The Big chill: Sous Vide-Chill-Smoke-Sear *Recipe issues & questions*

[SlapYomommabbq]

I tried my hand at the Big Chill recipe, and I'm hoping someone can help me pinpoint where I went wrong because I followed the instructions pretty closely. For context, I used a Kamado Joe Classic 2. The issue is that I ended up with an excessive amount of gray meat, despite the steak never exceeding an internal temperature of 131 degrees. Here are a few things I did differently from the recipe:

1. I dry-brined the steak for 24 hours in the fridge.
2. After the steak had been in the sous vide bath for 1.5 hours at 131 degrees, I chilled it in ice water for about an hour in the fridge. The directions said to chill for 30 minutes, but I had to wait for my grill to reach the right temperature.
3. The recipe didn’t specify the recommended two-zone temperature for the indirect side of the grill. I wasn’t sure whether to set it to 225 or 325 degrees, so I opted for 325, thinking that a higher temperature would yield a better sear after I reached an internal temperature of 115 degrees.

Once the steak reached 115 degrees, I moved it over to the direct heat side of the grill and seared it for two minutes on each side. After the searing, the internal temperature was at 131 degrees, and I thought that was impressive accuracy since the sear time was explicitly mentioned in the instructions.

The color is hard to see in the photo. I ended up with a very small pink ring in the thickest part of the steak. The thinner end which I do not have pictured, ended up all great with no pink. The steak also ended up tasting a bit gamey. I'm not sure if that was due to the pecan wood I used, the process in general, or the fact that this steak had been kept in a ziplock bag for a few months in the freezer rather than vacuum sealed.

[barelfly]

How often were you flipping the steak when searing? I try to flip every 20-30 seconds when I’m searing on hot flames like what you were doing to help with just the sear and not cooking internally.

Not sure if that is what may have lead to the ring you have in the steak, but that may help next cook. Otherwise, I think your process was fine.

[SlapYomommabbq]

I only flipped it once/per the instructions in the recipe—exactly 2 minutes on each side. Should I try 30 seconds x 2 on each side for a total of 4 flips?

[SlapYomommabbq]

Also, what do you think about the 2-zone smoking temp? Was 325 too high on the indirect side?

[barelfly]

325 could be a little hot, could cause the meat to tighten up and even warm to quick, you are just getting the steak back up to temp. You could try 250, get to 115*, pull the steak to get your sear side hot and then sear.

And yes, try the sear 30” on each side two times, see if that gets you the results you are looking for.

[Spinaker]

I think you should heat it up slowly on the indirect side of the grill until you hit about 115 F, then remove it from the grill. Stoke the coals and allow them to get screaming HOT.

While the fire is getting hot, dab the meat to remove excess moisture. Once those coals are hot, put the meat on the heat. Then do the continuous flip method on the meat. I generally flip about every 15 seconds or so. It will seem like you are doing nothing at first, but with enough flips, that crust starts to develop. Then you can remove it once you have the color you like on the steak.

That "gamey" taste may have come from the wood smoldering and not being directly in the fire. You want any wood you've added to smoke up right away, not smolder on the side. This will produce acrid white smoke. That is not desirable. (More on that here)

One last key, never ever cook by time. Use temp and color. Doing anything for "2 minnutes a side" can lead to what you had here. Every piece of meat is different and it will cook a little different. So it is better to use temp and your keen eye to get the desired crust you like.

[SlapYomommabbq]

Thank you very much. I really appreciate the tips. I'm currently in the process of redoing everything with a ribeye. I'll post a picture when I'm finished.

[Spinaker]

Glad it worked out. Trial and error aaaaaaand time at the grill. That is all you really need. (Plus, it is great place to hang out, )

[shify]

I'll start by saying that this cooking method makes zero sense to me in that I don't understand the point of the sous vide process if you are just going to but it in the fridge and then reheat it (reverse sear) it to the same temp but I digress.

The gray band and minimal red part is because your sear was too long and your steak was too thin. The longer the sear the more the gray band will grow and because your steak appears to be pretty thin (less than an inch thick if I had to guess by the picture).

Next time a thicker steak and a much higher temp on your sear should minimize that. I also agree that if you flip it every 30 seconds it does make the sear better and further reduce the gray band. Also make sure the exterior of the steak is dry before searing, which I'm guessing it was after the reverse sear

[Pobeque]

I'm with you on this. Seems like way too much work for a standard steak. Just reverse sear, it'll be delicious.

I will freely admit I'm anti sous vide steak in general though

[GolfGeezer]

You don't mention the cut of meat/steak. One variable that is causes issues is the quality of the meat, even if it looks good. I'm not saying that caused what you experienced, but it is a possibility.

[SlapYomommabbq]

It was a NY strip. I appreciate the feedback!

[SlapYomommabbq]

Much better results. Thank you everyone. The lower temp on the indirect side, the suggestion to remove the steak completely to bring the grill up to searing temp, and the frequent flipping were great suggestions.

[Spinaker]

Bingo!

[SlapYomommabbq]

Much better crust as well.

[fzxdoc]

Very nice!

[barelfly]

Now that is a perfectly cooked steak!! Great cook!!!

[DaveD]

There we go!!! Nice work. You've gotten some great input here, but the most important is always go by temperatures and not time. And Just. Keep. Flipping

Only comment I would have is it won't hurt to SV for a little longer with steaks, 2-3 hours is what I typically do. But that's a matter of taste - worth experimenting

[SlapYomommabbq]

I agree. I've Soue Vide ribeyes quite of few times now before I tried this most recent recipe and I do prefer 2-3 hours vs 1.5 hours.