Budget/Time-Friendly Sous Vide Ribeye

I felt like a steak for dinner, and figured I'd go with the FDB favorite method of reverse searing it. Caught a wild hair (hare?) today and decided to try something new. I have never had anything sous vide before, so I poked around to see what could work with the materials I had on hand.

In my reading, it appeared all you need for sous vide is a controlled low-heat source, a bag, time, and a high heat source. I figured I could pull off three of those, but time was going to be difficult as I started researching mid-afternoon. I figured I'd go as long as I could, but I would have to forego the long bath time.

I did some poking around Youtube to see what could be MacGyvered in a regular household to make a sous vide contraption. Many people recommended a cooler, hot water, and torch. I had those three things, so I set off in search of the meat.

I picked up a standard grocery store ribeye. It was a middle of the road cut measuring about 1.5" in thickness.



I seasoned it with smoked salt and ground black pepper.



I placed it in a vacuum bag with some butter and sealed her up.



I was shooting for a water temperature of 140, so I heated my strike water up to 143 to compensate for some initial temperature loss. I added it to my cooler and threw the steak in the bath. I lost a degree right away. I thought I'd lose more and had a pot of boiling water on hand to adjust, but it wasn't needed.



I checked back in after 10 minutes and I was sitting right at 140 degrees.

I let that rest for an hour. After an hour, the temperature had dropped to 136, so I added a little boiling water to bring it back to 140. In hindsight I should have left it alone, but live and learn.

I pulled the steak after two hours. I took it out of the bag and checked the temperature. 135 internal temperature. Not too shabby.



I grabbed my propane torch and marched everything outside. I didn't fell like setting off the sprinklers in my building.



I ran the torch over the meat. It was fun watching the fat curl up as the flame hit it. After it was seared, I took a final measurement to see what it was on the inside. 138 degrees.



I was starving after smelling all the fat being burned, so I dove it.



All in all I was impressed with the technique. I'd like to do a longer, lower bath and sear it more, but not too bad for a first time effort. I think this would be great with thinner cuts of meat that are hard to cook right.

Questions? Comments? Advice on how ho to improve?