Cuts Guide

A Very Warm Welcome: Discovering the Delights of Local Wagyu

A very warm welcome to our site! We pride ourselves on sourcing exceptional quality, local Wagyu beef. While many know Wagyu for its incredible marbling (and rightly so!), we're also rather passionate about reintroducing some wonderful, lesser-known cuts. These are often the very cuts that were more commonly enjoyed in British kitchens of the past, and remain favourites in many other cultures around the world.

Exploring these different cuts isn't just an enjoyable culinary journey, offering new textures and depths of flavour; it's also about embracing a more sustainable, 'nose-to-tail' approach. By appreciating the whole animal, we ensure less waste and show proper respect for the marvellous cattle providing such delicious beef.

For the Love of Marbling: Where to Begin

Now, it's perfectly understandable that many people come to Wagyu seeking that legendary, melt-in-the-mouth experience driven by intense marbling. If that's you, you're in for a treat, and it's a splendid place to begin your Wagyu adventure! For that truly luxurious texture, we heartily recommend our:

  • Denver: If you're seeking that quintessential Wagyu softness, the Denver cut is a superb choice. Sourced from the chuck, or shoulder area, it’s a muscle that doesn't do a tremendous amount of work, resulting in remarkable tenderness. Visually, expect a rich red meat generously interwoven with fine, spidery veins of creamy white fat. In the West, it's often cut thicker and grilled as a 'Denver Steak'. Sliced thinly for shabu-shabu, however, it truly shines, melting quite beautifully in the mouth with a buttery richness and deep beefy flavour after just a swift dip in the hot broth.

  • Short Rib: Equally celebrated for its marbling, the Short Rib offers a slightly different, yet no less luxurious, experience. Cut from the rib area, these slices boast significant marbling, often appearing as thicker seams of fat within the vibrant red meat. While still exceptionally tender and rich, Short Rib possesses a subtle, satisfying resistance or 'bite' compared to the Denver. It’s a wonderfully flavourful cut, often used for slow braising or grilling in Western cooking, but its richness translates magnificently to the rapid cooking of shabu-shabu, offering a deeply savoury taste and a pleasingly substantial mouthfeel.

Venturing into Deeper Flavours: The Meaty Middle Ground

Moving beyond pure melt-in-the-mouth texture, let's explore cuts renowned for their deep, robust, and distinctly 'beefy' character. These offer a wonderful chew and release their flavour more gradually.

  • Oyster Blade (Flat Iron): Perhaps better known to some as the Flat Iron steak, the Oyster Blade comes from the shoulder blade area. It's a flavourful, relatively tender cut with good marbling. Its defining characteristic, especially when sliced for shabu-shabu, is the fine line of connective tissue (tendon) that typically runs through the centre. Far from being a drawback, this provides a delightful textural contrast – tender meat giving way to a slight, intriguing chew from the sinew. It carries a lovely, straightforward beefy taste.

  • Bavette: Hailing from the flank area, the Bavette is known for its long, distinct muscle fibres and often beautiful, layered marbling. This structure gives it a wonderfully satisfying, slightly open-textured chew. Don't mistake this for toughness; rather, it’s a texture that holds up well and seems to release its rich, full-bodied beef flavour gradually as you savour it. Often marinated and flash-grilled in steak form, its character truly sings in shabu-shabu.

  • Hanging Tender (Onglet): A real treat for the flavour-seeker, the Hanging Tender is sometimes called the 'Butcher's Steak' because butchers supposedly kept this flavourful cut for themselves. There's only one per animal, hanging from the diaphragm. It boasts perhaps the most intense, deeply savoury, and authentically 'beefy' flavour of all the cuts here. Its texture is tender but has a distinct grain. Sliced thinly, it needs only moments in the broth to deliver its powerful flavour punch – quite special indeed.

Truly Unique Textures: For the Adventurous Palate

Finally, we venture into territory that's truly exciting for those seeking unique textures often highly prized in culinary traditions outside the UK. These cuts are versatile, also being stars in slow-cooking dishes, but offer something quite different when sliced for shabu-shabu.

  • Ox Tongue: Equally intriguing, and another cut requiring only the briefest of cooking times, is Ox Tongue. Highly prized in many Asian cuisines for shabu-shabu and grilling, its fame rests on its unique texture. When sliced thinly and popped into the broth for just a few seconds, it offers a delightful, slightly springy 'crunch' or 'snap' that's quite unlike other cuts. Its flavour is mildly beefy and rich. It provides a wonderful textural counterpoint to the softer or meatier cuts.

We do hope this guide helps you navigate the wonderful world of Wagyu cuts. Don't hesitate to try something new – you might just discover your next favourite! Enjoy your shabu-shabu!