A juicy, tender steak cooked in the aromatic smoke of a cosy campfire is hard to beat. Maybe the only way to make it better is with a nice bit of wagyu. Sure, a nice grade of wagyu is expensive, but for this recipe, you don’t need a lot, and it’s the perfect treat to share. Not only that, camping recipes like this are fast and gluten-free. Plus, the flavour combination of rich, creamy wagyu and the sharpness of wasabi is hard to beat.
This recipe features in camping cookbook, The Slow Road Cookbook by Kirianna Poole. You can find a copy everywhere good books are sold, or order online below.
“10 years ago, if you had told me to try some steak with wasabi, I would have looked at you like you had two heads. But, after living in Japan, steak and wasabi are two things I regularly combine.
While travelling Australia, Lockie and I would get a nice piece of high-grade wagyu to share on special occasions. A lot of people might think it’s too expensive, but with good wagyu, you don’t need much, and even the smallest mouthful is bursting with flavour. As wagyu is so rich, the tang of wasabi is a match made in heaven.” – Kirianna.
Ingredients
150 – 200g wagyu, marble score 5+
salt and pepper
30g of fresh wasabi
salt, to serve
Allow the wagyu to come to room temperature for around 20 to 30 minutes.
Heat a skillet to high heat. If you have an infrared thermometer, you are looking for a pan temperature of 220°C. If cooking over a fire, I highly recommend using a skillet instead of the grill, as the fat content causes lots of flare-ups, and you don’t want to share this incredible fat with the fire, but rather, let the steak render in its own juices.
Season the steak lightly with salt and pepper, and trim a small piece of wagyu fat to grease your pan. Or use butter.
Sear the steak for 2 to 3 minutes per side. For a rarer steak, aim closer to 2 minutes. For a medium steak, aim closer to 3. The higher the grade, the rarer you can have it. Allow it to rest for 5 minutes.
Prepare a tasting board with a pile of wasabi and a pile of salt, and slice the steak into 3cm (1in) thick strips. Dip the steak in wasabi, then salt and go to food heaven with each bite. This pairs excellently with my Japanese cabbage salad on page 201.
I recommend a wagyu with a marble score of 5 or higher. The higher the marble score, the smaller the steak you will require. Cook highly marbled wagyu hot and fast. Wagyu should require little to no seasoning – the steak is the star here, so let it shine.
The Slow Road Cookbook
Kirianna Poole has spent the last five years travelling with her husband and three kids in their vintage Kombi. Life travels slowly in an old campervan, and for Kirianna, that means lots of time to dream up simple, hearty food that’s perfect for cooking while camping. This is food for families who crave a slower life, more connection with people, the land, and, just as importantly, themselves.
Keen for something a bit bigger? Check out this awesome campfire steak and veggies recipe by Fire to Fork.
