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Sous vide?
- Thread starter JWS VII
- Start date
JWS VII
0
So I’ve had a couple of successful sous vide cooks. Thought I’d document one here if it’s of interest to anyone.
Bachelor night last night, so I decided to treat myself to a steak dinner. Started with a beautiful prime NY strip, about 2” thick. Here it is after seasoning. Kept it simple with coarse sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and garlic powder. Now to rest in the fridge for a couple of hours:
Then I set up the sous vide. The one I have—Joule by Chefsteps—operates completely on Bluetooth/WiFi. I set up the water at 129* F and let the steak take a bath for 2 hours.
Here it is after the hot tub. It’s important to gently pat the steak dry in order to get a good sear in the next step.
Finishing in hot cast iron with butter!
Finished product, before and after slicing:
Overall, a great bachelor dinner—one of the best NY strips I’ve ever had. The grade of meat makes a big difference, but sous vide makes it so easy to cook it perfectly medium rare. I highly recommend the method. No expert by any means, but happy to try and answer any questions.
For our next get together with friends/family, I’m planning to do a head-to-head comparison of sous vide versus reverse sear. I’ll try to document that one as well.
Oh ya, this guy got a few bites as well... Thanks for reading!
Bachelor night last night, so I decided to treat myself to a steak dinner. Started with a beautiful prime NY strip, about 2” thick. Here it is after seasoning. Kept it simple with coarse sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and garlic powder. Now to rest in the fridge for a couple of hours:
Then I set up the sous vide. The one I have—Joule by Chefsteps—operates completely on Bluetooth/WiFi. I set up the water at 129* F and let the steak take a bath for 2 hours.
Here it is after the hot tub. It’s important to gently pat the steak dry in order to get a good sear in the next step.
Finishing in hot cast iron with butter!
Finished product, before and after slicing:
Overall, a great bachelor dinner—one of the best NY strips I’ve ever had. The grade of meat makes a big difference, but sous vide makes it so easy to cook it perfectly medium rare. I highly recommend the method. No expert by any means, but happy to try and answer any questions.
For our next get together with friends/family, I’m planning to do a head-to-head comparison of sous vide versus reverse sear. I’ll try to document that one as well.
Oh ya, this guy got a few bites as well... Thanks for reading!
Excellent Documentation! Now I am interested. That Strip looked like it turned out PERFECT! I am always up for learning how to cook a better steak! I am curious how a whole tenderloin would turn out!
You said you had it on 129 for two hours. How big was the steak? I am assuming it was somewhere in the 10 to 12 ounce range? Just curious how long a tenderloin that is three to four pounds will take.
You said you had it on 129 for two hours. How big was the steak? I am assuming it was somewhere in the 10 to 12 ounce range? Just curious how long a tenderloin that is three to four pounds will take.
JWS VII
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Thanks! Yes, about 12 oz on the steak. Weight is important, but thickness also plays a big role. I’d have to do a bit of research on the whole tenderloin, but I’d guess several hours. The best part about sous vide is that it’s basically impossible to overcook something. If you leave the protein in the water bath for too long (read: hours linger than you should), then the texture may change. But it still won’t be overcooked.
GearNoir
“The Disney Princess’s Apprentice”
Hah, the expectation on that face!
That was my understanding as well and one of the big bonuses of this technique. But in the case of the steak it seems as though it is removed long before it’s entirely cooked. Correct? Otherwise the steak would be done all the way through to the amount the outside is right now.
JWS VII
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Yes, although the steak internal temp does get close to the ambient water temp. It’s very hard for internal temp to match the water temp, however, so the rule of thumb seems to be to sous vide at 2* or 3* higher than your desired internal. I was cooking at 129* F, so when I pulled after two hours, I would guess my internal was between 125-127*. After searing off (only 1 minute per side), it might have reached 130*, which is perfect med-rare (IMO). I’ll verify temps next time around. Obviously, the steak can’t get warmer than the ambient water temp, so the ability to avoid overcooking.
You could certainly eat the steak straight out of the sous vide, it would just lack the tasty crust achieved from cast iron or the grill.
You could certainly eat the steak straight out of the sous vide, it would just lack the tasty crust achieved from cast iron or the grill.
JWS VII
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Consistency of result is definitely a plus. The temperature is also much more even throughout the meat—similar to a reverse sear. Both methods allow you to cook a thicker piece of meat to an ideal internal temperature without completely charring the outside.
Alright, I was just sucked into the YouTube sous vide black hole for like 2 hours. Might try one out. I need a way that makes cooking meat easier for someone that never learned and it's either this or slow smoker and this is a lower price point to get into. .
JWS VII
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Nice! Check out Sous Vide Everything (YouTube channel) if you haven’t—pretty entertaining and the basic series is helpful to get started. I’ve also found Serious Eats (website) to be a good resource.
Probably all of the circulators on the market are good. Seems like Joule (by ChefSteps) and Anova “rule the roost.” I like the Joule because of its size—it easily fits in a drawer. Potential downside is no on-device controls (all app driven). I haven’t found this to be an issue at all, but a turn off for some.
Finally, you definitely don’t need a vacuum sealer. Galloon size ziplock freezer bags work great with the water displacement method.
Overall, I think it’s a really neat way to cook. I’ve had 10+ great cooks, from steaks, to chicken, to salmon, to lobster tails... Keep us posted!
Mine is the InstantPot branded one. super simple controls/no app interface at all(possibly why it's cheaper?) I did the ziplock water displacement method too and it worked great. the screw clamp on the circulator works really well with any pot that is deep enough and i just covered the top with foil, but i have a cheap silicone cover with a slot for the circulator coming soon to make that easier.
JWS VII
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Nice, I haven't tried pork chops sous vide yet. Out of curiosity, what was the temp/time/approx. thickness of the chops?