Why can/t I grill a sirloin steak constantly as good as Outback? I have purchased the steaks supermarkets, local butcher, 44 farms and a few others. My method of choice is Sous Vide and then a cast iron skillet, but have also SV onto the grill and starting on the warm side of the grill and finished on the hot side. The steaks are usually 1 1/2 to 2" but they are not consistently as tender as they should be, What am I not doing correctly?
-
-
You dry brining beforehand? -
What temperature do you set your SV to? And for how long? I've been sorta experimenting on soak times, and just last night had a great result, where I left a couple of ribeyes in the 129F/54C bath for close to three hours before searing. Bound to be some carryover from the sear, so I also let them cool a bit before searing just by turning off the SV and letting the water slowly cool a handful of degrees. There definitely does come a point when it becomes too long and the meat is said to start to get mushy (never went that long myself), but an extra hour isn't going to get there, and it gives more time for things to tenderize.
Had a similar experience with a couple of flank steaks. Held them SV at that same temp for like 8 hours, before a quick sear, and they were fantastic.
Good luck!Comment
-
I'd dry brine 2 days with 3/8 teaspoon Kosher salt per pound. Are you chilling down after the sous vide?Comment
-
It's a sirloin, and it's 1.5-2" thick. They're not the most tender steaks to begin with - and I would be the restaurant is doing some blade tenderization on it beforehand, as well.Comment
-
Maybe SV to 120 or 115 then sear? Sounds to me like the SV part of your process is the problem. Assuming you are going for medium rare, it sounds like you are overcooking the steaks? For the sear portion of the cook, quick flips... some say one minute but I like 30 seconds especially on cast iron. If SV or even reverse sear, you've already cooked the meat, now you are trying to sear a crust without overcooking it, so no need for cool side to hot side... put that bad boy on the hot side and flip flip flip without taking it over your desired finished temp.Comment
-
They use steak weights there. Try the just keep flipping method and add butter ate the halfway point to help the sear.Comment
-
So, assuming they're regular choice grade sirloin, I'd start by dry brining as you do and SVing at a few degrees less than the temp you want them to finish at for 2 to 3 hours. Pull from the back, pat dry and rest for 10-5 minutes. Sear for 30-60 seconds per side in a screaming hot cast iron pan with enough oil.
Comment
-
You don't say what grade meat you are buying. Is it USDA Prime, choice, select or ungraded? Also, local cattle may be grass fed/finished, which is for me always tougher than grain finished.
Regardless, sirloin is not what I go for if I want a tender steak. You don't have the jaccard tenderizer to trick it into tenderness like Outback does.Comment
-
You are the right path, I SV mine from frozen @130 for 2.5 to 3 hours, from fresh 2 hours, sear hot and fast. check this out, https://steakrevolution.com/how-to-choose-a-good-steak/Comment
-
Thanks for all your suggestions. I am going to try some of the, not all at once rather 1 at a time. Prime grade, grain finished, dry brined 48 hours, 1" to 1 1/2" thick, 3 hour minimum soak, chill before final sear. Did I miss anything?Comment
Comment