Wagyu beef is a special type of beef that only comes from a few select types of cows in Japan. Itās expensive to buy and considered a delicacy, so it makes sense that if you have excess or leftovers, you would want to store them for as long as possible.
Can You Freeze Wagyu Beef?
Yes, you can freeze wagyu beef for up to 12 months. In fact, it is one of the best types of meats to freeze because it has delicious marbles of fat running through it, which helps with freezing.
Do Does Wagyu Beef freeze well? Yes
Can you refreeze Wagyu Beef? Yes
How to Freeze Wagyu Beef
Freezing wagyu beef is a reasonably straightforward process, but because of how expensive this meat is, you will want to take care of it and ensure it is frozen as well as possible. It would be a shame for your wagyu beef to spoil in the freezer!
Donāt worry; if you follow this process, it should be fine and keep for a while.
How to Freeze Raw Wagyu Beef
Freezing wagyu beef raw is the best approach to take when it comes to freezing wagyu. If you can plan, then opt for raw, then follow these steps:
- Portion Out: Decide how you want to portion out your wagyu beef. You may have already bought it separated and cut it into steaks but if not, then consider cutting it yourself into portions.
- Wrap: Wrap each steak or portion in cling film before you go any further. The best way to ensure that your wagyu beef stays tasting as delicious as possible is to ensure that no air can get to it while it is in either the fridge or freezer.
- Bag Up: Once your beef has been wrapped, you can pop them into a large freezer bag or container. Squeeze out as much air from the bag as you can, and then make sure you seal it well.
- Freeze: Label the bag with the date and contents and pop it into the freezer.
How to Freeze Cooked Wagyu Beef
If you’ve cooked a little too much wagyu and (understandably) don’t want to toss it out, then freezing it cooked is the only option. Follow these steps to freeze cooked wagyu steaks:
- Cool: Allow your cooked wagyu beef to cool completely before freezing. It is worth noting that it will freeze best if you keep it raw rather than cook it. But, if you have leftovers that will go to waste, it is still worth freezing the beef.
- Wrap: Wrap each cooled wagyu beef steak or portion in cling film. You will want to keep it away from the air as much as possible while in the freezer. It is this access to the air that often gives food that has been frozen a while that freezer burn taste.
- Bag Up: Pop the wrapped wagyu beef into a freezer bag and seal it tightly.
- Freeze: Label the bag with the contents and the date you are freezing it, and then pop it in the freezer to freeze.
3 Tips for Freezing Wagyu Beef
Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing wagyu beef to have the best results:
Double Wrap
If you want to make doubly sure that your beef is protected and airtight, then you can double layer the cling film. Adding an extra layer of tin foil can also help to keep it a little extra protected.
Freeze It Raw
We would recommend that where possible, you freeze your wagyu beef raw because this is when it will taste the best and freshest. Once it has been cooked, you can still freeze it, but it wonāt taste quite as delicious.
Fresh Will Always Be Best
The best way to eat wagyu beef is fresh, so if you can get away with waiting for it rather than freezing or storing it, then do this instead. Whilst it freezes fairly well, it will always taste best when it is fresh.
How Long Can You Freeze Wagyu Beef?
Wagyu beef can be kept for a fairly long time in the freezer without having any signs of spoiling. So, you can freeze it for up to a year! However, we would recommend that you use it as soon as you can to ensure optimum freshness.
When kept in the coolest part of your fridge and when in an airtight container or wrapped, it will keep for around 48 hours in the fridge.
How Do You Defrost Wagyu Beef?
In order to make sure it tastes as delicious as possible and is also as safe as it possibly can be, we would recommend that you pop your frozen wagyu beef into the fridge to defrost slowly.
This ensures that it can thaw out fully whilst not getting to a dangerous temperature where lots of bacteria can grow.
If you need to speed up the process, you could try the water bath method, where you pop the beef into a bowl of cold water. This will thaw it out slightly faster, but you will need to use it as soon as possible if you are using this method.
Can You Refreeze Wagyu Beef?
We would not recommend that you refreeze wagyu beef. You might find that it doesnāt taste as great, and there is always the danger of it spoiling and making you sick.
It isnāt worth the risk of illness or ruining the meat, so eat it once you have thawed and heated it rather than try and store it again.
Does Wagyu Beef Freeze Well?
If you are freezing fresh wagyu beef while it is still raw, then it does freeze well. It is even one of the better types of meat to freeze because it usually has a delicious marble of fat running through it.
This fat helps give the beef its excellent flavour, and it helps it to freeze well too.
Even though it does freeze well, it may not taste as good as it would have if it had been eaten fresh, and if you freeze your leftovers, you may notice a slight change in texture. However, this shouldnāt be enough to change your enjoyment of the meat.
So always freeze if you are not sure you can eat the beef before it spoils.
Related FAQs
If you’ve still got questions about freezing wagyu beef or beef in general, then these may help:
Kobe is much like wagyu beef and is also revered. The process for freezing kobe beef is identical to freeze wagyu. As with wagyu, you must take time to ensure it is stored airtight before popping it into the freezer.
A5 wagyu is the best wagyu money can buy. Yes, you can freeze A5 wagyu but it will never be quite as good as it was. Instead, we’d advise not freezing it.
