So we had a new grocery store open up near us, that had quite an impressive steak selection... we're talking a glass front fridge dedicated solely to dry aged steaks and primal cuts... very cool, blows away everything else we have in the area, including actual butcher shops. So we decided to splurge. 

We ended up buying two ribeyes. One was a dry aged (I THINK on the order of 18 or 20 days or around there?) prime ribeye. The other was an American wagyu (I know, I know, it ain't real wagyu, and it doesn't look the part either, but figured we'd try it). We decided to cook them both up for dinner, split them and compare. The thicker one is the dry aged prime, the thinner one is the wagyu. 

I had never actually had a wagyu steak (again, I know it's just American, not real wagyu)... I have had wagyu burgers several times, and while they were good, they never really seemed worth the extra cost.  And looking at the two cuts as I put them in the fridge for the 24hr dry brine, I really wasn't impressed by the wagyu steak either. The marbling looked identical to the aged prime. And for ~2\3 the cost per lb, the prime was looking to be the winner. 

Grill em both up on the ripping hot cast iron flat top with beef tallow, cut em in half, and traded. I decide to slice into the aged prime first, and omg - that's delicious. One of the best steaks I've ever cooked. Got a good crust,  hit the nice MR I was going for, the "beefy" taste seems exaggerated in this aged prime cut compared to the cheapo cuts I usually buy. LOVE IT! This is just tits and I'm stoked. 

Wife isn't a fan. For some reason she's super sensitive to meat that isn't real fresh, and can't eat any kind of leftover meat next day... she says this is "alright" but it has "that taste"... I guess I get it,  I can taste a different note to aged steaks that isn't there with fresh,  it just adds to it for me, but doesn't agree with her palette,  whatever. Now I know not to spend $30/lb on her picky ass. I'll eat her half later. 

Next up is the American wagyu. That sorry piece of marketing hype BS... ain't even real wagyu. At this point I'm looking at this piece of meat with disdain, wondering how I got suckered into paying $40/lb for this steak that doesn't look like it has THAT much better marbling than the prime cut sitting next to it, that ISN'T aged, and is cut thinner to top it all off. I prepared myself for disappointment as I cut off my first slice and brought it to my mouth, and...

HO...

LEE...

SHIT!!!

I was not ready for this. Even though it didn't look like it had any more marbling than the aged prime, this was on a whole nother level of richness. I thought the dry aged prime was beefy and flavorful? My god I'm glad I tried the aged prime first, because in comparison, that aged prime was BLAND! and at the time I tasted it, that was the best tasting steak I'd made! This is for real. I've heard about people only eating a few ounces of wagyu, and it never made sense, but now I understand. This isn't even Japanese wagyu, but the level of richness with this was off the charts! It was ironic how we both fell in love with this one, but neither of us could finish our ~1/2 lb portions. Now I know, it's definitely not something I'll do on the regular... but for a once a year special occasion thing? We'll buy one of these bad boys, cut it in half, and split it. Very rich, very decadent, very luxurious. I feel like to do it justice I need to craft more of a meal around this piece of meat than the quick side of broccoli I did on this occasion. This completely blew my mind and changed my entire perception of "American wagyu".

Anywho, for those that managed to read through all that rambling nonsense, enjoy the pics, and roast my cook. How'd I do? The aged prime is the thicker one, the wagyu the thinner. 

Dueling Ribeyes