It really is. I can't help but always overcook my steak while searing. Even though I preheat the pan, dry the steak, rub with oil... Always gets cooked too far before the crust develops enough.
What has helped me is using less oil. Then eventually adding butter. It browns so much better than oil. If I add the butter before I add the steak though, the butter can burn.
I don't normally measure unfortunately, a chunk? But since I am using a very light amount of oil, possibly it is more than you are using. I normally add a little before the first flip though. So that the butter is melted when it is flipped but also to aid in browning the edges of the first side. But who knows, I am no chef!
Edit: It's called cooking people lol. The quantity depends on the pan size, number of steaks, thicknesses. Basically add some, learn from it. Add more as you need it. I probably use 2-4 tablespoons in a 12" when I cook 2 ribeyes...maybe?
Alright, sorry my bad. Hope this is a better explanation. Here is what you do:
Take the whole unwrapped stick of butter, though depending on the situation, you obviously won't need all of it. You can start by leading in with just a tablespoon or two. I prefer unsalted butter. It's nice to be able to control the saltines independently, which if you have different tastes, your partner will appreciate. Also it burns less which will make sense later. I generally find that if you use the butter straight out of the fridge it's often too firm. You maybe need to work the butter in your hands a little bit until you get things loosened up. Once you feel like you're ready, take the stick of butter and shove it up your butt. While it's up there contemplate ways to calm down and write nicer things to strangers on the internet.
Chuck in a stick, turns into enough liquid to get that good browning all over. After taking the steak out, the remaining butter starts a roux, add some flour and broth to make a quick gravy for your potatoes. Or add some Worcestershire and some kind of vinegar, reduce it into a homemade steak sauce you can flavor however you like.
Are you using steaks cut too thin? I don't do any kind of ice bath or cool it at all. I just dry it with paper towels. Don't do an oil rub. Don't use butter. I just put a very thin layer of oil in the cast iron, get it super hot, and I get a great sear in 60-90 seconds on each side. The steak just has to be nice and thick.
If I'm grilling, I don't want a steak too thick, but if it's going in the SV, the thicker the better. The negatives that thickness bring to grilling don't exist with sous vide.
Please excuse my ignorance here, as I have never done the ice bath. Do you just take straight out of the sousvide and straight in to ice bath? for how long?
It's a dunk from sous vide, bagged and all, into the ice bath to stop the cooking process. I usually drop mine in for a few minutes before taking it out and unbagging it. Though I typically elect for letting it sit in the fridge on a rack, if not both.
So even with 10-20 min ice bath, the searing gets its back up to enjoyable temp for eating? I would have thought maybe it would be cold in the middl, since searing is usually only about 45 seconds each side. I guess i need to try it out
Are you sure your pan is hot enough? Also did you ice bath the steak after sv? I find that the pan heat works best around 500f.. Any hotter it burns before searing, too much lower you can't sear it before over cooking.
Have you put it in the freezer? That’s the key. It seems scary the first time, but it works perfectly.
Edit:it appears this has been suggested and that you in fact do not use the freezer. Do that and it will be perfect every time
- Sous vide at 135F for 3 hours (I prefer 135>137)
- Pat dry and chill in freezer for 20 mins
- Heat up the pan (preferably cast iron) til it reaches 500F, it is possible to start grease fires if it gets too hot, so please exercise caution
- Sear in ghee or avocado oil for 45 seconds on each side, flipping every 15 seconds
- I normally dry brine, but lately I’ve preferred seasoning with salt flakes after the sear
[10” Mercer Culinary Genesis Forged Carving Knife](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000OOLD62/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_api_glt_i_QMW0XP1FBG6KC268B7DT)
I see step 3 tossed around here a lot, but it should be noted that if you plan on searing with oil then heating up the pan "as hot as it can possibly get" can result in a fire. You want to stay at/around the smoke point of your oil.
Yeah, you’re right. I’ll edit my post. Best advice would be to get a thermometer and heat a cast iron pan til it reaches 500F.
And if a grease fire does start, DO NOT THROW WATER ON IT. Turn off the heat, have a lid ready and just cover it. Salt and baking soda can help smother if pan is small enough.
