What a combination! Delicious Wagyu burger from Peter Augustus Butchers, cooked to perfection on the grill, topped with tangy, sticky, and sweet caramelized onions, peppery arugula, horseradish aioli, and shredded frozen blue cheese. All this is combined with a Shiraz cracker from Dandelion Vineyards. It will be hard not to read on and run to the store to get the ingredients!

WHY I LOVE THIS BURGER RECIPE

All about it. I mean, what’s not to love? It’s quick: hamburgers take a few minutes to prepare, and if you buy caramelized onions at the store, it’s even faster! The Wagyu beef is so tender, full of flavor, and possibly one of the juiciest burgers you’ll ever stuff in your laugh hole.

WHAT IS WAGYU BEEF?

When we talk about Wagyu beef, we automatically jump to Japan and think of these animals that are bigger and fatter than the average cow. They have crazy amounts of marbling and cost a pretty penny. There are American Wagyu and also Australian Wagyu, but the fat content is usually not the same as its Japanese counterparts. The main reason is that they are mostly crosses. One of the most important aspects of Japanese Wagyu beef is the conditions. Japanese breeders do everything they can to give the cows as stress-free an environment as possible. So much so that if there is a “troublemaker” he or she will be removed.

In Japan, wagyu is said to have a “light beer flavor,” which means that it lacks the robust, meaty flavor of ordinary beef. 

Australia and America, it has slightly heavier notes, so probably has a “medium strength”. In the end, the quality is phenomenal, the taste is unreal, and you can’t go wrong with it. Especially when making burgers, the extra fat content is ideal for making the most epic Wagyu beef burgers!

FORMATION OF WAGYU PASTE

There are lots of weird and wonderful ideas for keeping your burger ‘moist’ and shaping it too. Ideas like making a hole in the middle so it holds its shape instead of swelling and shrinking during the cooking process. I read that you can add ice to a hamburger to keep it “moist” while it cooks.

But for me, there are only two options and they are pretty simple so don’t worry too much about it. The optimal size for a Wagyu burger or any other burger is around 150-180g. Yes, you can make it as big or as small as you want, but for me, these are the perfect steaks. If you want to make a double patty, reduce the amount to about 4 ounces each.

I go with the smash burger concept or flatten them out so they’re not too thick and make sure they’re about an inch bigger than the bun.

Let’s start with the Smashburger. In this method, you roll the burger into a ball and place it on a super hot griddle or cast iron pan. Press the Wagyu steak to roughly 1 centimeter thick using a frying pan, a specialized hamburger weight, or anything heavy.

 This process cooks it quickly and results in an epic crust. Typically higher-fat meats are used for this, so Wagyu steaks are fantastic!

Option number 2. This works for all cooking methods. Look for something a little bigger than your hamburger bun. I use a plastic lid and shape the burger in it. Once it’s shaped, remove the lid from the container and lightly press it again to add a little more diameter. If the burger shrinks a little, it shrinks back to the size of the bun – easy!

COOKING WAGYU BEEF Burger

Keep it simple! Since you don’t need much or any oil, I drizzle a little over the steak and season it with salt. In a cast iron pan, frying pan, or barbecue grill, I cook the burger on high heat for two minutes per side to get a nice crust or char. When it’s done, I let it rest for two to three minutes before adding the toppings and devouring it. Resting your meat is a MUST, whether it’s a hamburger, steak, chicken, or pork. This allows the juice to be redistributed and you get a juicy burger every time!

CARAMELIZED ONIONS

Love her! They are super easy to make and keep well in the fridge for a week. Literally chopped onion, salt, oil, and butter are all you need. You can also add other things like chili flakes, thyme, brown sugar, and balsamic vinegar. I’m all for making them a little “extra fancy”, but if you don’t have those ingredients on hand, just cook them a little longer with the base ingredients and let the natural sugars from the onions release and caramelize.

FROZEN BLUE CHEESE

It’s probably the best thing you’ll learn today when adding blue cheese to a burger. The truth is that not everyone likes blue cheese. It is strong and can easily overpower the food. Blue cheese on hamburgers is often in large chunks that are partially melted and the rest is not flavorful. All you have to do is put the blue cheese in the freezer for about 30 minutes and let it harden. Now when you add it to your burger, just grate it on top. Don’t be mad, you can add a lot more. When you freeze, it’s easy to shred finely, and because you shred it finely, it melts easily and won’t flood your Wagyu burger – Wonderful!!

WAGYU BEEF BURGER WINE PAIRING

I know, I know, you see the word wine combined with a hamburger and think, “Dude, give me a cold beer.” Burgers and beer are a classic combination and have been done a million times and probably a million more times. But for a burger this size, I prefer a good Australian Shiraz. This week and many weeks before, I enjoyed some great wines from Dandelion Vineyards.

I chose Lionheart from the Barossa Shiraz for my epic Wagyu beef burger. Keep six of these for five years, it won’t break the bank, but you’ll be the talk of the dinner party when you pull out an old Shiraz that only costs so much!

For those of you who can’t wait, the wine has a beautiful deep purple color that makes you want to dive right in. On the nose, we recognize red and black fruits, paprika, cocoa, and even a hint of spice. Once you take a sip, it’s hard to stop swallowing! Beautiful red fruits, plums, and spices in all the right places, developing tannins with just the right amount of acidity. With more than 30 minutes in the carafe, you will find it hard not to drink the bottle

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