye's (both from the Dynasty selection). Looking forward to them.

Can't wait to read your review!!

[uscmatt99]

Just got our shipment of 4 A5 Wagyu strips from Costco. We aren't members and had our friends order them for us. They were like "$450 for 4 steaks?!?". Individually vacuum sealed and frozen, shipped on dry ice. I absolutely cannot wait to thaw one and cook it up. Need to research the best prep method. I think we'll use a hot griddle or skillet, precut into little 1 ounce pieces, and touch each side to the heat briefly to lock in the goodness. Any suggestions?

[Rad22]

Originally Posted by uscmatt99

Just got our shipment of 4 A5 Wagyu strips from Costco. We aren't members and had our friends order them for us. They were like "$450 for 4 steaks?!?". Individually vacuum sealed and frozen, shipped on dry ice. I absolutely cannot wait to thaw one and cook it up. Need to research the best prep method. I think we'll use a hot griddle or skillet, precut into little 1 ounce pieces, and touch each side to the heat briefly to lock in the goodness. Any suggestions?

I used cast iron skillet. Took some fat trimmings from the steak to grease it up. Salt and pepper and that’s about it.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[wesdaniel]

Originally Posted by uscmatt99

Just got our shipment of 4 A5 Wagyu strips from Costco. We aren't members and had our friends order them for us. They were like "$450 for 4 steaks?!?". Individually vacuum sealed and frozen, shipped on dry ice. I absolutely cannot wait to thaw one and cook it up. Need to research the best prep method. I think we'll use a hot griddle or skillet, precut into little 1 ounce pieces, and touch each side to the heat briefly to lock in the goodness. Any suggestions?

Yup. This is the best way. You don't want to overcook them. And, if you slice them into relatively thin slices, you can get a good, even cook and preserve the juiciness.

[Hard_Six]

Tried the Piedmontese. Pretty darn delicious! Wish I would’ve bought some A5 Wagyu just to compare but there’s always next time.

So I’ve alternated between high heat grilling and cast iron over the years but lately have leaned more towards the grill. For this experiment I did both. I cooked two filets and two ribeyes.

Did both of the filets and one of the ribeyes on a 550+ degree grill for two minutes per side and then let rest (covered) for 10 minutes. The thermapen read about 104 at the time I pulled the steaks.

The other ribeye I did on a very hot cast iron skillet with butter. About a minute and a half per side. Then let rest.

All the steaks were fantastic. Consensus among those eating (me included) was that the grilled ribeye was the best of them all, followed by the grilled filets, and finally the cast iron ribeye. This isn’t to say the cast iron cooked steak wasn’t good. It was excellent, in fact. Everyone just preferred the grilled meat.

All in all, pretty pleased with the Piedmontese.












Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[wesdaniel]

Originally Posted by Hard_Six

Tried the Piedmontese. Pretty darn delicious! Wish I would’ve bought some A5 Wagyu just to compare but there’s always next time.

So I’ve alternated between high heat grilling and cast iron over the years but lately have leaned more towards the grill. For this experiment I did both. I cooked two filets and two ribeyes.

Did both of the filets and one of the ribeyes on a 550+ degree grill for two minutes per side and then let rest (covered) for 10 minutes. The thermapen read about 104 at the time I pulled the steaks.

The other ribeye I did on a very hot cast iron skillet with butter. About a minute and a half per side. Then let rest.

All the steaks were fantastic. Consensus among those eating (me included) was that the grilled ribeye was the best of them all, followed by the grilled filets, and finally the cast iron ribeye. This isn’t to say the cast iron cooked steak wasn’t good. It was excellent, in fact. Everyone just preferred the grilled meat.

All in all, pretty pleased with the Piedmontese.

Nice!!!! Quick delivery it looks like! Thanks for the review and pictures. I'll be ordering soon.

Did they arrive frozen or were they in cold packs without being frozen?