I'm currently making/eating the best steaks I have ever had (save a few), all thanks to this fuss over a "1 ingredient dish."

It's the same reason why people enjoy golf--it is seemingly simple but takes a lifetime to truly master (for most) and there is always room for improvement.

Also, I'm particularly interested in sous vide because of how easy it can be to serve steaks for a large group. You can cook your protein for as long as you like, then pull it out of the bath when everything/one else is ready. You don't have to perfectly time everything or risk cold steaks

Freakin,

Here's my attempt at beer cooler sous vide:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...&postcount=434

I did it at 125 in the cooler, and it was slightly overcooked. I'd aim for 115-120 next time since the post-searing raised the temp more than I expected (especially since I wanted a crust).

For the cooler, I'd just start it at the temp you want. The water temp did not drop much (if at all) when I added the steak. You can just add hot water if necessary.

I added some herbs, black pepper, and butter in the sous vide bag. You should search on seriouseats about flavorings in the bag because there's something about how garlic is overpowering if used in the sous vide.

Overall, it was fine, but not any easier or better than my normal steaks. Hope you have better results than I did!

Awesome! Thanks for finding that. I'll go for 120 max then. I'm guessing it's harder to get a good crust quickly on a grill than it is in a cast iron.

af0808 - drop the temp of the water bath quite a few degrees for the last 15 mins so you can get the crust without overcooking the inside.

Freakin - I use them minimum amount of butter that enables me to get a seal when putting the ziploc bag under water (apart from the opening) - not entirely sure in terms of grams but very easy to experiment with. The water in the bowl displaces the air inside the bag - you push the bag down as you close the ziploc forcing the air out. The actual amount of butter is becoming less and less. This method + ziplocs is what Dave Arnold recommends for home cooking stuff before getting a consumer level vacuum machine.
Obviously there are lots of different opinions, but he works with an impressive number of great chefs, I trust his opinion, and think his stuff is worth looking at.
The pre sous vide sear also will kill any bacteria (if there is any) on the outside of the meat. Not sure how important this is for steak, but for other cuts with a longer cooking time is can be important I think.
I put a little ground nut oil into a v hot pan then butter, then add the steak, I havent needed to season again. I like a garlic clove in the bag but it can be strong tasting.... D Arnold says he uses the butter inside the bag for a garlic bread accompaniement, which I think will definitely be good, again I haven done that yet but will try it at some point I think...

I don't know if sous vide steak is a bit unnecessary - I can see the argument that it is. I am still experimenting to some degree, but get 100% consistent results with the basic sous vide setup I have when I am not specifically trying variations in a recipe, and I really like the technique for that reason. For other foods sous vide has been a total revelation for me and my cooking hence me trying steak with it.

No prob. I actually did the grill so I could cheat and let it flame up for a quick sear.

Here's a great article by Kenji on Sous vide steaks
http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/03/h...ide-steak.html

Kind of covers everything. He found that
1) Butter in bag just takes away flavor
2) presear is largely unimportant

hmm. i'll probably end up following him once and arnold once and see which I prefer

A 'secret' I learned from a guy who ran a local steakhouse in the small town where I grew up (his place was widely considered to serve the 'best' steaks within a 50 mile radius and people would drive that far just to eat there, even though he ONLY served steak, potato, and bread):

1. Do NOT marinade steak at all, with anything, ever. His take was that "if you need to marinade a piece of meat you should have bought a better piece of meat in the first place."

2. Pour a bottle of Worcestershire sauce into a saucepan (they're all about the same, brand name doesn't matter)

3. Add 1 complete stick of real butter (no margarine)

4. Warm contents on low heat, just enough to melt the butter (do not let it boil)

5. Brush liberally on each side of the steak each time you turn it

6. Profit $$$

I tried it once and this is how I cook every piece of meat that I throw on a grill. It also works quite well on pork.

I didn't really all 174 pages of this thread so sorry if something like this has already been posted.

Serious Eats has some good articles, like this one on prime rib

http://www.seriouseats.com/2009/12/t...l?ref=obinsite

amoeba,

keep up!

There's so much good content, we need an anthology just for this thread.

seriously. One for tips and one for pics

and another one for orgasms

now thats a method I havn't heard of before. I think a whole stick of butter will make anything good, but keep the Worcestershire away from my steak

whole foods had dry age prime ribeye's on sale for 14.99/lb, I couldn't resist

how was it compared to a standard ribeye?

oh good lord

i like how he just casually throws out a couple of pics of pretty much the best steak ITT.

holy. ****.

I'll be the first to admit that is definitely too rare for me. That crust is stunning.

Really want to pick up some dry aged beef.

Plan for tonight is

Sous vide tenderloin, seared for 30-60 seconds/side before bagging (for killing bacteria more than flavor). Thin sliced shallot & microplaned garlic clove for each bag, along with a few sprigs of thyme
Salt & pepper for 45-60 minutes before initial sear
130F target temp for bath (based on everything I read yesterday, this is the optimal temp (well, 131F actually) to not have the meat come out as a mushy slippery mess)
Sear on high heat in beef fat & slightly browned butter for ~1 minute/side + edges

These french fries
Made them last night and letting them freeze overnight prior to second frying. I couldn't wait last night and made a handful and they were incredible. Perfect crust outside and nice and soft inside


I think I may have a man-crush on Kenji

mr,

Cooking technique details, please? That looks pretty awesome, only possible criticism is that the dark ring is a tiny bit too thick. How thick was the steak? How much did it weigh?

I'm gonna be annoyed when I go to Whole Foods tonight and the dry aged ribeye is $23.99/lb or some ****.

Sign of a seasoned cast-iron cook: smoke detector lying on the table.

weird, my friend was just telling me he does almost all his steaks in cooler of water.

Did serious eats prime rib last night for 5 people, it was very well received, some pics somewhere.

I also sauteed minced garlic with butter then added water and bullion and injected it into the prime rib in various locations. Tasted good but didn't really spread that well. I made the jus similarly.

http://oliverranch.com/shopcontent.asp?type=tasterspack

it was a behemoth, weighing in at about 1.8lbs. It was also vvthick for its weight. Flavor was amazing very big beef flavor, and even though it was quite rare didn't have the chewiness of a lot of rare ribeyes. I think this is due to a slower cooking time allowing for the fat to soften up more.

As for cooking it started in a cold pan and put the steak fat side down(the trimming of the steak had left a huge fat strip that was also very hard) rendered out a bunch of beef fat while the heat was on high

after rendering off a bunch of beef fat did each side for about 3 minutes, poured off fat

put in about 2tbsp? of butter with two garlic cloves, tilted the pan back and basted with a spoon while flipping the steak about 4-6 times

put it in a 400 oven checked it after 5ish minutes, poked it didn't seem done yet put it in for another 2? minutes poked it again felt like it needed more so did another 2 minutes then let it rest covered for 8ish minutes before consuming

also saved some beef and made a sandwich

good god that looks amazing

I cooked a good steak tonight....... it was a piece of s**t when I finished cooking it tho.