Wagyu Beef with Roasted Shallots and Eggplant Ragout

Immerse your taste buds in the exquisite flavours of this Ozaki Wagyu steak, grilled to perfection on the Big Green Egg and accompanied by a luscious miso glaze, roasted shallots, and a delectable eggplant ragout—a culinary masterpiece that embodies the essence of Japanese-inspired Australian barbecue.

Ingredients:

• Ozaki Wagyu steak or other beef steak, approx. 14 oz (400 g)
• Mitsuba, Japanese Mountain or flat-leaf parsley

Instructions:

Set the EGG for indirect cooking with the convEGGtor at 149°C.

Place the banana shallots and eggplants on the grid. Close the lid of the EGG and roast the shallots and the eggplants for about 30 minutes until they are soft. Meanwhile, melt the butter for the miso glaze. Finely grate the peel of the lime and squeeze out the juice. Stir all the ingredients for the miso glaze until smooth and set aside.

Remove the shallots and the eggplants from the EGG and let them cool slightly. In the meantime, remove the convEGGtor and replace the grid. Bring the temperature to 300°C.

Sprinkle the Wagyu steak with salt and place it on the grid. Grill the steak for 30 to 60 seconds per side. Remove the steak from the EGG and place it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.

Remove the Wagyu steak from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, remove the skin from the roasted shallots. Set 4 shallots aside.

Finely chop 1 shallot and the garlic for the ragout. Halve the eggplants lengthwise and scoop out the pulp from the skins. Heat the olive oil in a pan and fry the shallot and garlic for a few minutes. Add the eggplant pulp and cook for a few minutes longer. Season with the sherry vinegar, black pepper, and salt to taste and keep warm.

Grill the Wagyu steak (depending on the thickness of the meat) for about 2 minutes per side. Remove the steak from the EGG and let it rest for a few minutes. Brush the reserved 4 shallots with the miso glaze and grill on all sides.

Cut the Wagyu steak into nice slices and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Distribute to four plates with the shallots and the eggplant ragout. Garnish with parsley and serve with the Vegetable Roll with Charcoal Oil. Serves 4.

Roasted Shallots and Eggplant Ragout Ingredients:

• 5 banana shallots
• 2 eggplants
• Small piece of garlic
• 4 tsp (20 ml) olive oil
• 2 tsp (10 ml) sherry vinegar
• Black pepper and salt to taste

Miso Glaze Ingredients:

• 1½ tbsp (20 g) butter
• 1½ organic limes
• 2 tbsp (30 g) light miso paste
• 2 tsp (10 ml) dark soy sauce

Vegetable Roll Ingredients:

• 1 eggplant
• 2⅛ cups (500 ml) dashi (Japanese bouillon)
• ¼ cup (50 ml) soy sauce
• ¼ cup (50 ml) sake
• 1 small black radish
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) charcoal oil (see recipe)
• ¼ cup (50 ml) rice vinegar
• 2½ tsp (10 g) sugar

Vegetable Roll Instructions: Peel the eggplant for the vegetable roll. Place the eggplant in a pan, not too large, and add the dashi, soy sauce, and sake. Bring to a boil and turn off the heat. Let the eggplant cool in the cooking liquid.

Wash the black radish and pat it dry. Cut into thin slices using a slicer or mandoline. Mix the charcoal oil, rice vinegar, sugar, and a pinch of salt. Sprinkle the black radish with the mixture and let it marinate for at least 10 minutes. Remove the eggplant from the cooking liquid and cut into thin slices lengthwise. To serve, place the slices of black radish and eggplant in four piles alternately on top of each other.

Charcoal Oil Ingredients:

• 250 ml grape seed oil
• 1 small piece of glowing charcoal

Charcoal Oil Instructions: Pour the grape seed oil into a steel container. Place the glowing charcoal in the oil and let it stand for 1 day. Pour the charcoal oil through a sieve and store in a sealable bottle.