Sous-Vide Attempt Number One

Did my first attempt at Sous-Vide cooking last weekend. I went the el-cheapo route and tried out this hack.

While the water was coming up to 140 degrees, I started salting the steak. I let it sit in a heavy cover of salt for about 25 minutes. I wasn’t sure how this style of cooking would affect the amount of spice, but next time I’ll add at least another 10 minutes and a heavier dose of appropriate spices.

After the 25 minutes, I rinsed off the steaks and tossed them into ziplock bags and get as much air out as possible.

Once the water was just over 145 degrees, added it to the cooler and placed the steaks inside. I closed up the cooler and ignored it for about 30 minutes.

About 30 minutes in, I checked the temperature and noted that it had dropped about 15 degrees. I wanted to keep it around 130 degrees, so I added a cup or two more of hot water and sealed the cooler again.

After about 45 minutes I pulled out the steaks and was happy to see that they were cooked fairly well.

I tossed them on a grill for about five minutes per side just to give them a nice sear. I pan sear would work as well, but I had a grill going anyway.

I was pretty happy with how the steaks turned out, but I will up the spices and the salting time with the next attempt. The steaks came out very tender and moist, but a little bland.

May 11, 2010 | Filed Under food | Comments Off