The Ultimate “Craft Beef” Ribeye Tasting

We put together a collection of our different Ribeye Steaks. This includes Cape Grim Grass-Fed, Altair Grass-Fed Wagyu, Vintage Beef "Aged on the Hoof" as well as Robbins Island Full-Blood Wagyu and The Wanderer Free Range Barley Beef. We even included a Vintage Robbins Island Steak. This steaks comes from Full-Blood Wagyu, and is 100% grass-fed steak as well as "Aged on the Hoof" for a minimum of 5+ years,

Preparing The Steaks

After slacking the steaks out in the refrigerator for 24 hours we left them at room temperature for two hours before cooking. We seasoned all the steaks the same way using only with Sea Salt and Ground Black Pepper since we wanted the true flavor of the steak to shine though. We were especially keen on comparing the Traditional Robbins Island MB9+ Wagyu Ribeye with its older less marbled "Vintage" version. As you can see in the photo below, the steaks look very different. Would the additional age and lack of intense marbling on the Vintage Wagyu make a big difference?

Cooking The Dinner

We wanted to cooke the steaks to Medium Rare, but we found out that the steaks cooked differently. This is because of how the animal is raised. The steaks from our Wagyu and Barley beef cooked a little faster. This is something that we need to keep in mind for future tastings. The finished steaks ranged between medium rare (Vintage and Grass-Fed) to medium (Wagyu and Barley Beef). All in all not too bad when you have things going on in the kitchen and the backyard at the same time.

Pay attention totThe two steaks above in the middle. The Altair Grass-Fed Wagyu (Left middle) and Robbins Island MB9 Wagyu. The meat was a little softer, so the cap naturally separated from the eye. The steaks on the bottom left is the Vintage Robbins Island. Look at that yellow and wonderful fat. After cooking, we let the meat rest for about five minutes prior to slicing it. We then served each person two slices of each steak.

As this was a festive occasion and not only a formal tasting, we prepared a Chimichurri sauce as well as a Béarnaise sauce to go with the steaks. We also prepared Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts mixed with Spanish Chorizo as well as a Potato Gratin made with cream, white wine and Gruyere cheese. Oh yeah. We were ready.

Evaluation

So, after all that, what is the verdict? Well, let's just say that we enjoyed all our meal. Below is a summary of each steak. At the end of the day, there wasn't one singe steak that stood out for being better or worse. The grass-fed and vintage had more flavor and therefore paired better with the sauces and side dishes while the Wanderer and especially the Robbins Island was milder in flavor and certainly more tender. This was a fun evening and a very interesting way to experience 'Craft Beef" with all its different nuances of flavor and texture. In regards to the comparison between our two full-blood Wagyu steaks, let's just say, Robbins Island makes some great steaks. You can't go wrong.