Louisiana man orders a Wagyu ribeye at LongHorn Steakhouse and struggles to cut it. Then he pans the camera: ‘Is it just me or is that raw?’

A Louisiana man recently posted a video showing his experience with a steak at LongHorn Steakhouse, where the meat appeared to be undercooked, BroBible reports. Chris Cruze posted the video on TikTok on October 31, and the clip has gained plenty of attention with over 779,000 views so far.

In the video, Cruze struggles to cut through a piece of meat he identifies as a Wagyu ribeye. When he finally gets the knife through the center, the interior looks almost entirely pink. He includes a text overlay on the video that asks, “You eating this Wagyu Ribeye or sending it RIGHT back to the chef?” The comments section filled up with people sharing his disappointment. One person wrote, “Yeah, I love rare steak, but that s**** is raw.” Another viewer asked, “Is it just me or is that raw?”

It is hard to tell if a steak is truly undercooked just by looking at a video. Food safety experts suggest that whole cuts of beef reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit, and they should rest for three minutes after cooking. A rare steak should have a seared outside and a cool or warm red center. The sear is important because bacteria often sit on the surface of the meat. A steak that is seared but raw in the middle is not always contaminated, but poor handling or lack of a proper sear can lead to food safety risks.

Beyond the cooking temperature, many viewers pointed out that the steak did not look like Wagyu at all

One commenter noted, “Definitely not Wagyu, that has a totally different texture.” Another person said, “They call anything wagyu,” while a third added, “That’s too tough to be Wagyu.” It is worth noting that LongHorn Steakhouse does not seem to have Wagyu steak on its regular menu. Unless the restaurant was running a temporary special, it is very likely that the customer misidentified the steak he ordered.

Wagyu is a specific type of Japanese cattle that features high levels of intramuscular fat, which people call marbling. This marbling creates white streaks in the meat that give it a unique texture, tenderness, and rich flavor. The term Wagyu covers several categories like full-blood, purebred, and crossbred cattle. American Wagyu is often different from Japanese full-blood Wagyu in terms of genetics and marbling.

You might see Wagyu on more menus across the country lately, even at places that provide more accessible versions of premium beef. This trend sometimes leads to confusion among diners. Not every restaurant selling Wagyu is serving Japanese A5 beef, and the quality can vary quite a bit depending on what exactly is being served.