Help With Sous Vide Burgers

[Jmccloskey659]

Used the sous vide method with 2 choice beef burgers last night at 136 degrees for 1.5 hours with plans to sear on cast iron following the sous vide. Unfortunately dinner plans changed so immediately placed the burgers in an ice bath for 1 hour and refrigerated. Seeking the always helpful advice of this forum as to next steps for tonight. Do I remove them from the refrigerator and go directly to searing them or do I place them in a water bath first at approx 130 degrees for some time to warm them prior to searing? Thanks!

[jgreen]

I would just sear them cold, but I have never done this. Either way probably works.

[Brewmaster]

Depends on how thick they are, I always put them back in the bath to get the center warm before searing

[Baltassar]

15-20 minutes in the bath at 130 pretty much guarantees success. Not that much bother. Straight to sear risks a cool center, or the dreaded band of gray.

[JCGrill]

The beauty of SV is that the temperature never got higher than you set it, so there's no harm in taking it right back to where you left off.

[EdF]

IOW directly to searing, I'd say!

[Jmccloskey659]

Thanks all....one last question; I always tend to form large burger patties (approximately 8.5 - 9 ounces each) with the thought that the bigger the patty, the more flavor. Following some comments I have read external to this my favorite site, these patties may be too large as they approach the point of consuming a meatloaf! Thoughts or comments would be appreciated. Thanks!

[rodkeary]

I SV my burgers as well. My ground beef comes in 1# packages and I make only 2 burgers as there are usually only the two of us eating.

You can make the burgers as big as you want but keep in mind it is the thickness of each patty that dictates how long you SV them.

[Troutman]

Hey go big or go home is my motto !!! And yes I would re-bath them and get them up to temp, that's the beauty of SV. I would not go over 130*. Don't over due it because the sear will add at least 5-10* to the final product. I assume you are trying for a medium rare finsih.

[Jmccloskey659]

Thanks....yes medium rare is the goal. Thanks for the sear impact and the potential carryover.

[Polarbear777]

Sous vide helps with thicker burgers. The thicker they are the more sous vide helps you cook them evenly and safely. I almost always cold shock them then sear directly from the fridge (but patted dry) on purpose. Insurance to keep the inside temp from rising too much while you put a really solid sear on them.

[Potkettleblack]

Thick burgers for SV. Thin burgers for the griddle.

I'd reheat the big burger to maybe 125. Then warp ten to sear. By bringing it back part way, you minimize your odds of cold interior and grey band.

searing from fridge wouldn't be a problem with a thinner or smaller burger. With a thicker burger, if you bring to final temp in SV, you risk the grey. If you start from cold you risk cold center or grey.

[Polarbear777]

Good point. I either make diner burgers direct smash and sear or 3/4-1” thick burgers or sausage SV. If it’s an inch or thicker rewarming to below target would be the way to go.