I have my ANOVA set to 129. steak is about an inch previously frozen but I've let it thaw in the fridge for a day and half. cooked for 2hrs and pan seared for 40 seconds.
i also resealed bag once it was thawed. can't seem to get a good medium rare . is my steak too thin?
by ParticularType7937
34 Comments
check water temp with thermometer to be sure its right temp
how are you searing?
Do you go 40 seconds per side? Might be too much.
129 should be nice and pink. I do mine at 135 and they are pinker than that. I can only think your sear is too much. Try putting them in a cold water bath between the sous vide and the sear to prevent the overcook.
129 celsius?
Oxidation and freezer burn can change the color of steak. If you are not flash freezing (industrial ability to instantly stop the cooking and freeze), there will be degradation.
If possible, you really shouldn’t freeze steak. The moisture pulverizes texture, etc.
I’d get a fresh steak and do the same procedure and see how you fare.
Regardless of what you did, the steak has reached an internal temperature higher than the medium rare you are shooting for. Either this happened with your sear, your rest (if you rest) or it happened in your bath and you have a higher water temperature than you thought. As the other poster suggested, check water temperature to rule that out, and then probe frequently while searing you ensure your temp doesn’t exceed a certain point, dependent on if you rest or not.
Another variable that’s possible is you did everything correctly, but then held the steaks warm under a foil or something and the temperature climbed quickly because the steak is thin. That, or you had a hot plate that upcooked the steak
how much water should I be seeing in the bag? could my vac seal have leaks?
Temp might be wrong. 129 should be medium rare. Also, steak is too thin. Try to get your hands on a 2 inch or as thick as you can find. That why when you sear, it won’t cook through.
my temps seem to be close enough
https://preview.redd.it/bt16grryd7le1.jpeg?width=6144&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a503295d225cb9d51f884851cfb63f70131b5598
Try 1.5 hours
Are you chilling before searing? I was going over constantly before I started putting the steak in the fridge for 10-15min before I sear. If it’s already at 129, when you sear it’ll only climb higher, even if you’re searing for a short time.
Did you rest it ?
I think your stick calibration is off. Try measuring water temp with an instant read
I think freezer burn
1 inch steak? 100% Searing too long. 40 sec per side on cast iron is way too long without ice bath after removing from sous vide.
You need to get a thicker steak. I would also let it sit in the bath at 120. Your cooking a thin steak to medium rare(likely more) due to the thickness before you even sear it.
Reading your comments it doesn’t sound like you’re doing any ice bath/refridgerator/ freezer. You are basically still cooking it when you put it in the pan.
It is already cooked out of the sous vide. If you don’t cool it you will over cook it.
Get it cool on the outside and very very dry and then do the quick sear.
Too much sear heat or water temp wasn’t 129. Check water temp with a thermometer if that’s accurate chill it down in an ice bath prior to sear
Did your bag leak? Sometimes water getting in can cause the meat to grey like that.
You need to ice bath before searing
I have a couple steps that have dialed in making steaks to perfection. First, I cook the steak to exactly the temperature that it should be whatever doneness you would like that as. And when I’m done I put it in an ice bath for about 5 to 7 minutes. So it brings the temperature back down and then I Pat the steak dry so that I’m not boiling the steak on the pan. Then when you pan fry it do it just long enough that it does not get past the temperature that it was originally sous vide for. You can use a thermometer if you’d like to double check it. One of the issues as has been mentioned in the other comments is to see if your temperature in the sous-vide is correct. I have a big issue with hard water so especially when doing long duration sous vide Cooks it tends to get a calcium buildup and that can interfere with the performance of the sous vide stick. Whenever I am done with a cook, I like to put the stick in a cup and fill it up with white distilled vinegar and water and then you can make sure that you are keeping your equipment in tip top shape.
Next time, after you pull it out of the bath, check the temp of the meat and cut it in half to check color. If you’re good before you sear them you know it’s not a problem with the bath and that your searing technique needs some tweaks.
It’s almost certainly either improperly frozen or your lighting (lights with the wrong spectrum can make steak seem well done!). Double check your water bath temp as well.
