I asked Bill a question, a simple one, really, "What would you like for dinner? Steak or Chicken?"
"STEAK" came back the reply in a nanosecond!
So out came the sous vide circulator, a plastic bin, 2 strip steaks from the freezer, and the propane torch. All set for a post zoom call dinner.
I used the Joule app timing suggestions for strip steaks about 1.5 inches thick and cooked to 129°F. Exactly 1.5 hours once the water had heated up. That gave me time to season the steaks with salt, pepper, and garlic powder before vacuum sealing them. I took the steaks out of the freezer earlier in the day and they were thawed when I put them into the water at around 5:00 pm. It really doesn't matter, if they were frozen, you could still cook them sous vide but you would need about 2 hours.
I love cooking steaks sous vide. There is no guessing about temperature, no unnecessary poking of the meat with a thermometer to check temperature, it's easy peasy and fool proof. You can reverse sear them if you'd like. You would do this especially if you didn't have a blow torch. Come to think of it, you could do it even if you did have a torch. I prefer to use a torch. I get a nice brown coat on the exterior of the steak without the brown ring on the interior. I have grown to hate that damn ring.
To round out the steak dinner, I made potatoes "baked" in the microwave, 5 mins in a brown paper bag, turn bag over, 5 more minutes, perfect baked potatoes! And I made asparagus and broccoli with onions, garlic, hot pepper flakes, chicken stock and a bit of pancetta and a few toasted pine nuts. Finishing the meal with a salad of onions, tomatoes, celery and cucumbers dressed with sherry vinegar and Spanish olive oil
Dinner was absolutely perfect. The perfect amount of meat, Bill and I split one of the steaks about 1/3, 2/3 along with baked potato, veggies and salad....I will not eat until breakfast tomorrow! Well, maybe some fruit later tonight!
If you have never cooked sous vide, I strongly suggest you visit Sous Vide Everything. This YouTube channel is great. It is 3 guys conducting experiments cooking various foods using the sous vide method. Not only is it informative, it is hilarious. These guys taught me not to fear sous vide and to relish the torch! I have cooked lots of stuff using the sous vide method. You do not need a vacuum sealer, you can use the water displacement method and everything will be fine.
In fact, the new 8 quart duo crisp instant pot has a sous vide function. So you don't need a circulator either. I have only used the instant pot to make yogurt using the sous vide function. Most sous vide circulators now have an accompanying app to help you choose temperatures and time lengths that suit your tastes. Chef Steps is a great app for figuring things out with this technique.
Be fearless and experiment! What have you got to lose? One iffy meal? Small price to pay in order to expand your horizons!
Cheers.
"STEAK" came back the reply in a nanosecond!
So out came the sous vide circulator, a plastic bin, 2 strip steaks from the freezer, and the propane torch. All set for a post zoom call dinner.
I used the Joule app timing suggestions for strip steaks about 1.5 inches thick and cooked to 129°F. Exactly 1.5 hours once the water had heated up. That gave me time to season the steaks with salt, pepper, and garlic powder before vacuum sealing them. I took the steaks out of the freezer earlier in the day and they were thawed when I put them into the water at around 5:00 pm. It really doesn't matter, if they were frozen, you could still cook them sous vide but you would need about 2 hours.
I love cooking steaks sous vide. There is no guessing about temperature, no unnecessary poking of the meat with a thermometer to check temperature, it's easy peasy and fool proof. You can reverse sear them if you'd like. You would do this especially if you didn't have a blow torch. Come to think of it, you could do it even if you did have a torch. I prefer to use a torch. I get a nice brown coat on the exterior of the steak without the brown ring on the interior. I have grown to hate that damn ring.
 |
| after torching |
 |
| cut and you can see, no ring! |
To round out the steak dinner, I made potatoes "baked" in the microwave, 5 mins in a brown paper bag, turn bag over, 5 more minutes, perfect baked potatoes! And I made asparagus and broccoli with onions, garlic, hot pepper flakes, chicken stock and a bit of pancetta and a few toasted pine nuts. Finishing the meal with a salad of onions, tomatoes, celery and cucumbers dressed with sherry vinegar and Spanish olive oil
 |
| veggie |
 |
| salad |
Dinner was absolutely perfect. The perfect amount of meat, Bill and I split one of the steaks about 1/3, 2/3 along with baked potato, veggies and salad....I will not eat until breakfast tomorrow! Well, maybe some fruit later tonight!
If you have never cooked sous vide, I strongly suggest you visit Sous Vide Everything. This YouTube channel is great. It is 3 guys conducting experiments cooking various foods using the sous vide method. Not only is it informative, it is hilarious. These guys taught me not to fear sous vide and to relish the torch! I have cooked lots of stuff using the sous vide method. You do not need a vacuum sealer, you can use the water displacement method and everything will be fine.
In fact, the new 8 quart duo crisp instant pot has a sous vide function. So you don't need a circulator either. I have only used the instant pot to make yogurt using the sous vide function. Most sous vide circulators now have an accompanying app to help you choose temperatures and time lengths that suit your tastes. Chef Steps is a great app for figuring things out with this technique.
Be fearless and experiment! What have you got to lose? One iffy meal? Small price to pay in order to expand your horizons!
Cheers.
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