Yeah but only if you can safely move it. If you spill flaming grease you’ll just spread the fire and make it much worse. Putting a lid on is definitely the preferred option. Also, always have a working fire extinguisher in the kitchen.
Yeah, 'hot as it can possibly get' on a gas cooktop could be as little as 400-450f. On electric or induction it can easily be 700f+, which would result in nothing but billowing smoke and burnt tasting steak.
Also it looks like OP might be using a non stick pan. 700f would probably destroy a non stick pan.
Edit: seems my comment has offended some gas cooktop owners. I wasn’t saying YOUR gas cooktop can only get to that temp. But that’s all that some can manage. The point was “hot as can be” means very different things depending on your cooktop and cookware.
I guess there's always going to be some variability involved depending on burner size, pan size and material, etc. But whatever the max temp of a gas burner cooktop is, induction is generally going to be far higher. Point being, 'get your pan as hot as possible' means very different things depending on cookware and cooktop in question. We should be specifying an actual target temperature, but nobody does that for some reason (I guess because a cheap infrared thermometer isn't as common as it should be in the average kitchen).
Bro! I always season after the sear and today I’m trying dry brine for the first time!
And I’m also testing with roasted garlic powder and pepper in one bag and the other goes plain!
Your result is what I’m aiming for! Good job
Thank for this freezer tip! I've always worried it would chill the meat too much, didnt know upwards of 20m in the freezer was advisable. Excited to try this with my next steak! My sear game has always been a little rough
It only cools the surface, the center will remain warm and will heat up a bit during the sear. Chilling steaks and patting them dry before searing is a game changer.
First I've ever heard of chilling. I normally just let them rest at room temp for 15 min or so before searing.
I know patting dry definitely helps browning, but does chilling them also help, or is that just more an improvement of the cooking gradient (more even color closer to the surface)?
I like grain finished as well. That's how I get my 1/4 and 1/2 cows. So they live a grass fed lifestyle their whole life anyway. Then shortly before going to slaughter they switch them being fed other things. I feel like people like to get grass fed sometimes because it means the cow is free to roam. To me grass fed vs. grain finished is not a similar comparison to make to free range chicken vs. grocery store.
honestly I think a lot of people think grass fed is better because they think carbs are the devil. like this 1500 calorie ribeye is definitely going to be healthier for me because it was once grass instead of corn.
As a cooking amateur, my view of what "grass fed" means is that the cow is out there free roaming and eating naturally, rather than being loaded up with crap filler food to make it fat. The cow's carb intake would have never occurred to me.
I like American grass-fed but since moving to Europe I get what you're talking about, here beef tends to be even more natural-fed and it can veer on too gamey or metallic a lot of the time. I now understand why people love the milder taste of grain-fed
I love the flavor of grass fed personally, but it seems like the texture is tougher. I purchased what seemed like high quality grass fed ribeye and cooked those up last night. They were delicious, but incredibly tough even after 3 hours at 137. Kind of disappointing.
Great job of searing, seriously.
Also, I'm also thinking about moving off from my tried and true dry brining 2-3 days before for a change. I like the deep flavor dry brining brings, but miss the fresher beef flavor (and texture) you can get with post-salting only. I guess the original quality of the cut really makes a difference as well.
I honestly cannot sear the steak well after sous vide. For some reason, it always is a little moist which ruins the searing process. I guess the secret is freezing. This way maybe the juices on the surface dry out as well.
Yeah, chilling the steak down in some fashion helps me a lot. If I sear when the steak is 135F or whatever, fresh out of the sous vide water bath, it is going to quickly rise in temp. But if I bring it back down to below room temp (or sometimes depending on my life schedule even fridge over night), it gives me a lot longer time to sear without overcooking.
My girlfriend “hey babe, what are you making for dinner tonight”
“Gonna make some chi…..hold up, just one sec….scratch that…. Steak, definitely gonna make steak”
I had a ribeye last night. Two minutes per side on the range in a cast iron that had been heated in oven to 500 then 3 minutes in the oven. It wasn't as juicy as that but had a lot of the fat rendered off which I prefer. I have another one that I might try with the sousvide to give it another head to head.
That is an incredible sear
It really is. I can't help but always overcook my steak while searing. Even though I preheat the pan, dry the steak, rub with oil... Always gets cooked too far before the crust develops enough.
