Jeremiah Blatz (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} jeremiahblatz) wrote,@ 2008-12-09 23:38:00 |
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Adventures in Modern Cooking: Steak Sous-vide Mk II
On Sunday, I made steak sous-vide again, but this time I stepped it up a bit.
To start with, I bought a nice piece of hanger steak from Whole Foods. It was scarcely more expensive than the pathetic waste of cow I got at Gristides the time before. Hrmph. I'm not sure hanger steak is such a great idea for low-temperature cooking, since it pulls apart and pathogens could theoretically get inside the little ribs that open up. I decided to risk it.
The other big change this time was that I adapted a little-used attachment to my vacuum to work better for sucking air out of bags. I got some thinnish food-safe tubing and heat-shring tubing at Home Depot, wrapped gaffer's tape around the end of the tubing, then used the heat-shring tubing to attach it ti the end of the vacuum attachment. This worked really, really well. I could stick then hose far into the bag and suck next to the meat. Note that is is very important to use freezer bags, `cause regular storage bags can't take the strain. I paid like $4 for the parts, and it took me no more than half an hour to build and test the whole thing. Also note that zip-lock (even brand name) freezer bags appear to be cheaper than the bag rolls for the store-bought vacuum sealers, at about $0.25 per square foot, as opposed to $0.40.
Another thing I did differently was to use some "whiskey rub" that I received from my in-laws instead of some salt & pepper. This was a mistake. I later learned that one of the reasons restaurants love sous-vide is that you need much less spice, thus they can make truffle-infused whatever for much cheaper. I used far too much rub. Furthermore, it had whole peppercorns, which would've been a little much. Lastly, it contained dried rosemary, which was not re-hydrated in cooking, as the steak kept its juices. I ended up brushing the spice rub off the steak, and it was still too strongly-flavored. So, stick with a little salt and pepper, and a few fresh herbs.
The last thing I did differently was to pan-sear the steak. This worked really well. When you're searing your meat, unless it's really fatty, you need to add fat to make the outside all nice. If you're using a torch, rub the meat with oil. I just heated some olive oil (non-extra-virgin, which handles heat better) in the pan and seared all sides of the steak using a pair of tongs. I used the discarded spice rub and the minimal drippings to prepare a shallot and red wine sauce (loosely based on this one). The sauce was quite good.
I served the steak with mashed potatoes and green beans with smoked paprika and toasted almonds, both from Cooks Illustrated. Aside from the disappointment of the over-peppered steak, everything was delicious.
Dinner
Vacuum attachment for home preparation of cryovaced foods
To conclude, sous-vide is the real fuckin deal.
On Sunday, I made steak sous-vide again, but this time I stepped it up a bit.
To start with, I bought a nice piece of hanger steak from Whole Foods. It was scarcely more expensive than the pathetic waste of cow I got at Gristides the time before. Hrmph. I'm not sure hanger steak is such a great idea for low-temperature cooking, since it pulls apart and pathogens could theoretically get inside the little ribs that open up. I decided to risk it.
The other big change this time was that I adapted a little-used attachment to my vacuum to work better for sucking air out of bags. I got some thinnish food-safe tubing and heat-shring tubing at Home Depot, wrapped gaffer's tape around the end of the tubing, then used the heat-shring tubing to attach it ti the end of the vacuum attachment. This worked really, really well. I could stick then hose far into the bag and suck next to the meat. Note that is is very important to use freezer bags, `cause regular storage bags can't take the strain. I paid like $4 for the parts, and it took me no more than half an hour to build and test the whole thing. Also note that zip-lock (even brand name) freezer bags appear to be cheaper than the bag rolls for the store-bought vacuum sealers, at about $0.25 per square foot, as opposed to $0.40.
Another thing I did differently was to use some "whiskey rub" that I received from my in-laws instead of some salt & pepper. This was a mistake. I later learned that one of the reasons restaurants love sous-vide is that you need much less spice, thus they can make truffle-infused whatever for much cheaper. I used far too much rub. Furthermore, it had whole peppercorns, which would've been a little much. Lastly, it contained dried rosemary, which was not re-hydrated in cooking, as the steak kept its juices. I ended up brushing the spice rub off the steak, and it was still too strongly-flavored. So, stick with a little salt and pepper, and a few fresh herbs.
The last thing I did differently was to pan-sear the steak. This worked really well. When you're searing your meat, unless it's really fatty, you need to add fat to make the outside all nice. If you're using a torch, rub the meat with oil. I just heated some olive oil (non-extra-virgin, which handles heat better) in the pan and seared all sides of the steak using a pair of tongs. I used the discarded spice rub and the minimal drippings to prepare a shallot and red wine sauce (loosely based on this one). The sauce was quite good.
I served the steak with mashed potatoes and green beans with smoked paprika and toasted almonds, both from Cooks Illustrated. Aside from the disappointment of the over-peppered steak, everything was delicious.
Dinner
Vacuum attachment for home preparation of cryovaced foodsTo conclude, sous-vide is the real fuckin deal.