These people talking about an ice bath or cooking a steak from the low end of medium rare to well done after 40 seconds on each side are completely insane. None of that makes any sense at all. I’ve done this for over a decade and never once used an ice bath. I also never time my sear. Literally never. And I’ve never experienced a steak go from medium rare to fully well done cooking sous vide.
120 is the temp you seek. 129 is medium. Dry brine 24 hours or more in advance uncovered. Throw it in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. THEN do your sear. You can thank me later.
Your steak is too thin, exactly what you suspect.
I just don’t see any advantage of sous vide for a thin steak. I mean, you’re having to vacuum seal it, cook it for two hours, and still get the same pan dirty that you could have used to cook that steak to perfection in about 4 minutes without all the fuss. And you would have gotten a much better Maillard reaction, therefore more flavor.
Also, 129° is way too high a temperature if you’re hoping to get anything less than medium-well for the final product after searing.
I read most of the comments I don’t think I saw what cut was used. It’s not as relevant as the majority of things I am going to critique.
Too thin of a cut that’s your biggest issue. It looks lean too. I tried a flank steak once….. Dog food. Bruh that looks like a little over half an inch. I’m reverse searing cuts under an inch.1.5″ and up is sous vide.
Second…. Cooked too long for what I think the cut looks like. That’s by far your least influential issue to the problem you are getting to solve. I cooked a 2.25″ t bone for 2.5 hours the other day. Slightly higher temperature to render the fat but judging my the little info I have an hour was plenty.
Third, and besides thickness, the biggest issue… Your chill process. Take it out the bag all that heat is stuck inside plastic for god knows how long. I rip the bag, pat dry, fuck an ice batch that’s extra I throw it in the fridge 20 min. It provides additional dehydration of the exterior as well as cooling before the sear.
I seared that 2.25″ t bone it was fatty so 40s fat then a minute each side. At least three times thicker than your steak.
If you have more steaks exactly like that. I always suggest a dry brine. Then reduce the time at least 30 min most likely an hour. The biggest issue, from a scientific perspective, is that it was never properly cooled. At this point I forget how long you cooled it but I’m guessing it was still probably hot at least warm when you seared it. Usually I’m worried before the sear because it feels almost chilly. Trust the process.
Otherwise…. Get a thicker steak, ideally, and do all of the above adjusting the time according to thickness. If you do ribeye or another fatty cut 135°F. Trust me. Otherwise if all that fails your circulation machine and temperature probe are fucking lying to you.
Buy thicker steak. Sear higher and less time
Yes. It’s too thin to sous vide. But good way to practice.
Ice bath after sous vide. Then pull out of the bag and get dry with paper towels. Then sear.
Your steak is too thin. Try using a thicker steak, at least 1.5 inches. Sous vide is not really meant for thinner steaks
Are you temping the water before you put the steaks in? Or partway through the cook?
My old sous vide would heat water as hot as it could and then stabilize around the setpoint after a few minutes. But with a thin steak it would overcook it by the time it said it was at temp.
The only way to know for sure is to do the same process with a fresh steak.
If it ends up better, then it’s to do with the freezing.
You should try the exact same conditions on a similar steak that’s never frozen, then separately on thicker steak. Holding all other conditions consistent should let you know if it’s your freezer or your cook.
goto youtube, lookup “Cook Your Turkey From Frozen (Trust Me)” – Chris Young
He started ChefSteps and created joule sous vide Circulator
I can’t remember what I was looking up, but a Chris Young video came up, I clicked on it and watched the video, and afterwards, I looked through his videos, and saw the cook your turkey from frozen video, and watched it because I like to cook sous vide from frozen, and I was intrigued by the title.
In the video, he tells you why you should cook from frozen, and goes through different cooking methods, while cooking from frozen, and maybe try his “cryo-sear” method to get the crust you want. (no, I haven’t tried the cryo-sear, since I am getting good results without doing that, maybe I’ll try in the future).
Controversial opinion here….
Don’t sear it.
Buy yourself a blowtorch and commit to the best sear that doesnt pose this risk