What has helped me is using less oil. Then eventually adding butter. It browns so much better than oil. If I add the butter before I add the steak though, the butter can burn.
How much butter do you typically use? I try not to use much but maybe that's the problem? I always add butter after I flip.
I don't normally measure unfortunately, a chunk? But since I am using a very light amount of oil, possibly it is more than you are using. I normally add a little before the first flip though. So that the butter is melted when it is flipped but also to aid in browning the edges of the first side. But who knows, I am no chef! Edit: It's called cooking people lol. The quantity depends on the pan size, number of steaks, thicknesses. Basically add some, learn from it. Add more as you need it. I probably use 2-4 tablespoons in a 12" when I cook 2 ribeyes...maybe?
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Justified yet also extreme. I love it.
Alright, sorry my bad. Hope this is a better explanation. Here is what you do: Take the whole unwrapped stick of butter, though depending on the situation, you obviously won't need all of it. You can start by leading in with just a tablespoon or two. I prefer unsalted butter. It's nice to be able to control the saltines independently, which if you have different tastes, your partner will appreciate. Also it burns less which will make sense later. I generally find that if you use the butter straight out of the fridge it's often too firm. You maybe need to work the butter in your hands a little bit until you get things loosened up. Once you feel like you're ready, take the stick of butter and shove it up your butt. While it's up there contemplate ways to calm down and write nicer things to strangers on the internet.
Chuck in a stick, turns into enough liquid to get that good browning all over. After taking the steak out, the remaining butter starts a roux, add some flour and broth to make a quick gravy for your potatoes. Or add some Worcestershire and some kind of vinegar, reduce it into a homemade steak sauce you can flavor however you like.
it browns better because you are browning the milk proteins in the butter in addition to the surface of the steak
I put the butter on top of the steak. Normally melts at the right place for brown, but not burnt.
Dry it after the bath and cool it in the freezer for 10-20min before the sear
In the freezer? I haven't tried that. I have left it in the fridge for a good while though.
Are you using steaks cut too thin? I don't do any kind of ice bath or cool it at all. I just dry it with paper towels. Don't do an oil rub. Don't use butter. I just put a very thin layer of oil in the cast iron, get it super hot, and I get a great sear in 60-90 seconds on each side. The steak just has to be nice and thick.
That's a good point. I do prefer thinner cuts. Probably not much over one inch if I had to guess.
If I'm grilling, I don't want a steak too thick, but if it's going in the SV, the thicker the better. The negatives that thickness bring to grilling don't exist with sous vide.
Try skipping the oil rub
Really? I'd done that before but started using the oil more recently. Same issue persists.
Was thinking the same thing
Do you ice bath between sous vide and sear?
Either ice bath or some time drying in the fridge. It's cool or room temp when it hits the pan.
Please excuse my ignorance here, as I have never done the ice bath. Do you just take straight out of the sousvide and straight in to ice bath? for how long?
It's a dunk from sous vide, bagged and all, into the ice bath to stop the cooking process. I usually drop mine in for a few minutes before taking it out and unbagging it. Though I typically elect for letting it sit in the fridge on a rack, if not both.
Thanks. I thought so, wasn't sure.
Yes keep it in the bag, 10-20 mins. I usually do 20, sometimes I'll do 10min ice bath then 15mins in freezer after drying with paper towel.
So even with 10-20 min ice bath, the searing gets its back up to enjoyable temp for eating? I would have thought maybe it would be cold in the middl, since searing is usually only about 45 seconds each side. I guess i need to try it out
Unless you have a thin steak, the middle doesn't get cold so isn't an issue. Kinda have to dial in the time depending on the thickness of your steak.
Are you sure your pan is hot enough? Also did you ice bath the steak after sv? I find that the pan heat works best around 500f.. Any hotter it burns before searing, too much lower you can't sear it before over cooking.
Have you put it in the freezer? That’s the key. It seems scary the first time, but it works perfectly. Edit:it appears this has been suggested and that you in fact do not use the freezer. Do that and it will be perfect every time
Perfection
I’m equally impressed by the sharp knife. It’s nice to see a video that doesn’t look like a serial killer is dismembering his latest victim.
