📺 Original Video: This NUCLEAR Umami Steak has more flavor than WAGYU! by Guga Foods
📅 Duration: 11:45
TL;DR
- Guga cures egg yolks three ways (classic salt/sugar, hot sauce, Worcestershire) and tests them on Argentinian New York strips
- Worcestershire sauce cured egg yolk is the clear winner, enhancing the steak without overpowering it
- Hot sauce version has vinegar flavor but no heat, and actually masks the steak’s natural taste
- Classic cured egg yolk adds beautiful creaminess and richness
- Killer garlic bread side dish steals a few scenes
The Setup
▶00:00 The premise is simple. Cured egg yolks are an umami bomb that can improve pretty much any dish. Guga wants to push the concept further by curing them in different liquids and finding out which one makes the best steak topping.
Three contenders enter the ring:
- 1. Classic salt and sugar cure (the control yolk)
- 2. Hot sauce cure (any vinegar-based hot sauce works)
- 3. Worcestershire sauce cure
🧾 Classic Cured Egg Yolks — Ingredients
• Egg yolks
• 50/50 mix of sugar and salt
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[See full steps at ▶00:30]
The Process
▶00:30 The classic cure is dead simple. Nestle egg yolks into a 50/50 salt and sugar mix, cover them completely, then refrigerate for seven days. When they come out, they’ve completely transformed. Wash them off and you’ve got a firm, grateable umami nugget.
▶01:16 For the hot sauce version, Guga lays egg yolks on a tray and covers them entirely in hot sauce. The key requirement is that the hot sauce contains vinegar, which does the actual curing. Same deal: cover, refrigerate, seven days.
▶01:47 A quick toast test reveals the hot sauce yolks are “phenomenal.” Savory, slightly spicy, incredibly creamy.
▶02:02 The Worcestershire version follows the same method, but Guga makes a mistake worth noting. He packed too many yolks into one container, and some didn’t cure all the way through the center. Pro tip: give them space. The toast test? “OMG it is amazing, everybody. Absolutely delicious.”
▶02:49 The steaks are Argentinian New York strips, which are grass-fed and grain-finished. A different style than typical American beef. Seasoning is the standard Guga treatment: salt, black pepper, garlic powder on both sides.
▶04:39 Cooking method: Hard sear first, then indirect heat to an internal temp of 135°F. Each steak gets a different cured egg yolk crumbled on top.
🧾 Garlic Bread Side Dish — Ingredients
• Frozen garlic bread
• Cream cheese
• Sour cream
• Chili jam
• Chives
• Dill
• Salt and black pepper
• Pre-cooked Brazilian sausages
• Balsamic glaze
• Green onions
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[See full steps at ▶03:20]
The Tasting
▶07:11 Control steak (no egg yolk): The Argentinian beef gets high praise right away. Super beefy, juicy, tender, with a gorgeous charcoal flavor from the grill. Angel coins a new term for it: “Kiss of the Dragon.” The bar is set high.
▶07:58 Classic cured egg yolk: The table lights up. The extra savoriness and creaminess sits on top of the steak like “a beautiful cherry on top.” Everyone notices that rich, creamy quality the yolk brings. It elevates without changing the character of the beef.
▶08:32 Side dish interlude. The garlic bread creation gets an enthusiastic reception. Creamy, crunchy, savory, sweet, tangy from the balsamic. “That’s a side dish for me right there.”
▶09:18 Hot sauce cured egg yolk: This is where things get interesting, and not in the best way. It tastes like hot sauce flavor without the heat, which is a weird experience. “You’re waiting for it to be super spicy but it never really gets there.” Worse, the topping is so strong it actually reduces the steak’s natural flavor. Not terrible, but not a winner.
▶10:05 Worcestershire cured egg yolk: Unanimous enthusiasm. “That’s not good, that’s fire.” This one pairs beautifully with the beef, enhancing it rather than competing. Where the hot sauce version modified the steak’s flavor, the Worcestershire version just made the steak better.
The Verdict
▶10:36 Worcestershire cured egg yolk wins decisively. All three tasters agree it pairs better with steak than any other version. The hot sauce cure was too aggressive, masking the beef with vinegar flavor and no payoff heat. The classic cure was great but the Worcestershire added something special.
The bigger takeaway? You can cure egg yolks in pretty much anything. As long as you give them enough time (seven days minimum, maybe a little longer), the liquid’s flavor infuses into the yolk. Guga admits his could have gone even longer. The door is wide open for experimentation: soy sauce, fish sauce, miso… the possibilities are ridiculous.
We try hard to get the details right, but nobody’s perfect. Spot something off? Let us know