Maiden Voyage. Anova + smoke and sear on the new S'nS

[TwisTEDinLV]

I got these steaks yesterday from Costco( pays to know the meat manager by name.) and decided we are going to cook them up tomorrow. This will be my first time using the Anova ( first time sous viding anything) and the S'nS so looking for suggestions. I will have about 15 hours in which I can cook these up. What I was thinking was cooking them to a perfect medium rare, the chilling them so I can give them a little smoke and a nice seat later in the day. The steaks are about 2 - 2 1/2" thick each. I'm going to cook up some sweet potatos and asparagus on the griddle while I'm finishing the steaks off.

Imgoing to run a full chimney tonight to season the new grill and learn its temps. Any tips would be appreciated.

[Huskee]

Those steaks are incredible! My advice for using your SnS on a steak is follow ABC's lighting instructions and technique for steak searing with the SnS. Since you want to SV them, read up on Clint Cantwell's "The Big Chill" article which will spell out exactly what to do in your case.

[TwisTEDinLV]

Thanks for the link Huskee. I'll be reading this on my break.

[kmhfive]

Beautiful. I got nothing… I've never seen meat that nice.

I'd love to see how it turns out, though!

[TwisTEDinLV]

I'll post a thread when I get done and link it here.

[HouseHomey]

Huskee totally hooked you up. I think I heard a mic drop. Pics please. Sweet bajeebers are those great looking steaks!!i

Two things and that's all I got as Huskee did all the work for us.

1. If you are doing all of this "new" perhaps don't worry about the smoke and eliminate that variable from the many you already have. Look at that meat, it's not gonna taste bad.

2. I like an Idaho or even Yukon Gold to stand up to that fatty elixir of life. Sweet potato Meh... IMHO.

we now return to your regularly scheduled prigamming and continue with "Heidi."

[HouseHomey]

Boom! Get it? Boom.

[TwisTEDinLV]

I'm thinking tomorrow might just be a reverse sear with a single small chunk of apple. And do the other three steaks for some friends Sunday.

As for the potato, I know, I just am not allowed them any more. Can't eat something that scores a 104 of the Glysimic Index.

[HouseHomey]

Sweet potatoes for everyone!!

[TwisTEDinLV]

So I skipped the smoke (today) and just did theSsous Vide 'n Sear... it was great. Here's the run down.

Dry brined the steaks at 1/2 tsp a pound for about 6 hours. Then washed it off ( is this necessary with this little



I Sous Vide for 1.25 hour at 129°. That made it so soft and flavorful.




I took the two 5.5 oz steaks out and dried them. I put a light spray of oil on them and dusted them with some fresh cracked black pepper. I put the 3 9.5 oz steaks in an ice bath so I can do a reverse sear on them tomorrow.



I started the coals at 15 minutes left in the bath.



I seared the steaks for 30-45 seconds a side 4 flips.



I may have made some Yukon golds ( small ones ), asparagus and a scotch mushroom sauce ( no sauce, I just wanted the mushrooms they come out so good. )





It came out perfect. I cut the last two pieces in to the smallest bites I think I have ever had just to make it keep going.




Thanks everyone one for your help on my fist cook.

[kmhfive]

Beautiful. Just beautiful!

[RonB]

Great lookin' steaks, and great lookin' cook.

[T-bone]

Great job! Definitely looks like a winner.

A way to get some smoke on the steaks with minimal effort is to use a 6" smoking tube and put the SV'd steaks on the grill with the smoking tube and cover while the coals are heating up. 20-30 mins with the smoking tube before searing adds a nice smoke flavor. This method is now demanded by the fam when steaks are on the menu.

[Spinaker]

Wow! This was a great cook. I can't believe I missed this one. As someone that is new to SV, what did you think of the flavor?

I picked up my Joule about 9 months ago. I like SV, but I don't do it much. I am trying to work it back into my cooking regimen. After seeing this post, I need to get on that!

[TwisTEDinLV]

I love rare to medium rare steaks, normally that flavor is burnt out of traditional grilled steaks with the temp gradient. I have to say these where awesome. I will have to up the temp just a bit though. I think 122-125 should put me perfect after the searing to make my "that's bloody" family happy.

[Spinaker]

Cool man! Thanks for your input. Are you going to use run it the amount of time in the bath. Or give a longer soak? TwisTEDinLV

[TwisTEDinLV]

Spinaker If I get as marble a piece of beef as I did this time I will keep the time the same. As the quality goes down I'll add more time to give it a chance to tenderize.

[TwisTEDinLV]

I cooked up the last 3 9.5 oz steaks. They chilled for about 16 hours, then I reverse seared then with a chunk of Hickory to add a little smoke. The SnS did a great job of holding 225-237 the whole cook. It made it to 115 a lot faster than I expected (36 minutes from 39°) seared 1 minute a side x4 for a great seat all across.

Flavor was phenomenal, texture not so much. What should have been fork tender was actually JELLO. They where wiggling on the plates. The bites literally devolved in the mouth like jello. It was very off putting. I think it was a function of both the amount of marbeling and the cook chill reheat that caused it. I think with a normal good ribeye the technique will work fine, but with this thing I think it just liquified all the fat.

[kmhfive]

Good to know. Thanks for the update!