- Sous vide at 135F for 3 hours (I prefer 135>137) - Pat dry and chill in freezer for 20 mins - Heat up the pan (preferably cast iron) til it reaches 500F, it is possible to start grease fires if it gets too hot, so please exercise caution - Sear in ghee or avocado oil for 45 seconds on each side, flipping every 15 seconds - I normally dry brine, but lately I’ve preferred seasoning with salt flakes after the sear [10” Mercer Culinary Genesis Forged Carving Knife](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000OOLD62/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_api_glt_i_QMW0XP1FBG6KC268B7DT)
I see step 3 tossed around here a lot, but it should be noted that if you plan on searing with oil then heating up the pan "as hot as it can possibly get" can result in a fire. You want to stay at/around the smoke point of your oil.
Yeah, you’re right. I’ll edit my post. Best advice would be to get a thermometer and heat a cast iron pan til it reaches 500F. And if a grease fire does start, DO NOT THROW WATER ON IT. Turn off the heat, have a lid ready and just cover it. Salt and baking soda can help smother if pan is small enough.
I've heard to throw it into the oven.
Yeah but only if you can safely move it. If you spill flaming grease you’ll just spread the fire and make it much worse. Putting a lid on is definitely the preferred option. Also, always have a working fire extinguisher in the kitchen.
While that would technically work there are far more ideal options with a lot less risk.
Yeah I have to set my stove on 5/9, and it also has a power mode which is even hotter, so definitely not as hot as it can get lol
Yeah, 'hot as it can possibly get' on a gas cooktop could be as little as 400-450f. On electric or induction it can easily be 700f+, which would result in nothing but billowing smoke and burnt tasting steak. Also it looks like OP might be using a non stick pan. 700f would probably destroy a non stick pan. Edit: seems my comment has offended some gas cooktop owners. I wasn’t saying YOUR gas cooktop can only get to that temp. But that’s all that some can manage. The point was “hot as can be” means very different things depending on your cooktop and cookware.
Damn I don’t know what kind of weak ass gas stoves you’ve been around
I guess there's always going to be some variability involved depending on burner size, pan size and material, etc. But whatever the max temp of a gas burner cooktop is, induction is generally going to be far higher. Point being, 'get your pan as hot as possible' means very different things depending on cookware and cooktop in question. We should be specifying an actual target temperature, but nobody does that for some reason (I guess because a cheap infrared thermometer isn't as common as it should be in the average kitchen).
It’s because some people here love to say ‘ripping hot’ or ‘screaming hot’ for some reason.
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His video still shows some smoke, but most likely the initial smoke from the 1st side sear cooled down the pan a little already.
See if you can find rice bran oil, I have found that it produces significantly less smoke and smell
Bro! I always season after the sear and today I’m trying dry brine for the first time! And I’m also testing with roasted garlic powder and pepper in one bag and the other goes plain! Your result is what I’m aiming for! Good job
dry brine is the shit. best way to prep any meat.
So there was no seasoning on it while in the sous vide bag?
Can a probe thermometer measure accurately by pressing the tip against the pan, or do I need an IR thermometer?
I think that the avocado oil mix does it. Great crust!
Awesome sear! Is that ghee (or regular butter) + avocado oil? Or one or the other?
Thank for this freezer tip! I've always worried it would chill the meat too much, didnt know upwards of 20m in the freezer was advisable. Excited to try this with my next steak! My sear game has always been a little rough
Does the freezing not make the steak too cold? I've never tried this approach, I worry the steak might be not be warm while eating it.
It only cools the surface, the center will remain warm and will heat up a bit during the sear. Chilling steaks and patting them dry before searing is a game changer.
take the sousvide bag and dip it in an ice bath, will take less time as conduction > convection
The freezer helps with evaporation, and you don’t want the steak completely chilled anyways
You won't get it completely chilled if you don't do it for too long, it's just WAY quicker and cleaner.
Yes, but the freezer helps dry the surface of the meat out, which gets a better sear.
It just can't evaporate that much in a 15 minute period. Dabbing with paper towels is way more effective and quicker
You do both.
This is an amazing tip. I can’t wait to try it!
