Reverse searing steaks starting in the oven versus the sous vide
Before I got my sous vide about a year ago, I would reverse sear steaks, starting in the oven, and then finish on the cast iron. I put the steaks in the oven at about 250 degrees, and then pull them about 10 degrees early to sear. I know the pros with the sous vide (perfect temp and very hands off), but I'm looking for the cons of the sous vide/pros of the oven over the sous vide.
As always, thank you all for the help and knowledge. I hope one day I can return the favor.
1. Cooking in plastic. BPA is only one of the harmful chemicals in plastic so even "food grade" and "BPA free" bags are probably not as safe as we think.
2. It takes quite a bit longer than using the oven or indirect grilling.
That being said, I will never give up my sous vide as I have never had a bad cook from it.
1. Cooking in plastic. BPA is only one of the harmful chemicals in plastic so even "food grade" and "BPA free" bags are probably not as safe as we think.
2. It takes quite a bit longer than using the oven or indirect grilling.
That being said, I will never give up my sous vide as I have never had a bad cook from it.
Slieb845 True, it does take longer. If I don't have the time, I'll go in the oven. Anything to be said that when it comes out of the oven, the meat is a little bit drier so it sears better/quicker in the cast iron?
I think both methods work well. I prefer to use sous vide so I can make board sauce. I will pat the surface dry before searing on my cast iron griddle or pan.
The oven technique works well too. I like to place the meat on an elevated rack to make sure the air gets under the steak while cooking.
Like Spinaker I always pat dry with a paper towel first with both methods. I either sear on cast iron and have not noticed a difference in the sear between the two methods.
Sous vide benefit - less temp gradiant, more exact temp.
Sous vide downside - amount of time needed and it’s a bit more difficult to get that same sear. Even going crazy with the paper towels, you still can’t get the dryness you get from the reverse sear in the oven which has a slight impact to the sear
My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:
SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron Griddle
Grill Grate for SnS
Grill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:
Extreme BBQ Thermometer Package
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:
Thermapen MK4 (pink)
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:
8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
I've done them both ways and can't tell much difference. One nice thing about sous vide is that you don't have to babysit it like you do steaks in an oven, constantly checking temps when it gets close to the pull temp. With sous vide, the meat isn't the boss of you.
For flavor, I still prefer reverse sear on the WSCGC+SnS.
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