Beef Care Guide

Your beef leaves the ranch frozen solid, vacuum sealed, packed with dry ice. This page covers what to do when it arrives, how to store and thaw it, and how to cook it so the marbling does what you paid for.

When your box arrives

Open it the day it lands. Do not leave it on the porch.

The dry ice will probably be gone. That is normal and not a problem. Dry ice turns straight to gas rather than melting, and a two day transit usually uses all of it. What matters is the beef, not the ice.

• Still hard, or icy and very cold. Straight into the freezer. Nothing has gone wrong.
• Soft but still cold to the touch. Treat it as thawed. Refrigerate and cook it within the windows below, or cook it now and freeze the cooked meat.
• Warm, or you are not sure. Do not cook it. Take a photo and contact us.

Do not refreeze raw beef that has fully thawed and warmed up. Cooking it first and freezing the cooked meat is safe.

Any dry ice still in the box: do not handle it with bare hands. Leave it somewhere ventilated and it will disappear on its own. Never seal it in a container, and never put it down a drain or in a sink.

Storage

Freezer. Keep it at 0°F (-18°C) or below, in the vacuum packaging it came in. At 0°F beef stays safe indefinitely, but quality slips over time, so use it within 6 to 12 months. If a vacuum seal is punctured, overwrap it in freezer paper or a freezer bag.

Refrigerator. 32 to 40°F (0 to 4°C), in the coldest part, not the door.

Once thawed, how long you have:

• Steaks, roasts and brisket: 3 to 5 days
• Ground beef and fresh sausage: 1 to 2 days
• Offal: 1 to 2 days

Once you open a vacuum pack, wrap what you are not cooking tightly or move it to an airtight container. The same windows apply.

Jerky and snack sticks are shelf stable until opened. Tallow keeps at room temperature.

Thawing

Refrigerator, and this is the one we recommend. Put the sealed package on a plate or tray to catch drips. Allow roughly 24 hours for every 5 pounds. A 1 to 2 lb steak takes 12 to 24 hours. A large roast or a whole brisket takes 2 to 3 days.

Cold water, when you are short on time. Keep the package sealed, submerge it in cold water, and change the water every 30 minutes. Around an hour per pound. Cook it as soon as it is thawed.

Never thaw on the counter or in hot water. Skip the microwave. It thaws unevenly and starts cooking the edges, which does real damage to a heavily marbled cut.

Cooking Wagyu, which is not like cooking a lean steak

This is the part that matters most, and it is where most people go wrong with beef this rich.

• Use less heat than you think. Wagyu fat renders at a lower temperature than lean beef. A screaming hot pan that suits a commodity ribeye will render the marbling out onto your stove before the middle is ready.
• You do not need oil or butter in the pan. It makes its own. Start it dry.
• Pull it early. Carryover keeps cooking it about 5°F while it rests. Take it off before it reaches the number you want.
• Rest it 5 to 10 minutes.
• Serve smaller portions than you would expect. Rich beef eats big. For Wagyu Reserve, 6 to 8 ounces a person is plenty.
• Season simply. On Reserve, salt is usually all it needs.

Overcooking is the one mistake that actually costs you something. The intramuscular fat you paid for renders out and ends up in the pan instead of in the beef.

Beefmaster is different. It is leaner, closer to a traditional everyday steak. Higher heat is fine, and a little fat in the pan helps.

Before it goes in the pan: pat it dry with paper towels so it sears instead of steams, and let it sit out 20 to 30 minutes to take the chill off. Do not leave raw beef at room temperature longer than 2 hours.

Internal temperature

The USDA recommends 145°F with a 3 minute rest for whole cuts such as steaks and roasts, and 160°F for all ground beef and fresh sausage. Those are the safe minimums.

Many people cook steaks below 145°F by preference, and medium rare to medium is where most of our customers land on Wagyu. That is a personal choice, and the USDA numbers above are the safe minimums. Use a thermometer either way, and pull about 5°F early to allow for carryover.

Ground beef and fresh sausage are the exception, and it is worth knowing why. Grinding moves anything that was on the surface right through the batch, so it cannot be seared away. 160°F on ground beef and sausage, every time.

Food safety basics

• Wash hands and surfaces before and after handling raw beef
• Keep a separate cutting board for raw meat
• Do not refreeze raw beef that has thawed. Cook it first, then freeze it
• A slight smell when a vacuum pack is first opened is normal. The packaging holds no oxygen, and it clears within a few minutes. If it is strong or does not clear, contact us before cooking it

Questions

If something is not covered here, or your box arrived in a state you are unsure about, get in touch. We would rather hear from you before you cook it.

More answers on our Wagyu and Beefmaster FAQ.