BBQ Blade Steak - Wagyu F1 x Angus

The Beef: This is 100% grass-fed F1 Wagyu, a first-cross of Full-blood Wagyu over Angus, raised for superior quality and grown with a deep respect for the land. The F1 cross is the sweet spot: it takes the Wagyu's fine intramuscular marbling and pairs it with the Angus frame and the deep, beefy flavour Australian cattle are known for. On a hard-working shoulder cut like blade, the marbling is what turns an everyday steak into something genuinely special.

The Cut: Blade comes from the shoulder, cut boneless from the muscles that sit over the shoulder blade. It's a working muscle, so it carries more flavour than the loin steaks, with a fine seam of connective tissue running through the centre. On ordinary beef, blade is a braising cut. On Wagyu, the marbling softens it enough to go straight on the barbecue, which makes it one of the best value steaks on the whole animal.

How to Cook It: Take the steak out of the fridge 20–30 minutes before cooking and pat it dry. Season generously with salt. Get your barbecue or grill plate properly hot.

Cook for 2–3 minutes per side for a 2cm steak, turning once or twice to build an even char. Keep it moving if the fat flares. Blade is at its best cooked quickly and served pink; past medium, that central seam tightens up.

Grass-fed F1 Wagyu fat renders at a lower temperature than grain-fed, so it cooks a little faster and rewards a slightly gentler hand. Keep a close eye and don't chase a hard crust at the expense of the interior.

Pull at 52–55°C internal for medium-rare and rest for 5 minutes. Slice thinly across the grain, cutting around the central seam if you want every slice tender.

Tips

• A quick marinade suits it beautifully. Soy, garlic, ginger and a little sugar for 30 minutes, then onto a hot grill.
• Slice it thin and pile it into wraps, rolls or a rice bowl.
• Leftovers? Slice cold through a salad with a sharp dressing.
• Cook it hot and fast or low and slow. Anything in between is where it toughens.

A Little History: Blade has spent most of its life as a workhorse cut, braised in stews and pies or minced for the family table. It was American meat scientists in the early 2000s who studied the shoulder muscle by muscle and found that, trimmed the right way, parts of it were among the most tender steaks on the animal, launching the flat iron and the oyster blade steak into restaurants. Australian barbecue culture got there first, of course. The humble BBQ blade has been on backyard grills for generations, cooked hot with a beer in hand.