Wagyu Katsu Sando

For my birthday last month, my husband surprised me with a very gluttonous wagyu steak dinner. He had purchased various types of wagyu cuts from Snake River Farms. While we enjoyed a lot of the meat last month, we froze a few cuts to save for my next food experiment!

Today, I decided to use one of the wagyu NY steaks to make "wagyu katsu sando." Note: I'm aware it would've made more sense for me to use Japanese wagyu instead of American for this dash. However, I was improvising with what I had on hand ;)

I've made chicken katsu many times previously, but this was my first time using red meat (and the good kind too)! I made sure to have my meat thermometer handy so that I could watch the temperature closely and not overcook or undercook the wagyu.

Besides the protein, there are 2 other important ingredients: (1) the bread; (2) the sauce. I highly recommend finding Shokupan (Japanese milk bread), if you can! I had to drive out pretty far to find a Japanese market that carried this. If you cannot easily find Shokupan, a decent alternative is Hawaiian bread because it has a similar texture and sweetness.

When it comes to the sauce, tonkatsu is most commonly used. However, because I happen to really enjoy Japanese style sweet soy sauce with wagyu, I decided to make and use that instead. Either will make your sandwich tasty!

I absolutely loved making and eating my wagyu katsu sando! Despite how thick the cut is, every bite was easy to take since the wagyu was so tender and buttery! Worth the splurge!

Wagyu Katsu Sando

Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time: 15 min

Servings: 2

Sando Ingredients:

• ~14 oz boneless waygu steak

• 1 large egg (beaten)

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs

• 1/8 tsp salt

• 1/8 tsp black pepper

• 4 slices of Shokupan (Japanese milk bread)

• Canola oil

• Pinch of sea salt

Sauce Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup dark soy sauce

• 1/8 cup Mirin (Japanese cooking wine)

• Optional: 1 tbsp homemade dashi

*Alternative: You can use homemade or store-bought tonkatsu sauce, which is traditionally used in katsu sandos. Personally, I like sweet soy for wagyu meats!

Directions:

• In a small saucepan, mix together soy sauce and Mirin. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to simmer for about 10 minutes. Liquid should reduce by almost half. Set aside.

• In a large frying pot, add frying oil (enough to fill about 1 inch of pot). Turn heat up to medium high.

• While the oil is heating, set up 3 shallow bowls. Add flour in first bowl. Add beaten egg in second bowl. Add Panko bread crumbs in third bowl.

• Cut your wagyu steak into 2. Trim the sides to shape them into squares. (Save trimmed off meat for other use).

• Dredge each wagyu piece into the flour, then into the egg, then into the Panko break crumbs. Carefully place into frying oil once it's hot. Let cook for about 3-4 minutes (or until bottom crust is nice and golden brown). Turn the wagyu over. Let cook for another 3-4 minutes. Once internal temperature reaches 110 degrees F, remove from heat. Transfer wagyu to plate with paper towel (to soak up excess oil).

• ​Note: Start to toast your Shokupan bread slices while your wagyu cooks.

• It's time to prep your sandos! Remove crusts from you Shokupan bread slices. Lay out 2 Shokupan bread slices on a cutting board. Use a kitchen brush to brush over your sauce over the bread. Place wagyu katsu over, then brush over the sauce over that. Place remaining bread slices over, then cut horizontally with a sharp knife. Garnish with sea salt. Serve immediately to prevent bread from getting soggy!