Searing Steaks and Sous Vide

[George K]

While at a family get-together yesterday, I was talking to SIL's dad about steaks. He was raving about sous vide, and I told him that's the ONLY way I make a steak (at least for myself, Mrs. George is another hopeless story).

Going back to the days when I first learned about searing steaks, the first method I tried was the sear first, and throw in to a hot-as-can be oven for about two minutes. Though tasty, the cooking was smoky as hell, and very inconsistent in terms of doneness.

Of course, sous vide changed all that, and consistency is the hallmark.

But, one thing Danny pointed out struck me as interesting: If you sous vide a steak to whatever temperature you want (say 120), when you sear it, it's going to cook more if you can't get a good sear right away. Then, if you let it "rest", it might end up cooking even more.

So, what he does is sear the steak BEFORE putting into the sous vide. He's basically doing what I did with the hot oven, but the cooking is controlled by the sous vide.

D4 is coming over for dinner on Tuesday. I think I'll try this.

[jon-nyc]

Report back please.

[George K]

@jon-nyc looking around on this topic, most sites recommend searing before sous vide and then searing again, once the steak has cooked, but only for about 45 seconds per side.

I'm not that much of a steak snob, but I just don't want it over-cooked.

I have little doubt that this works well, but seems a bit complicated for me.

https://cuisinetechnology.com/how-to-sous-vide-a-steak/

• Heat a cast iron pan on high heat for approximately 10 minutes, then add a thin layer of avocado oil.
• Sear each side of the steak for 45 seconds each to develop a crust.
• Allow to cool at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes, then bag and seal with a vacuum sealer (or use the water displacement method). Meanwhile, preheat your sous vide bath.
• Sous vide the steak at your desired temperature for approximately 2 hours.
• Just before the steak is done, start preheating your cast iron pan over high heat again. Also, prepare an ice bath.
• Transfer the steak (still in its bag) into the ice bath and leave there for 5 minutes to cool the outer layer.
• Remove the steak from the bag. Pat dry with paper towels, then season generously with salt.
• Once the cast iron pan has been preheating for about 10 minutes, add a thin layer of avocado oil.
• Sear the sous vide steak again for approximately 45 seconds each on the top and bottom. This will redevelop the crust you created previously. Optionally, use a torch on the top to further develop the sear.
• Sear each of the edges of the steak for 15 to 30 seconds.

Anova: https://recipes.anovaculinary.com/recipe/pre-searing-vs-not-pre-searing-steak-before-cooking-sous-vide

[George K]

Mrs. George....

[kluurs]

Part of the challenge of living with a molecular biologist is that she took favors "well done" - all those damn microbes need to scream in death before she feels safe devouring it.

[Horace]

Too much work to sear twice. I am sure it works fine, but so does searing once, after sous vide, being careful to take into account the additional cooking. Which matters less for thicker steaks.

[George K]

@kluurs said in Searing Steaks and Sous Vide:

all those damn microbes need to scream in death before she feels safe devouring it.

Why does she hate her gut microbiome? After all MOAR diversity, amirite?

[Mik]

@kluurs said in Searing Steaks and Sous Vide:

Part of the challenge of living with a molecular biologist is that she took favors "well done" - all those damn microbes need to scream in death before she feels safe devouring it.

Tell her she needs a more robust biome. Medium rare will help. If all bacteria die at 140 I seriously doubt many survive 130-135.

Seems like too much work. I can cook a great steak pan searing/roasting, sous vide and a sear, or indirect then reverse sear on a grill.