If you are a member of the Facebook group, you might have gathered that sous vide is my absolute favorite way to cook my meat, and most especially steaks. I used to hate steak with the fiery heat of a thousand suns, but my meat eating life was changed once I finally tried this method.
Sous Vide, which in French means “under vacuum,” is all the rage right now in the culinary community, and for good reason! It yields a perfectly cooked steak, every single time, from top to bottom and front to back. There is no part of your sous vide steak that is going to be tough and stringy while the rest of it is underdone and cold, which so frequently happens with stovetop and grill cooking. This method of cooking brings the whole steak up to your perfect temperature, and holds it there until it’s pasteurized and you’re ready to eat!
It’s so easy and hands-off that as long as you have a sous vide circulator, a deep stock pot, some zip top bags, and five minutes to give your meat a quick sear, even the most hesitant home chef can make a perfectly cooked, succulent steak.
In case anyone was wondering, this is exactly how I cook my steak. My personal temperature preference is in the middle of the medium rare range, so we cook our steaks to about 134 degrees F, after seasoning really well with a good quality, flaked and smoked sea salt, fresh black pepper, and garlic powder. If you have a favorite seasoning blend, feel free to use that instead! Don’t be afraid to make this your own. It’s so easy that it genuinely is very hard to mess up, so get wild and experiment.
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PinIngredients
- 1 (1-2 inch) ribeye or strip steak per person
- 2 tsp smokes sea salt, per steak
- Fresh milled black pepper, to tastse
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder, per steak
- 1 tbsp bacon drippings or avocado oil per steak, to sear
- Small pat of butter per steak, to sear
Instructions
- Attach the sous vide circulator to the side of a deep stock pot, fill to the line with water (as directed by your machine’s instructions), and preheat your water to your desired temperature.
- Pat the meat dry, then season each side of your steak very well. Lightly press the seasoning into the surface of the meat with your hands, so it adheres.
- Place each steak in a food-grade, vacuum seal OR zip top bag (silicon bags are fine if you are averse to using plastic).
- If using a vacuum-sealed bag, seal the bag as instructed by your machine, then insert the sealed bag into the water. If using a zip top bag, press most of the air out of the bag and partially seal, leaving a good inch of the top open. To create the vacuum, slowly lower the bag into the water to push the air out of the opening. Once it’s almost completely submerged and all the air is out of the bag, finish sealing the top. I recommend clipping the top of the bag to the side of the pot with a chip clip, or something similar, making sure the meat is completely submerged in the water on all sides, but the opening is above the water line so there is no danger of water seeping in.
- Cook in the water bath for 2 1/2 hours.
- Once the time is up, remove the bags, open them, and pull out all of your steaks. Set the juices to the side to use, if desired. You will want to pat each steak dry on both sides with paper towels.
- In a skillet, heat your bacon grease or avocado oil over high heat, until it’s just about smoking. Add a pat of butter to the skillet, then immediately put in one steak.
- Cook on the first side for a good 30 seconds to one minute, until it is seared as desired. Flip and repeat the sear on the second side. Remove from the skillet and repeat the process with any additional steaks, adding oil to the pan as needed.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 steak per person, nutrition varies depending on size and cut of your steak
[…] This week, Mandy and Brian dig into a cooking technique that's all the rage at the moment: Sous Vide. Learn all about this exciting- and easy!- method, as Mandy explains the ins-and-outs of how it works and what you'll need to get started. And if you didn't catch it the first time around, you can find Mandy's recipe for the perfect Sous Vide cooked steak here. […]