Do you add any fat to your sous vide steak, or just seasoning?

by Annabelle-Simon144

19 Comments

  1. Hmukherj

    Just seasoning. The theory is that fats in the bag will dissolve fat-soluble flavor compounds from the meat and herbs/spices, essentially sucking the flavor out of your steak. Much better to baste your steak with the fat of your choice during the sear.

  2. jsaf420

    Done both, personally didn’t detect much difference so I just season because it’s easier and less chance if a mess

  3. Nothing. Not even seasoning.

    On,y salt penetrates. Everything else is a surface treatment only. I find seasoning in the bag is a waste; most of it ends up washing out with the purge or left behind on the plastic.

    I treat sous vide as the protein pre-cook where I pasteurize and dial in the doneness and tenderness desired.

    From the bath, the protein is shock chilled and then either prepped for service thru a combination of searing, seasoning, and sauces or it goes into the fridge or freezer for medium to long term storage.

  4. thatben

    You are required by law to have one pound of butter minimum per bag.

  5. WillDill94

    I’ll add butter or tallow depending on how lean the meat is

  6. ManWith_MovieCamera

    What ya’alls opionion on a drop of olive oil to make that seasoning move around ?

  7. stuartgatzo

    I apply Montreal steak. Then I oli, salt and pepper just before the charcoal sear.

  8. life-is-a-lemon

    Most often, I add nothing at all

    Recently, I’ve been adding salt…

  9. Doug_Nightmare

    Depends on the piece. If it is plenty fatty on its own, then I will add a glug of neutral vegetable oil, most likely avocado oil. If the piece is noticeably lean, as beef nowadays seems to be, then I will add a tablespoon of tallow to the bag.

    Avocado oil smokes at about 520ºF. Tallow smokes at about 480ºF.

    I leave sufficient excess bag to allow opening a vacuum sealed and frozen bag to amend the seasonings and re-vacuum and re-seal.

  10. bobfrankly

    I’ve done butter in the bag. It seemed to have leeched some of the beef flavor out of the steak.

    If I’m doing New York cut, my personal favorite is Montreal seasoning, sit for 2 hours in the fridge, then cold smoke, bag and freeze afterwards. I do that when I buy a few steaks together so I can do the prep together also.

    The SV and finish.

    The salt purists will disagree. The butter police will disagree. That’s okay, this is how I prefer my New Yorks. My ribeyes? Yeah, that’s a different story 😊

  11. ChrisRiley_42

    I only add fat to leaner meats like moose or deer. To do so, I use a larding needle and strips of bacon trimmings.

    For fattier meats like beef or pork, I just season.

  12. TigersToenailFungus

    Salt and pepper are all you need.

  13. JedKnight

    I add a piece of butter, a clove of garlic, and a sprig of rosemary.

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