The short answer: Yakiniku is Japanese grilled meat, cooked a few bite-size pieces at a time at the table. To make it at home with Japanese Wagyu, heat a dry griddle or cast iron pan to 450–500ºF and cook ¼″ slices for 5–15 seconds a side, then eat them straight off the heat. Salt after cooking, or at the table.
What is yakiniku?
Yakiniku means "grilled meat." In Japan it's bite-size pieces of meat, mostly beef and pork, grilled at the table, and yakiniku restaurants are among the most popular in the country [1]. Diners grill the meat themselves, at the table [2].
At home the method is short. A Wagyu yakiniku slice cooks in seconds, so the work is mostly choosing slices and getting the pan hot. Here's how a slice compares with a steak, from our cooking guide:
| Yakiniku slice | 1″ steak | |
|---|---|---|
| Thickness | ¼″, cut to 1½″ × 2″ | 1″ |
| Time on the heat | 5–15 seconds a side | About 90 seconds a side |
| Rest | None; eat it immediately | 2–3 minutes |
| Salt | After, or at the table | Just before, or an hour before |
Why does Peak Wagyu sell so many yakiniku slices?
Because we don't grind any of the cow. Nearly every cut of a Japanese Fullblood Wagyu is marbled enough to cook as a steak or a thin slice, so we'd rather not turn any of it into ground beef.
In Japan, the sections that would be ground in an Angus cow get sliced thin instead. A US chuck roll usually becomes chuck roasts or ground beef, while a Japanese Wagyu chuck roll is split into its muscles and served as steaks and on the grill [3]. The round, from the hind leg, goes to steak, barbecue, sukiyaki and shabu-shabu, and the top round is often sliced thin for shabu-shabu [3].
We cut those same sections as yakiniku: ¼″ slices for the grill, from the chuck, clod, round, rump, shank, ribs and belly, plus tenderloin tips. That's ten grill cuts from one cow, Takemitsu-chan, and each traces to her.
How do you make yakiniku at home?
Cook ¼″ Wagyu slices on a hot, dry griddle or pan, a couple at a time, for 5–15 seconds a side, and eat each one straight off the heat. The method, from our cooking guide:
- Get a stainless steel or cast iron pan, or a griddle, properly hot: 450–500ºF.
- Add no oil or butter. Japanese Wagyu brings enough fat of its own.
- Cook a couple of pieces at a time, 5–15 seconds a side, KBBQ style. There's no rest. Eat them as they come off.
- Salt after cooking, or at the table.
- Flatten the curl. Yakiniku slices tend to curl up, so press them with a chef's weight or a ceramic ramekin for a harder sear.
You're aiming for the fat to just turn buttery. The only real risk is going too long and rendering the fat out into the pan.
Can you make yakiniku on a grill?
Yes, but cook on a flat surface over the fire rather than on the grate. Set a carbon steel griddle, plancha or cast iron pan over the coals. The ¼″ slices can slip through a grate, and a griddle gives you the heat of a live fire without flare-ups or ash on the meat (grilling).
The rendered fat pools on the griddle instead of dripping into the coals. Keep it: strained Wagyu tallow keeps 2–3 weeks in the fridge, and it's good for fried rice, eggs and roast potatoes.
Which yakiniku slices should you buy?
Pick by how rich you want the night, because the slices run from lean to heavily marbled. Karubi comes from the Korean galbi, "rib" [4], and on our shop it marks the fattiest slices. Here's every grill cut we sell, from leanest to richest:
| Slice | Primal | How it eats |
|---|---|---|
| Top round | Top round | The lightest slice; eat it between the fattier ones to reset |
| Knuckle | Knuckle (sirloin tip) | One of the leaner slices, tender enough that thinness is all it needs |
| Rump | Top sirloin | Lean, quick and forgiving: a good first slice |
| Shank | Shank | Lean and a little sinewy, with plenty of beef flavor |
| Clod | Front shoulder | Lean enough to eat plate after plate, and needs no marinade |
| Tenderloin tips | Tenderloin | Tapered ends, as tender as the filet; ¼″ tips and strips |
| Chuck karubi | Chuck roll | Generously marbled and beefy |
| Short rib karubi | Short rib | The karubi at the center of a yakiniku spread: fatty and sweet |
| Sankaku-bara karubi | Triangle rib | Heavily marbled even for Wagyu; two or three slices at a time |
| Plate karubi | Short plate, outer belly | The fattiest slice, and the fastest to render |
For more on where each primal sits, see Japanese Wagyu cuts, by name.
How much Wagyu do you need per person?
Plan on about 4–8 oz of Japanese Wagyu per person, against the 8–12 oz of a typical Angus steak. Wagyu is richer, so a smaller portion goes further. Takemitsu-chan is A4 with BMS 6, with less richness per bite than A5, so she eats well at the top of that range or beyond. More in how much Wagyu per person.
Frequently asked questions
How do you make yakiniku at home?
Heat a dry griddle or cast iron pan to 450–500ºF and cook ¼″ Wagyu slices a couple at a time, 5–15 seconds a side. Eat them straight off the heat, with no rest, and salt after cooking or at the table.
Can you make yakiniku on a grill?
Yes, but set a griddle, plancha or cast iron pan over the coals instead of cooking on the grate. Thin slices can slip through a grate, and a flat surface keeps the dripping fat from flaring up and lets you save it as tallow.
What is the best Wagyu for yakiniku?
It depends how rich you want it. Our lean slices come from the top round, knuckle, rump, shank and clod. The karubi slices from the chuck, short rib, triangle rib and short plate are heavily marbled. All are cut ¼″ thick for the grill.
Why are some Wagyu cuts sliced thin instead of ground?
Nearly every cut of a Japanese Fullblood Wagyu is marbled enough to eat as a steak or a thin slice. In Japan, sections that would become ground beef or roasts in a US cow are sliced thin for sukiyaki and shabu-shabu. We cut those sections as ¼″ yakiniku slices.
How much Wagyu per person for yakiniku?
Plan on about 4–8 oz of Japanese Wagyu per person, against an 8–12 oz Angus steak. Our A4 eats well at the top of that range or beyond.
