First Steak

Hey all,

This is my first steak. I wanted to post my observations and some pictures and see if anyone here can help me produce an even better result next time around.

Steak: Boneless Ribeye, Choice (from Costco. Purchased on a whim... needed a quick fix.)

Equipment: Anova Sous Vide Circulator.

Temperature: 58 c.

Method: Chilled for 20 minutes in freezer, pre seared with Bernzomatic TS8000 Propane torch (lit fully opened, then adjusted until I had a steady, controlled blue flame,) ziploc bagged with unsalted butter, cooked for 2 hours, patted dry and seared with torch to finish.

Observations:

1) The pre sear from frozen took a little longer than I thought it would. Is this normal? I didn't pat dry before I chilled, so could this be why? Otherwise, the sear was good and there was no torch taste. I also noticed the taste of the pre sear permeate the steak in a great way.

2) The steak was tasty, but some of the fibers were stringy and though the steak was fairly juicy, felt as if it was starting to reach the border of getting dry. Does anyone know why this might be? I cut into the steak with a a cheap serrated steak knife. Not sure if this had anything to do with it, but the cut cross section did not look as clean or juicy as some of the cut cross sections on the forum and website.

Please note these are two separate rib eye steaks. Also the bottom picture rotated automatically, so sorry I couldn't fix it! Any and all input welcome.

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Comments

Johan_Edstrom_5586

58 is fairly high for a tender piece of red meat.

Pre-sear from frozen takes a little longer, yes, you need to warm the surface up

and get a good browning. From what I can see it looks pretty darn good.

I wouldn't bag a steak with "anything" really - you don't need it.

Butter i'd just add at the end, let it melt over the steak with seasoning.

I'm not sure but I'd guess that the components in butter most likely

can pull out moisture.

Jack_Mayer_85396

@Lou, I'll echo what @Johan said, I usually go a few degrees lower for tender cuts and rarely add anything to the bag before SV cooking. Also, that steak looks pretty darn good to me as well! Keep experimenting and report your results ...

Lou_34544

Thanks guys. It was pretty good...definitely the best steak I've made at home.

t.stanoulis

54°C is my preferred temperature for a ribeye. I'd suggest to never cut it with a "steak knife." Those really just rip the flesh apart; you're much better off with a very sharp blade. 2h seems a little longer than you'd need to bring a steak that thick to temp. How long did you let it rest before carving?

Martin_Cheung_21050

I am also curious as to what factors are involved in maximizing the juiciness of SV steak. Like Lou, I had a similar outcome with the steak being on the edge of dry and tough even though it was SV at 55C.

- steak was from Costco, rib eye boneless (about same thickness as Lou's)

- pre seared on a pan on high

- bagged with rosemary, SV at 55c 1.5 hours

- no seasoning until prior to serving

I am wondering if this could be due to the steak not having much marbling or if it was SV for too long?

Brendan_Lee_56950

1.5h certainly doesn't seem too long at all. My guess is that the searing may have been too long or like you said maybe the steak wasn't the juiciest to begin with.

Lou_34544

So I cooked the rib eyes leftover from the same package over the weekend. I did not take a picture....they came out so great I didn't even take a minute to snap a photo.

I cooked at 54 c. about 2 hours, same searing process. No butter in the bag this time. Didn't even brush it on after. They come out incredibly juicy and tender.

Another notable difference, I used an extremely sharp chefs knife to cut the steak. It cut through like butter, and didn't destroy the meat fibers.

I think it was the new temperature and the use of a good knife, but this steak was the most tender, juicy steak I've ever eaten. It was better than a dry aged steak I had in NYC a month prior. Really.

My only concern: This time, the sear after I took it out of the bag was a little different. One steak that had less fat on the surface seemed to dry out on the crust, rather than get brown and crisp. Should I brush with a canola oil next time before torching? Why might this have happened.

Lou_34544

Next time, I think I'll try the fish sauce "aging" and maybe the one hour at a lower temperature to tenderize. I can't imagine the steak being that much better, though!