Seared too long and/or at insufficient temperature
iamthinksnow
Temp? Time? Cut of meat?
Off the cuff, you seared *waaay* too long, and you can tell by how thick that gray band is.
ElCochinoFeo
It’s hard to say what you did wrong if you don’t tell us what you did. You need to provide context to get answers.
bajajoaquin
For thin steaks, there’s not a lot of advantage with sous vide. Even if you get the surface really dry and have a really hot searing surface, it still overcooks a relatively large proportion of the meat.
Try with something over 1” for best results.
NerdPunch
I’d try 2 things here: – Chill your steak in the fridge post sous vide (ideally on a wire rack) – Get the outside dry and sear it as hot as you possibly can for like max 2 mins/side.
leif777
I don’t SV when my steaks are this thin.
fdwyersd
Watch/Google Kenji Lopez Alt… there are many others but he is a good one.
Relative_Year4968
As others have mentioned, hard to say without knowing what you did.
Unbelievably, the last person that had a similar looking steak maybe 3 days ago wasn’t drying off the steak before searing.
So that could be it. Can’t sear wet things.
rakondo
Throw it in the fridge on a rack after SV to let the surface dry out a bit. Then sear quickly at high temp. This looks like it was thrown on a low temp pan for 5 minutes straight out of the SV bag
skippyjifluvr
I did this to my steaks too many times. It’s embarrassing honestly. I fixed it by not sous viding them when they are this thin. Just throw them on the grill or piping hot cast iron and rub them over every 60 seconds. They only need 3-4 minutes.
Salreus
You never identified your goal. this could have been what you were going for. what was your desired temp?
LeeHarvey_Teabag
Don’t sous vide steaks this thin, just sear them quickly
I don’t but if it makes you feel better, it eat that mi-*steak.*
Artym_X
I’m not saying this is just you, but I’ve found a lot of people are scared or a REALLY high heat for the sear. It’ll be loud, It’ll be smoky without a good vent hood, but that’s how I do it to decent results.
With the thickness of these, I’d have the pan hot AF and sear for 45 seconds at most. Like the pan should legit scream when meat hits.
An inch or under steak, at room temp, your cook line looks like 3-5 mins of searing with the carry over factored in.
M3talergic
Your first mistake was electing to SV a steak that’s 3/4″ thick, maybe less by the looks of it.
Otherwise it looks like a low temp, or wet sear. Dry that bitch off and crank the heat up next time.
Applesmcgrind
Everything.
Dr_StrangeloveGA
Steaks are too thin and you “seared” them too long at too low a temp. Something that thickness just needs a quick hot sear.
weebstonks1214
what is wrong w this steak? sorry
Excellent_Tell5647
First off steaks are too thin, not dry brining them and over cooking it… so you doing everything possible wrong. My suggestion if you cant cook a steak right after a couple times, give up and just go out and eat one instead. These look attrocious.
ThisisFKNBS
As others pointed out, SV for a steak that thin doesn’t bode well. By the time you achieve a sear, you’ll have overcooked your steak. It becomes even more important that your thin steak is bone dry if you’re going to attempt to sous vide a thin steak so that it reduces the time to achieve the proper maillard reaction.
As an alternative, I would dry brine in salt and leave the steak out at room temperature and then give it a hard sear. I like to use a weight on top so that it is giving maximum contact with the blisteringly hot pan but not heavy enough where it’s squeezing out any liquid from the steak.
abcneverxyz
1. too damp/moist before sear so you wait to get a crust which can take longer creating the grey wall 2. heat not high enough or oil/ghee/tallow not smoking before placing on sear 3. sous viding too high or too long for the thickness of that steak (2.5-3.5 inches is 3hrs at 130°F so play with the math for thinner cuts) 4. you did not temper steak (at least 20-30minutes) before placing in sous vide bath. it causes the surface to cook faster than the cold interior hence the very visible grey wall
use a meat thermometer to test yourself then go without tontest yourself again.
GotMilk711
CRANK THAT SKILLET UP TO 11. THAT PAN NEEDS TO BE DAMN NEAR ON FIRE BEFORE TRYING TO SEAR.
TheKingOfSwing777
Everything
giffer44
Nothing. Had sex. I mean, steak.
OhLoongJonson
As many stated, you seared it for too long. You need to pat the steak dry, then sear at the highest temp your pan can handle. I use my cast iron pan and sear on high for 30 seconds on each side. Each side makes contact with the pan twice.
You’ll get a very thin sear line all the way around.
drewnonymous671
Pan needs to be way hotter for searing.
emil133
Why your sear might not be there: Temp of the pan is not high enough, surface of the steaks are too wet and should be pat dry before searing. I usually brush a thin layer of oil on the steaks after patting it dry, before seasoning it. The graybanding: youre cooking the steaks too long while trying to sear it. This ends up cooking the inside of the steak, causing the thick grey band youre seeing in this cross sections.
You’ll get it next time, OP!
QuestForHung
Looks like you seared it too long and too low temp or didn’t dry the steak before sear. With a steak this thin you need very hot pan to sear and just very quick sear on both sides like maybe 10-15 seconds. Generally thicker steaks are better for sous vide.
32 Comments
Seared too long and/or at insufficient temperature
Temp? Time? Cut of meat?
Off the cuff, you seared *waaay* too long, and you can tell by how thick that gray band is.
It’s hard to say what you did wrong if you don’t tell us what you did. You need to provide context to get answers.
For thin steaks, there’s not a lot of advantage with sous vide. Even if you get the surface really dry and have a really hot searing surface, it still overcooks a relatively large proportion of the meat.
Try with something over 1” for best results.