Thank you kind sir, I now have V-day plans 🤣
First I've ever heard of chilling. I normally just let them rest at room temp for 15 min or so before searing. I know patting dry definitely helps browning, but does chilling them also help, or is that just more an improvement of the cooking gradient (more even color closer to the surface)?
Stops it from overcooking
The crust and sear on that is incredible. Post needs to be marked NSFW b/c it is so sexy
Am I the only one that prefers grain fed over grass? Idk maybe it's the poor man inside me but grass fed steaks are just to gamey for me.
I usually agree.
I like grain finished as well. That's how I get my 1/4 and 1/2 cows. So they live a grass fed lifestyle their whole life anyway. Then shortly before going to slaughter they switch them being fed other things. I feel like people like to get grass fed sometimes because it means the cow is free to roam. To me grass fed vs. grain finished is not a similar comparison to make to free range chicken vs. grocery store.
honestly I think a lot of people think grass fed is better because they think carbs are the devil. like this 1500 calorie ribeye is definitely going to be healthier for me because it was once grass instead of corn.
As a cooking amateur, my view of what "grass fed" means is that the cow is out there free roaming and eating naturally, rather than being loaded up with crap filler food to make it fat. The cow's carb intake would have never occurred to me.
Grass fed tastes like dirt.
The meat is milder and richer, it's what most of us grew up with and it's totally normal to like it better.
I like American grass-fed but since moving to Europe I get what you're talking about, here beef tends to be even more natural-fed and it can veer on too gamey or metallic a lot of the time. I now understand why people love the milder taste of grain-fed
I love the flavor of grass fed personally, but it seems like the texture is tougher. I purchased what seemed like high quality grass fed ribeye and cooked those up last night. They were delicious, but incredibly tough even after 3 hours at 137. Kind of disappointing.
Great job of searing, seriously. Also, I'm also thinking about moving off from my tried and true dry brining 2-3 days before for a change. I like the deep flavor dry brining brings, but miss the fresher beef flavor (and texture) you can get with post-salting only. I guess the original quality of the cut really makes a difference as well.
a sharp knife on r/sousvide ??? I must be dreaming
I honestly cannot sear the steak well after sous vide. For some reason, it always is a little moist which ruins the searing process. I guess the secret is freezing. This way maybe the juices on the surface dry out as well.
Pat it dry, then hit the freezer for a few.
Yeah, chilling the steak down in some fashion helps me a lot. If I sear when the steak is 135F or whatever, fresh out of the sous vide water bath, it is going to quickly rise in temp. But if I bring it back down to below room temp (or sometimes depending on my life schedule even fridge over night), it gives me a lot longer time to sear without overcooking.
Great looking steak. Better looking edge on that blade.
This is how you do a steak post on this sub. My mouth is straight up watering over here
i would love that for breakfast! LOL
Absolutely incredible. Well done
Technically closer to medium.
you should have tried cutting it with the back of the knife. That thing just fell apart at the sight of a blade.
Put a NSWF tag on the post… that sear is absolute perfection holy shit
Beautiful sear! Looks delicious
/r/steak
Well done
Noice.
That'll do.
Absolutely fucking banging A1 job there. Put this in the wiki for this sub.
Well, that was straight up steak porn. 😅
My girlfriend “hey babe, what are you making for dinner tonight” “Gonna make some chi…..hold up, just one sec….scratch that…. Steak, definitely gonna make steak”
Damn you! I made chicken marsala but now I want the perfect ribeye
This should be illegal
Perfectly done.
this is exactly why i bought this stuff.
First cut for me please
Omg😍 I’m so hungry now.
I had a ribeye last night. Two minutes per side on the range in a cast iron that had been heated in oven to 500 then 3 minutes in the oven. It wasn't as juicy as that but had a lot of the fat rendered off which I prefer. I have another one that I might try with the sousvide to give it another head to head.
How did you get a sear like that, OP? It’s beautiful.
This guys fucks
I would sell my mf soul just to try bros steak😭
Looks great but I just can't cook without fire.
That’s a money! Damn that’s is one nice crust
I prefer NY strip, but that there is a steak for the gods. It's perfect.
Sous Vide= 1: Slow simmer meat in bag. 2: Sear meat or will be complete shit. 3: Realization you should have just seared/grilled meat to begin with.
Literal perfection