There’s a lot of fuzz/discussion about how to cook a Kobe beef. The butcher’s recommendation was to place the meat in a hot pan, sear it properly on both sides, and let the carryover heat bring it up to an internal temperature of 95°F (35°C). In general I think that is fine, it is one way of doing it. BUT: I’m all about barbecue, and a fatty piece of meat like this is just begging to be lightly smoked.
Also, it’s easy to get intimidated when cooking a beef this pricy. There’s not much room for error. On the other hand, it is a sirloin beef, so it should be cooked like other sirloin beefs. In my ‘school’ that means: A) Dry brine, B) Smoke using indirect heat, C) Sear, and D) Rest.
The one thing that will be different is the target temps. My plan is to smoke the meat until the inner temperature is 95°F (35°C). Then sear it for 30-60 seconds per side.
So, let’s get started! First, take a moment to admire the intense marbling on this hunk o’ meat.
Now apply a dry brine using 0.5 tsp per pound of meat. Leave the meat uncovered in the fridge for a few hours.
Place the meat on the indirect side and close the lid. Add some wood chunks for smoking on the glowing embers. I’m using my Big Green Egg for this one. I’m using the BGE charcoal too, which adds a real nice oak/hickory flavor. Fat meat takes very well to smoke, so this is a perfect match.
Smoke the meat until it’s inner temperature reaches 95°F (35°C). Remove it from the grill and bring it inside. Now you may wonder: why not sear it on the grill? Well, I have a good reason. As you can see it is very marbled, and the fat will melt in no time over a roaring fire. That means the fat will burn in 10 seconds, leaving a bitter burnt fat flavor which I’d like to avoid at all costs. The only way to sear a cut like this is to use a frying pan instead.
Sear it in a hot pan, and once it has a nice sear on both sides and the inner temp is 113°F (45°C), remove it and let it rest for 5 minutes. Then slice and enjoy a truly excellent cut of beef. Just add salt, nothing else.