I’d try 2 things here:
– Chill your steak in the fridge post sous vide (ideally on a wire rack)
– Get the outside dry and sear it as hot as you possibly can for like max 2 mins/side.
I don’t SV when my steaks are this thin.
Watch/Google Kenji Lopez Alt… there are many others but he is a good one.
As others have mentioned, hard to say without knowing what you did.
Unbelievably, the last person that had a similar looking steak maybe 3 days ago wasn’t drying off the steak before searing.
So that could be it. Can’t sear wet things.
Throw it in the fridge on a rack after SV to let the surface dry out a bit. Then sear quickly at high temp. This looks like it was thrown on a low temp pan for 5 minutes straight out of the SV bag
I did this to my steaks too many times. It’s embarrassing honestly. I fixed it by not sous viding them when they are this thin. Just throw them on the grill or piping hot cast iron and rub them over every 60 seconds. They only need 3-4 minutes.
You never identified your goal. this could have been what you were going for. what was your desired temp?
Don’t sous vide steaks this thin, just sear them quickly
What is your concern? Sear? Doneness?
You need to get yourself one of these [SearPro](https://www.amazon.ca/Cooking-Culinary-Charcoal-Starter-Included/dp/B08NWM3ZKB/ref=sr_1_6?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.afFm0457jzMoZjK4JrdyY1BlT26PsyWaCt-ZtsAE2XqIH9niT58rV-J6JGJIGeXiMozdiTA58nQzLxPWF22YV9mju5oJlyKDuanyNpj5b2PS97aXUb5AfThoRnCjVLB8wtJHWQaXE98bTtpa9QO2Dibg_ndY533kgp8-Wli1lcjcXSfw6e9V5Q9H0UcbgJxp38bvKvl2o1l_uXNzc1yrgN4jBgqmxaJa3r1uOqx2CsUSYGxAnBTFwuY2KkLRqbk4lt-xoUQBypLH42oufdnwzx-4JWdW6qYPgqVE6tT118s.G4NCIjsmYviZxZWR6Qq0DoGgldEQAUnP85gw5Di5qZ0&dib_tag=se&hvadid=324895340107&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9001486&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=5920004896044553488&hvtargid=kwd-407077580594&hydadcr=21229_9424168&keywords=torch+sear&qid=1724722219&sr=8-6). Pat dry your meat and hit it hard with the torch. Hot and fast and you will have a nice sear.
Low-quality cut (looks like top sirloin)?
Are you using silicone?
I don’t but if it makes you feel better, it eat that mi-*steak.*
I’m not saying this is just you, but I’ve found a lot of people are scared or a REALLY high heat for the sear. It’ll be loud, It’ll be smoky without a good vent hood, but that’s how I do it to decent results.
With the thickness of these, I’d have the pan hot AF and sear for 45 seconds at most. Like the pan should legit scream when meat hits.
An inch or under steak, at room temp, your cook line looks like 3-5 mins of searing with the carry over factored in.
Your first mistake was electing to SV a steak that’s 3/4″ thick, maybe less by the looks of it.
Otherwise it looks like a low temp, or wet sear. Dry that bitch off and crank the heat up next time.
Everything.
Steaks are too thin and you “seared” them too long at too low a temp. Something that thickness just needs a quick hot sear.
what is wrong w this steak? sorry
First off steaks are too thin, not dry brining them and over cooking it… so you doing everything possible wrong. My suggestion if you cant cook a steak right after a couple times, give up and just go out and eat one instead. These look attrocious.
As others pointed out, SV for a steak that thin doesn’t bode well. By the time you achieve a sear, you’ll have overcooked your steak. It becomes even more important that your thin steak is bone dry if you’re going to attempt to sous vide a thin steak so that it reduces the time to achieve the proper maillard reaction.
As an alternative, I would dry brine in salt and leave the steak out at room temperature and then give it a hard sear. I like to use a weight on top so that it is giving maximum contact with the blisteringly hot pan but not heavy enough where it’s squeezing out any liquid from the steak.
1. too damp/moist before sear so you wait to get a crust which can take longer creating the grey wall
2. heat not high enough or oil/ghee/tallow not smoking before placing on sear
3. sous viding too high or too long for the thickness of that steak (2.5-3.5 inches is 3hrs at 130°F so play with the math for thinner cuts)
4. you did not temper steak (at least 20-30minutes) before placing in sous vide bath. it causes the surface to cook faster than the cold interior hence the very visible grey wall
use a meat thermometer to test yourself then go without tontest yourself again.
CRANK THAT SKILLET UP TO 11. THAT PAN NEEDS TO BE DAMN NEAR ON FIRE BEFORE TRYING TO SEAR.
Everything
Nothing. Had sex. I mean, steak.
As many stated, you seared it for too long. You need to pat the steak dry, then sear at the highest temp your pan can handle. I use my cast iron pan and sear on high for 30 seconds on each side. Each side makes contact with the pan twice.
You’ll get a very thin sear line all the way around.
Pan needs to be way hotter for searing.
Why your sear might not be there: Temp of the pan is not high enough, surface of the steaks are too wet and should be pat dry before searing. I usually brush a thin layer of oil on the steaks after patting it dry, before seasoning it.
The graybanding: youre cooking the steaks too long while trying to sear it. This ends up cooking the inside of the steak, causing the thick grey band youre seeing in this cross sections.
You’ll get it next time, OP!
Looks like you seared it too long and too low temp or didn’t dry the steak before sear. With a steak this thin you need very hot pan to sear and just very quick sear on both sides like maybe 10-15 seconds. Generally thicker steaks are better for sous vide.
Did you let it cool down before searing?