Sous Vide: Sear Before or After?

The "Best Way To Cook A Steak. Period." video suggests searing after cooking sous vide, but some other videos suggest searing before. Is it just a matter of preference or is there a definitive answer to whether searing before or after is best?

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Brandon_Byrd_40557

The absolute best practice is to sear steak both before and after. ChefSteps has a video and guide to presearing available here.

fisher23

I always sear after, always, even if I pre sear. Pre sear helps develop flavor, sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. I tend to buy steak when it's on sale and vacuuseal it. So if I get one out of the freezer I usually just put it directly in the bath then post sear only but if it's fresh I pre and post sear. My opinion is post sear is necessary, pre sear is optional. Hope that helps.

HammeredChef_DEFINITELY_does_NOT_work_at_22134

yep, I go both ways front and back....

tshewman

Presearing essentially allows the flavors of the seared sugars and proteins to develop further. For a steak because of the contractile nature of the tissue it won't enter into this meat but can definitely add flavor to the surface and if used in the pan sauce can add to that as well.

AngelArs_240456

Post sear = yes.

I do not pre-sear. It annoys the steak and delays eating.

Johan_Edstrom_5586

I am gonna say I do somewhat a modified cryo if you want, pre-sear if you feel like it, then cook, then chill, then nuke the living beeejebus out of it.

Matthew_Snyder_68770

If you can only do one, I prefer to do post-sear. But I'll upvote the trend for recommending both pre- and post-sear.

Amos_Schorr_168815

Cryofrying as your post-sear is far and away the best, but also wildly impractical. If you don't presear (and don't cryofry), and only post-sear, you will have a less perfectly cooked steak with more of that "grey band." As soon as meat is at its proper temperature, any more cooking will make it less perfect. BUT for several reasons, you still want to sear it after. If you pre-sear, you minimize the amount of time that it takes to properly post-sear, which means your steak will end up better cooked.

allanrisk

I am going to be cooking a 17lb chuck roast for a community dinner. I would like to cook it sous vide to get it as tender as possible, but I'd also like to be able to sear it. Unfortunately, it's far too big for any frying pan I have. I thought what I would do is cook it to about 130 degrees in sous vide for 24 hours or so, then chill it quickly in ice water, and refrigerate overnight. A few hours before serving, I thought I'd stick it a 500 degree oven until the outside browns/crisps nicely, and the inside is warmed through. (I can also warm the sliced meat gently in the gravy). Anyone see any problems with this?

Kyl_Haselbauer_worked_at_chefsteps_1040170

I would recommend just doing a high heat roast after your sv if you don't have a large enough pan for a presear

allanrisk

Do you mean immediately after sous vide, or do you think I can chill it, and then finish it the next day in the oven?

Kyl_Haselbauer_worked_at_chefsteps_1040170

chill and roast the next day.