Sous vide question - ribeye

I wouldn't have done the brief research that I did if I wasn't a lover of good steaks. Based on my limited knowledge of the cooking method, I'm guessing you could get away with a shorter cooking time if you cook at a higher temperature, but then you're stuck with a steak that's more done... and a higher risk of chemicals leaching into the meat.

I'm tempted to try it with a well-seasoned, smallish prime rib--cooked to 135 for at least three hours. Yes, I would be exposing myself to God knows what, but once a year can't be too harmful. I hope. I expect the longer the meat cooks the more tender it would become, although maybe I'm wrong.

My wife and I use a pressure cooker a lot for chicken and roasts. We get excellent results, but we typically cook the hell out of things, to the point they're literally disintegrating. I'll have to do some research to see if cooking a medium rare rib-eye is feasible.

 

Idk about putting them on the coals. I’ll cook on my Smokey mountain without the barrel and give them maybe a 1/2 inch gap from the coals to char them nicely... but directly on the coals? Idk. I’ll try it though.

@Buck Turgidson have you seen this?

 

I think if you go low low temp and do the bags as you're doing it the chance of leaching is probably low, obviously bpa was removed (which used to be a major concern) but it was certainly replaced with something. I typically use the water method to force the air out using a zip lock and not a full on vacuum sealer. I haven't tried vegetables yet (which typically call for a higher temp in some cases) but as far as steak/chicken it's by far the best taste, and restaurants/including a lot of the better steak houses have been using this style for years. It's just that before the typical consumer couldn't afford one.

Don't get me wrong, I've thought about this as well on my own and even read sources but I also don't use this as my sole method of cooking. Also, pressure cooking is amazing for roasts/stew etc so I use that as well, and your point about red meat/grilling things is a great point, but I definitely am still going to eat steak, haha

 

Alright, you guys have sold me on it. I have never had an issue with my grilling or broiling, but I will experiment. If I grow a pair of breasts that might not be such a bad thing.

 

lulz...that's what we need -- an argument of the Caveman Way vs the sissy French Sous Vide way

 

Yes it is. Made a pot of charro beans with unsoaked pintos the other day in an hour.

 

Oh yeah, it's legit. Watched Alton Brown cook skirt steak just like that if you don't believe me.

Y'all are wrong that you can just hold meat in a sous vide for many, many hours "like restaurants do". Total bullshit. It ruins the texture.

 

The vid in CCorn's post is the Alton Brown one, from last page via FFB

 

Nobody said to let it sit for 24 hours, but it does turn it into a mush after awhile. I soak thicker steaks for 4-5 hours and they turn out great.

 

Neither did I. I was just commenting on the idea that meat (or most things) being cooked at a constant temp can just sit there at that temp and be the same no matter the time.

It was mentioned earlier, and it is false. Time matters.

 

Man! I need to try that next, that sounds great!

 

Have you tried it? It looks amazing

 

sure, great for thin cuts beef or pork for tacos. Do remember to blow the ash off of the coals first.

 

When those steak come straight out of the bag, they really look pretty disgusting.

How did the fat render on that rib eye? The last time I sv'ed my rib eyes to medium rare and finished on a cast iron pan, I found I overcooked the insides trying to get a Pittsburgh sear. I found the fat just didn't render like a good reverse sear. Maybe next time I'll cook to rare and Pittsburgh it.

 

depends on the cut. Something like a baseball cut sirloin can take 12 hours and be great.

 

Are you all using a cast iron skillet to sear your steaks?

I have one, but I also have an electric (smooth) stovetop which can supposedly crack when used with cast iron. Would a regular coated pan work with some oil and butter?

 

I am going to try this next time, going rare might help, the other thing that's helped is using a grill to get the pan somewhat hotter and using 2 if I'm doing a lot of steak. I've gotten the leaner cuts near perfect but would like to retry the ribeye

 

Yes, cast iron skillet seems to be the best, I've actually started just using them on the grill, so if you're doing a lot don't have to worry about venting the smoke during the sear etc. I haven't tried a normal pan yet but it should work, I just prefer cast iron for this

 

I never thought of that. Less grease and stuff splattering all over the kitchen. Thanks.