The Perfect Steak - Everytime!

Whether you like to grill, broil, or pan fry your steak this is the fool-proof method creating a tender, juicy steak every time.  You just need to add one, step the sous vide step!

I just happened to finish off a great rib-eye steak from the sous vide water bath.  It would be a tragedy if I did not pass on the method so you can achieve the same results.

I started off with 2 rib eyes about 20oz each and dry aged them in the refrigerator for 4 days.  To learn about this process go see Alton Brown on read about the technique, he is preparing a porterhouse steak but the same technique is easily applied to a rib eye or almost any type of steak.  If you want to dry age you must not proceed with the next step until you read and go through Altons' process.

After dry aging or when starting with a fresh steak you begin by seasoning the way you would with any steak, Montreal steak rub, Cajun, fresh rosemary, thyme, sky's the limit!  I prefer to let the flavor of the beef speak for itself so I go basic with just salt, pepper and a little granulated garlic.  Sprinkle it on and give it a good massage but be careful not to over season.  The sous vide bath can intensify the flavors.  I find the normal amounts of salt and pepper are fine but when you get into adding aromatics they can become a little overpowering.  Take your normal amount of herbs and spices  and cut it back by about about 25%.

After the seasoning process, place the steaks in the vacuum bags and remove all the air and seal the bags.  At this point you can toss them back in the refrigerator and let them absorb all of the wonderful flavors you want to impart in them or just toss them in the water bath and let them cook away.

How long to let them cook?  With a steak the cooking times are pretty straight forward for most cuts, but the time does vary by the thickness of the steak.  For a good guide for times for your cut of meat I suggest you visit this site that has a full breakdown of all the times and temperatures for all types of proteins.

The real theory behind sous vide cooking is the point that you can't overcook your food, unless you program your water bath wrong.  If you put a steak in a water bath set to a constant temperature of 135F then the steak can never get hotter than 135F.  If it's in there for 60 minutes like a thin steak or 72 hours for beef short ribs they will never get hotter than the temperature of the bath.  The only difference is that the texture of the meat can and will change.  In the case of a steak, a long cooking time, say over 6 hours, can produce a meat texture that can be mushy.  In the case of the beef short ribs the meat at 6 hours would still be tough, but at 72 hours it's still perfectly pink throughout the cut but fall apart tender.

That being said, my wife and I like our steaks cooked somewhere between medium rare (130F) and Medium (140F), so I cook them at 135F.  At this temperature the steak is a solid pink all the way through and retains its juices.  Cooking most proteins past 140F causes the muscle fibers to contract and begin to push all the juices of the steak out, creating a dry steak.  I'm not saying that cooking a steak to medium will cause it to be dry but cooking it past this point, just as on a BBQ, will give a drier piece of meat.  I cook a steak like this that is about 2" thick for 90 minutes.  Being a tender cut of meat we are just heating and pasteurizing rather than tenderizing.

Amother good reason for cooking at the low temperature in the water bath is to allow the collagen in the meat,  the substance that creates that silky mouth feel, a chance to dissolve into the meat.  Collagen really starts to melt away at 135F which is why I cook steaks to that temperature.  If I were to cook them to rare the collagen would still be intact and the great texture it creates would not be released. 

One of the great benefits of sous vide cooking is the free time it creates for you to create the rest of the meal or just relax.  If I leave the steaks in the bath for 3 hours nothing will change, the steaks won't be overcooked and they will be ready to go.  The down side to sous vide cooking is what a steak looks like when it comes out of the bath.  A bit grey and not so appetizing but that gives us our options to make it look perfect. 

Flame thrower hot heat, its a beautiful thing.  15 minutes before you are ready to serve is the time to get your searing option ready.  I have tried the broiler, pan searing, the grill and the every popular propane torch.  The quickest method is the 500+F cast iron skillet with a little peanut oil.  This creates a very fast sear, about 1 minute per side, and is by far the least time consuming.

The best option I have found is a hybrid between the grill and the torch.  Preheat your grill as hot as it will get for at least 15 minutes.  When the grill is ready remove the steaks form the bath, remove from the bag, and pat them dry with paper towels. Brush with olive oil and get them on the grill for 1 minute on each side.  While they are on the grill I do the edges with a torch to get the fat crisp and pretty.  Flip the steaks and repeat.  Now just serve your creation.  Unlike a purely grilled, broiled, etc.. steak, this one can be served immediately, no resting required.  We didn't overheat the meat so juices don't need to redistribute, we can eat.

Never forget, cocktail while your cooking makes mistakes a little better!