Hey all, had my sou vide for a while now but just started following here and seeing every one talk about 137. Typically I do way lower to get rare / medium rare but figured I’d try it but it turned out a lot more done that I expected. Is this the color that normal for that temp?
by ST6xMaverick
27 Comments
137 is medium. No matter what people want to pretend.
That looks like it was cooked at a higher temp or overcooked during sear. You probably should check your SV calibration with a cooking thermometer.
I just did a ribeye at 137 for the first time: 2 hour cook, 2 min ice bath, towel dry and sear about 2-3 min each side. it was incredible – and a lot rarer looking than this picture. this looks overdone IMO, not sure what happened
Based on the thickness of the grey band I would say you over seared.
I stick w 135 now but my 137 has looked more reddish or darker pink than that. I do ice bath rq and pat dry then I get the pan hottest I can while it’s getting dryer and cooler on my counter. You don’t have much of a crust either so I’m guessing you seared it in not so hot heat. You should only be searing like 30-40 second each side max. If you don’t get crust fast enough, heat is too low which also why you have those decent Grey band w no crust. What Pan and oil you use can also be a factor.
How did it taste
137 needs an ice bath after sous vide, and then a very hot skillet/grill to work effectively.
Don’t cut your steak all it once… cut it while you eat it.
137 is perfect for ribeyes. That looks like a strip.
If your fire alarm doesn’t go off within the first minute of searing, your pan isn’t hot enough. 😎
You probably overcooked it. Mine look like that a lot, and my issue is that (most days) I just don’t want to smoke up my entire kitchen searing the steak on high heat. I keep the pan around 500 degrees to prevent the oil from burning off, or burning off too fast, and it takes a minute or two to get the sear done well. I don’t mind it coming out medium like that, and they still taste great. But yeah, as others have said, if you want it nice and pink in the middle you need to ice bath it, dry it well, and crank up the heat so you can sear it under a minute each side.
Yes, and you overcooked it on the sear as well.
I do 133 or 134 for 2 hours then a less than 2 min sear on either side and sometimes that seems over what I’m looking for. I feel like 137 the same way would be far over what I’m looking for.
But honestly, I’ve found what works for me so I just laugh at the 137 argument at this point.
What cut is this?? Isn’t doesn’t look fatty enough to cook at 137. I only do that with ribeye and other fatty cuts. Lean cuts need much lower SV temps.
The whole reason 137 got popular is for ribeyes because the fat comes out better. That doesn’t look like it has much fat.
I would do lower temp just because it’s a fairly lean cut. Looks like a sirloin. I do mine at 133. But it looks alright, my first few I did looked worse, tbh.
You didn’t say what kind of cut this is.
If you really read just a little bit deeper, you would have seen the grand majority of the ‘137 club’ recommendations are for cuts with intramuscular fat b/c it renders that fat and makes it less waxy and more luxuriant.
If you have a lean cut, almost no one recommends 137. If you’d read closer, you’d not have seen many times it was mentioned as ‘137 or nothing for every steak ever’ club.
Edit to add: I should have read more before commenting. I can’t tell you how happy the 20 other “137 is for fatty cuts like ribeyes” comments make me. OP, shoulda read closer before doing this.
A cut without fat I would do at 129
Looks like you didn’t cool down after the bath. Also doesn’t look like a ribeye.
No offense but that broccoli looks bland as heck! It’s amazing what some herbs, spices, and aromatics like garlic and shallots can do. I’d pan fry or roast it the oven with some olive oil and garlic.
Yep 137 is overrated
137 is already fully into medium even before the sear. It was universally hated with the my entire family, so I stick with 125 tops now.
Chuck steak? Looks lean.
I only do 137 for fatty ribeye cuts. Too high if it’s lean.
Need to get the pan really hot and just sear the steak for 1 minute 2 max per side. You went too long.
The most important step before searing it is an Ice water bath 10-12 minutes and the sear it on a screaming hot grill/pan. You’ll have a great crust and perfectly done interior.
Refrigerate before searing ?