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Steaks - will this work?

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    Steaks - will this work?

    Some retired buddies and I get together for lunch at least once a month.Yesterday was the day for Feb. Each person gets to pick a restaurant in rotation, and that person gets to pay too. That just makes it simpler. Anyway, one of the guys got to talking about steak yesterday and then someone else said something like "I heard you make a pretty good steak" to me. I had just mentioned that I normally don't buy steaks at a restaurant anymore because I can cook better ones at home. So it looks like I will be grillin' steaks instead of buying lunch the next time it's my turn.
    Here's my question:
    If I, (for example), indirect cook one steak to 130*, one to 135*, one to 140*, etc, can I bag 'em and hold them in hot water at maybe 120* - 125* until time to sear? 'nother question - how long max should I hold them?

    #2
    When you say hot water are you talking about SV? What type of steaks are you talking about?

    Comment


      #3
      Technically, what you're suggesting would work ... but might give you problems from a food safety perspective due to the relatively low holding temperature. If you were cooking the steaks using SV as an alternative to the indirect portion on the grill, you would leave them in the hot water at a minimum temperature of 131* for at least 2.75 hours (assuming 1" thick steaks) to achieve full pasteurization prior to searing.

      So ... if you were to increase your holding water temp to at least 131* and make sure to hold all the steaks for at least 2.75 hours you would be effectively emulating a SV cook and you should probably be OK.

      Last edited by MBMorgan; February 24, 2017, 02:21 PM.

      Comment


        #4
        Thanx MBMorgan - I understand, but my thinking is that after 30 - 45 min at 225* the surface should be sterile. And since we serve steaks from about 120* and up, they should be OK. I'm not arguing - just seeking clarity, (and hoping I'm right...).

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by RonB View Post
          Thanx MBMorgan - I understand, but my thinking is that after 30 - 45 min at 225* the surface should be sterile. And since we serve steaks from about 120* and up, they should be OK. I'm not arguing - just seeking clarity, (and hoping I'm right...).
          Trust me, Ron ... I understand! My only concern would be with how long you intend to hold the bagged steaks. In the SV world, there are two basic methods:
          1. cook-hold (this is what you want to do) where the food is cooked until pasteurized at or above 131* then held at the cooking temp until ready to sear and/or serve and
          2. cook-chill (or cook-freeze) where the food is cooked until pasteurized at or above 131* then rapidly chilled (usually in an ice water bath) to get it through the "danger zone" and into the mid 30's before refrigerating or freezing.
          If you are holding the steaks in the 120-125* range, pathogens can still develop in the meat even though the surface has been thoroughly pasteurized while you were cooking indirect at 225*. If you intend to hold for only a short time (minutes rather than hours), you'll probably be fine. But if you intend to hold for a longer time, then I'd suggest playing it safe and holding above 130* for the time needed for the interior of the steaks to be safely pasteurized.

          Here's a link to an excellent article on SV and safety (written by an AR member, DouglasBaldwin who is an expert on the subject): http://www.douglasbaldwin.com/sous-vide.html#Safety

          Mike
          Last edited by MBMorgan; February 24, 2017, 06:46 PM.

          Comment


          • EdF
            EdF commented
            Editing a comment
            Indeed, Doug Baldwin is an authority on the matter.

          • RonB
            RonB commented
            Editing a comment
            Great article MBMorgan .

          • Lowjiber
            Lowjiber commented
            Editing a comment
            That food safety article is awesome. Thanks for the link.

          #6
          tbob4 - I don't have an SV, so what I'd be doing is using a pot full of water and trying to get close to 125*. If I had an sv, I wouldn't hesitate to go to 131*, but it will be difficult for me to maintain an exact temp so I don't want to overshoot the lowest temp I am cooking to.
          Right now I'm thinking maybe two filets and two ribeyes.

          Comment


          • Michael Brinton
            Michael Brinton commented
            Editing a comment
            Faux cambro all the way. Pull em all off when needed hold em and sear.

          #7
          Those temps are close together. Maybe pull each steak off under temp, ten degrees of or so... accounting for the few degrees carry over...when you're comfortable. Keep them all, a. under foil b. in cooler. The temp can drop and the "doneness" will stay the same. Then sear them to order. Or you could do the big chill. Cooking them all sv the day before, to a lower temp 130 all then reheat them to individual temp. It would be the same procedure. It would give better wiggle room. I worry sticking them into the bag after the grill, to hold, may change the smoke flavor to something you don't expect. For straight grilling I think you should just pull them off around desired doneness, hold, maybe use colored toothpicks to keep them straight, then sear in a production line. The rare will stay rare, med, well well. I hope this helped.

          Comment


          • RonB
            RonB commented
            Editing a comment
            Michael Brinton - this is what I will probably do.

          #8
          I am no expert on steaks by any means, but when I cook my steaks which are about 1.5" thick, the difference for me between 120 deg. and 135 deg. is less than 10 mins. cook time. Now when I am doing this, it is indirect on a weber kettle, but I let 'er rip on temp., usually in the 400 deg. range. Does your cooking process require an extended time to get the steak from 120 to 135?

          Comment


          • RonB
            RonB commented
            Editing a comment
            @Storlock - I will do the indirect at 225*, but otherwise the same as you do.

          #9
          Thanx everyone for the comments and suggestions. I am now thinking that I should just plan on having the rarest meat ready about the time we would normally eat, pull them off for the ~10 min it takes for the more well done steaks to come up to temp, then sear all at the same time. We will just have to suffer and drink more beer while waiting on the steaks.

          Comment


          • Lowjiber
            Lowjiber commented
            Editing a comment
            Meanwhile, pick up a Sous Vide machine, if for nothing else than holding food at a safe temperature.

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