Quicksand Fans

I just had a serving of what has to be the ultimate steak. The cut was nothing more than an Angus Choice Chuck Roast, 2 inches thick. It was cooked first in a sous vide water bath at 130.5 degrees for 4 hours. Then it was deeply seared in a frying pan (some olive oil) on both sides and some of the edges. Finally topped with a mixture of BBQ sauce, steak sauce, and Worcestershire. Perfect.

Fred588 wrote:I just had a serving of what has to be the ultimate steak. The cut was nothing more than an Angus Choice Chuck Roast, 2 inches thick. It was cooked first in a sous vide water bath at 130.5 degrees for 4 hours. Then it was deeply seared in a frying pan (some olive oil) on both sides and some of the edges. Finally topped with a mixture of BBQ sauce, steak sauce, and Worcestershire. Perfect.

Sounds nice. Who did the cooking?

What? No photos of your meal? The world is changing.

Duncan Edwards wrote:

Fred588 wrote:I just had a serving of what has to be the ultimate steak. The cut was nothing more than an Angus Choice Chuck Roast, 2 inches thick. It was cooked first in a sous vide water bath at 130.5 degrees for 4 hours. Then it was deeply seared in a frying pan (some olive oil) on both sides and some of the edges. Finally topped with a mixture of BBQ sauce, steak sauce, and Worcestershire. Perfect.

Sounds nice. Who did the cooking?

I did.

BogDog wrote:What? No photos of your meal? The world is changing.

Too busy eating it.

Fred588 wrote:I just had a serving of what has to be the ultimate steak. The cut was nothing more than an Angus Choice Chuck Roast, 2 inches thick. It was cooked first in a sous vide water bath at 130.5 degrees for 4 hours. Then it was deeply seared in a frying pan (some olive oil) on both sides and some of the edges. Finally topped with a mixture of BBQ sauce, steak sauce, and Worcestershire. Perfect.

Dammit it, Fred, why did you have to post that? Now it's 2am in the morning and I'm hungry... I'll forgive you if you cook me one.

sixgunzloaded wrote:

Fred588 wrote:I just had a serving of what has to be the ultimate steak. The cut was nothing more than an Angus Choice Chuck Roast, 2 inches thick. It was cooked first in a sous vide water bath at 130.5 degrees for 4 hours. Then it was deeply seared in a frying pan (some olive oil) on both sides and some of the edges. Finally topped with a mixture of BBQ sauce, steak sauce, and Worcestershire. Perfect.

Dammit it, Fred, why did you have to post that? Now it's 2am in the morning and I'm hungry... I'll forgive you if you cook me one.

You probably cannot afford my fees. On the other hand I authorize you to use the stove. Your stove. lol

sixgunzloaded wrote:

Fred588 wrote:I just had a serving of what has to be the ultimate steak. The cut was nothing more than an Angus Choice Chuck Roast, 2 inches thick. It was cooked first in a sous vide water bath at 130.5 degrees for 4 hours. Then it was deeply seared in a frying pan (some olive oil) on both sides and some of the edges. Finally topped with a mixture of BBQ sauce, steak sauce, and Worcestershire. Perfect.

Dammit it, Fred, why did you have to post that? Now it's 2am in the morning and I'm hungry... I'll forgive you if you cook me one.

Here is how to do it yourself:

You will need a sous vide-type water bath, a stove, and a good frying pan. If you are unaware, the water bath apparatus is a tank of water large enough to submerge the steak in and a circulator-heater device that will keep the water at a very precise temperature. It is the temperature, AND NOT THE TIME, that determines the degree of doneness. Heat the water bath to 130.5 degrees. Place a well-marbled stead into a zipper bag/ Lower the bag into the water, using the water pressure to force out all the air before finishing the seal. Just submerge the bag and leave it for 3.5 hours. Use a good-quality frying pan. By that I mean one that is heavy enough to hold some heat.

When the steak is cooked, take it out of the water bath, out of the bag, and dry it with a clean towel. Heat the oil in the pan almost to smoking. Place the steak into the pan and sear one side for about a minute (Remember the meat is already cooked to medium rare and you do not want to cook it any further except to seal the surface. Flip the steam and sear the other side for a minute. If you can pick it up with some tongs, also seal the edges as best you can. Plate the steak and season as you like with steak sauce, BBQ sauce, and/or Worcestershire sauce.

When you cut into the steak it should be a uniform pinkish color all the way through except for the very thin sealed portion on the surfaces. Note that the sealed step is very important. The meat itself is already cooked when it comes out of the water bath but the sealing procedure creates a chemical reaction that develops much of the flavor. When I do chicken leg quarters, or pork ribs, I add a third cooking step - coating the chicken with BBQ sauce and then broiling that briefing. This carmelizes the sauce, developing more flavor. I have tried that with steak but it tends to slightly overcook more of the meat.

Fred588 wrote:Here is how to do it yourself:

Awesome, thanks for the recipe! Indeed, I had not heard of the sous vide water bath thingy before. I asked my wife about it and she described it to me. I assume one can find them at any good kitchen store?
Also, does the method still work well if I like my steak a little more done than medium rare?

sixgunzloaded wrote:

Fred588 wrote:Here is how to do it yourself:

Awesome, thanks for the recipe! Indeed, I had not heard of the sous vide water bath thingy before. I asked my wife about it and she described it to me. I assume one can find them at any good kitchen store?
Also, does the method still work well if I like my steak a little more done than medium rare?

Should be available readily at Target, Walmart, etc. And Amazon. You can cook all sorts of things.Just remember that its the temperature that determines doneness and not how long its at that temperature. Different kinds of meat need different temperatures in addition. For example, I cook chicken leg quarters to 171 degrees, and pork ribs to 162. If you cooked a steak to 162 it would be shoe leather. The term "sous vide" actually means "sealed in plastic". If you didn't put the meat in a bag you would be making soup.