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First Sous Vide experience

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    First Sous Vide experience

    Tried Sous Vide for the first time with Costco prime sirloin. Cooked to 135 (my wife likes medium) and then seared on top of a charcoal chimney starter. with a roaring flame Steak was perfectly done but char from the sous vide was nothing like I get from a BGE using a reverse sear cooking. Outside was black and there was even some graying inside the edges, but none of that crunch. Any suggestions to get a better more tasty char?

    #2
    Make sure it's DRY. I tried a reverse sear steak the other night and when you're ready to sear it's dry. An SV steak isn't. Pat it dry, let it sit on a rack for a few minutes (maybe as you make a salad or something). The pat it dry again if it looks at all moist.You could even rest it for 10 mins in a 170-200 oven.

    Personally, I'm not sure that SV is a great thing for steak UNLESS you're taking advantage of the fact that it can a) be done from frozen and/or b) you want the convenience of not worrying about it since you can cook a steak anywhere from 1-3 hours without any real difference in texture.
    Last edited by rickgregory; February 25, 2020, 09:53 PM.

    Comment


    • BBQPhil
      BBQPhil commented
      Editing a comment
      That's the question, whether SV can match a wood fired reverse sear process.

    #3
    Get yourself a fine screen shaker and some dextrose (home brew supply stores will have this). Fill the shaker. Pat the steak dry then shake some dextrose on. Sear that side. Before you flip, pat the exposed side dry and shake some more dextrose on before flipping.

    Comment


    • JimLinebarger
      JimLinebarger commented
      Editing a comment
      Why dextrose and not finely ground white sugar or even Turbinado (finely ground)?

    • mgaretz
      mgaretz commented
      Editing a comment
      I don’t know exactly except that dextrose is a simple sugar and sucrose (the two you mentioned) is a complex sugar. My guess is that dextrose is what forms naturally in the bark and browns, while sucrose tends to just burn.

    #4
    Make sure you dry the meat as best you can before you try to sear it. Surface evaporation will slow browning and shoot you past your desired finish temp in a hurry.

    I love my sous vide and use it at least once a week, but for steaks, nothing has ever come close to doing a simple reverse sear on the smoker/fry pan. The flavor can't be beat, and all you need is a decent thermometer to get them cooked just how you like them.
    Now if you want to do something with your sous vide that simply can't be replicated any other way, try the medium rare chuck roast. That will really show off what is possible with precisely controlled temp combined with time.

    Comment


    • treesmacker
      treesmacker commented
      Editing a comment
      And I've never liked chicken breast - just too dry for me - until I did them Sous Vide.

    • BBQPhil
      BBQPhil commented
      Editing a comment
      Thanks for all the help and suggestions.

    #5
    I've had great success doing Rib-eye's SV cooking. But have not tried the charcoal chimney method. SV to 135, about 2 hours, Then apply your favorite rub both sides, using a PK charcoal grill, or any charcoal grill, and grill grates, after grates have a temp of 550 to 600 degrees. Then apply steak, turn 45 degrees after 1.5 min. flip at 3.5 min to 4 min, then apply a good grade of butter, not cheep stuff, light dust again with your rub. at 4.5 min turn 45 degrees. Some where around 8 to 10 minutes you should be at 145. depending on thickness, I use 1 inch to 1.25 inch thick steak. You will not have any grey. And the wife will be happy. Won steak competition's this way, if you did not live so far away I'd have you over, bring the beer, It's fun to practice cooking steak. at least once a week.

    Comment


    • BBQPhil
      BBQPhil commented
      Editing a comment
      Thanks. Interesting that you use SV to get to a lower temp than your finishing temp.

    • randy56
      randy56 commented
      Editing a comment
      rickgregory Grill grates, not open grates. agree with you on open one's

    • rickgregory
      rickgregory commented
      Editing a comment
      I still don't see how you can place a steak already on the edge of medium (IT of 135F) on a 500F surface for several minutes per side and only see the temp rise 10 degrees and not have much of a grey band.

    #6
    Try a thin schmear of mayo on both sides after thoroughly drying them, and then sear. I'm not sure you've done a fair comparison. Do you have roaring flames on your BGE when searing?

    Comment


    • BBQPhil
      BBQPhil commented
      Editing a comment
      BGE fire is pretty intense, but key seems to be to get the temp to over 600. The coals are still about 6 inches or more below the grill.

    #7
    Shocking is important.

    Comment


      #8
      Hope you find this helpful.

      Comment


        #9
        Definitely shock! Then dry, season, sear. I get a great crust, perfect no gray band medium rare. I've been doing SV steak for a couple years now and read how some didn't like as well as reverse sear so I did a reverse sear the other day. Turned out perfect but not better or worse IMHO. I'll be back to SV for my next steak. I really like the control I have with SV. But wouldn't be worth it if it didn't taste as good as the old tried and true.

        Comment


          #10
          I think you will find that we are all snobs about our preferences. My daughter has to have a blood rare steak. It doesn’t matter if it is over fire. My Anova is perfect for her. I can give her what she wants without fail. My wife really likes a medium steak. She prefers it over the fire but just doesn’t like a lot of red. I can make her happy over the fire or with the Anova. I really like a medium rare steak cooked from start to finish over wood. If it is a little over or under, I don’t care. So i am kind of left telling you to take all the advice, practice and you may be back to the starting point or you may discover cuts/temps that just tend to stand out.

          Comment


          • tbob4
            tbob4 commented
            Editing a comment
            Snob= good. I read what I wrote and didn’t want it misconstrued as putting down anyone’s cooking style. Instead, it is meant to compliment everyone about their advice.

          • Potkettleblack
            Potkettleblack commented
            Editing a comment
            We all think our individual preference is universal... it's very hard to imagine someone else's taste buds working differently.

          • tbob4
            tbob4 commented
            Editing a comment
            Potkettleblack - absolutely. I shocked a steak the other day. I really didn’t like it but it was beautiful. After thinking about it, I realized that if I had cooked that for my daughter she would have been giddy.

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