Sirloin bought from the butcher at a much cheaper price than the supermarkets. Much thicker than shop bought, dry brined for 24 hours, patted dry, thrown in a low oven for a while then seared until around 50°c which carried over to 57°c. It’s just seems so…. Dry. It’s got some pink but no juices at all, I actually didn’t even finish this. I’m curious if it’s down to technique, or poor quality meat.
by 9DAN2
39 Comments
Combination of both. That crust looks great tho
Probably the quality of the meat. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a butcher with cheaper prices than a regular supermarket
Try finding a well marbled ribeye. Marbling is key*
That steak looks like dry game meat.
But could have gone too low heat in the oven?
your gray band is thicker than some people’s steak.
meat quality could be an issue, sure, but technique also definitely is
You can try decreasing the time that you sear. Make your pan a lot hotter use some high burning point oil. And doing much quicker Sear to get a crust.
I find 24hours dry brine is too long. 4-6 tops, especially with sirloin – that helps with the grey band. I also wondered if your thermometer placement wasn’t right, so you didn’t get an accurate reading. I can see pieces where it was central but also sections where it’s well to the side
Victim blaming now!
dry brining is part of it 57° is high also and that is some very young cow, so not much marbling
Hotter pan = less gray band.
It looks like it’s the meat to me! But it also looks a bit overdone. It also looks very thick cut so that could also be it maybe? I would suggest a higher temp!!
Reminds me of pork tenderloin
Perhaps you need to average longer(time you keep the thermometer in the meat) when you’re measuring temperature. It’s also better to insert the needle from the side horizontally. 50C to 57C during resting is too large an increase for a sear after reverse sear, suggesting either the temperature measurement is off or you seared too long and did not wait long enough before or while measuring T. Also the steak seems closer to med well whereas the temp should be in med rare range.
Your internal temperature is too high. Less time in the oven, use a higher heat and less time in the pan.
Get some high smoke point oil (such as avocado), use a cast iron or steel pans and set the heat to high.
Take the steak from the oven, fry it around 90s – 2 mins each side, turning every 30s.
Let it rest with a blob of butter melting over the top.
Probably meat quality. It also almost looks like a tenderloin instead of strip ribeye or other cuts I’ve seen
It’s a lean cut. A different cut might suit what you’re looking for better.
That was a hungry caterpillar.
I’ve noticed that dry brining for 24 hours is too much personally. I usually aim for 6, unless it’s a seriously thick steak.
You’re also slicing the steak too thin. When you slice it too thin it dries out and loses all of the juices. Try cutting thicker slices, that might help.
Sirloin (American definition) is an exceptionally lean cut. Even a high quality one will taste dry if cooked to that level of doneness. Some recommendations.
Cook sirloin very rare so you can try and keep it tender. Then pair it with a robust fatty pan sauce. This cut needs added fat. That usually comes from a pan sauce.
“thrown in a low oven for awhile”
…i do that when I’m making jerky
Por que no los dos?
Quality of meat is ass. The size of your thermometer is ridiculous lol
Too long of a dry brine. Salt will draw the moisture out of the steak. I find it’s best to salt/season minutes before putting the steak in an extremely hot cast iron.
2-6 hour dry brine in my opinion is the optimal window imo
Is that bullet steak? What caused that hole? I haven’t had too much Venison/deer meat but this looks similar.
It’s not a good cut. Try to find a ribeye that is highly graded and/or has good marbling, this just looks like a dry piece of meat to begin with. Also, if you can’t just grill it at high temp (best method) and insist on reverse searing, a higher temp sear for a shorter amount of time will get rid of most of that grey band. Keep trying, it will come
I made a sirloin in my cast iron about a week ago.
Sirloin doesn’t have the marbling of the better cuts, so what I did was smother that sucker in butter. Came out like this..
https://preview.redd.it/vudew1q464oe1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=997cf1461f65da6ce0a51163ca53d94ca3b18e46
Finding good steak in england seems to be nigh on impossible, I’ve tried expensive butchers, mid range butchers, every supermarket.
None of them provide consistently good meat.
Ironically the more expensive butchers shovelled the most over priced shit I’ve ever tried.
Don’t cook it in the microwave anymore
How long do you let it rest after cooking?
For starters, it looks like you overcooked it.
what kind of pan did you use? I recently have been using stainless steel and it is officially my go to now. Such a better crust. I also dont put mine in the oven first. 4 minutes or so on each side and then let it rest and its money
I don’t think a longer dry brine is always the best way to go, I get great results with just an hour or 2.
It’s the dry brine! I literally thought I was reverse searing to perfection every time but ending up with a grey band exactly like this. I was also dry brining for 24 hours before – effectively that’s too long and it’s starting to cure the outside and causing this. Try a short, 1 hour dry brine before cooking or just season up and cook straight away.
Looks like some nice straps of leather you got there
Thought it was something you shot for sure.
Dry brining 24h probably at least partially responsible for the dryness
Quality of the steak
Could be meat but definitely could be technique. Based on the coloring on the sear I’d say your pan or grill isn’t hot enough. I recommend cooling completely before doing the sear. I sousvide meat all the time and then completely cool it before I sear. That stops the inside from overcooking. The other option is pulling it a little earlier if you are going to immediately sear.
Honestly, based on the thickness of the meat you should be good searing first then check your internal. I practiced getting the perfect sear then figuring out how much moor cook time I needed. The photo below is straight sear.
https://preview.redd.it/yt2vlu0za4oe1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9a828b295e76841fd761d9bd66a176458ef9c47f
Both