Strip Loin Roast

Decided to try out a strip loin roast for Easter this year. I started by cutting a 4 pound section and then trimming the fat cap evenly to about ¼ inch. I then scored the fat cap and put on a rub I made of 1% salt (by weight, so about 18 grams), black pepper, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. I let that dry brine in the fridge for about 24 hours. I seared the roast on all sides, then threw some shallot, a couple of thyme sprigs, and a rosemary spring into the pan to fry in the drippings. I deglazed with ½ cup red wine, and reduced all of that together until it was a thick glaze. I then poured that over top the seared roast, and bagged it. It went into the water at 136° for 6 hours. When it was done, I made the same exact rub again, this time adding 2 teaspoons of red wine vinegar to make it into a paste. I dried off the roast and rubbed the paste on and stuck it into a 450° oven for about 15 minutes. Served it with a jus made from the bag juice, 2 cups beef stock, and ¼ cup red wine that I reduced to about half.

Overall the guests were very impressed and loved every bite of it. I personally think it had too much black pepper from the double application, which also scorched a bit during the sear, which was a noob mistake that I should have never let happen. It didn't ruin the flavor but it brought the quality down, in my opinion. I also wasn't wild about the jus and wish I had just made a red wine reduction instead with the bag juice. I'm not sure I'm sold on sous vide for next time. I think reverse searing it and letting that crust build up over hours in a low oven would make it better.