Tried something different when sous-viding steak last night (with pic)

One thing I've always struggled with when using sous vide to cook a steak is the sear after. I always try to dry off the steak as good as I can before a sear, but still I could never seem to get a great crust without avoiding the grey ring.

So last night I decided to switch it up and try something different..

I salted the steaks and then let them sit on a rack, uncovered in my fridge for an hour. By that time, most of the surface was very dry and the salt had worked it's way into the meat. I pat down the steaks with paper towels to make sure the surface was bone dry and then seared it.

I didnt sear to the desired crust because I was afraid of oversearing, but later found out I could have seared longer without overcooking the edges.

After the sear, I vacuum-sealed and threw the steaks in the water bath at 129 for an hour.

I then threw some butter on the cast iron and put the steaks on to "refresh" the sear. It only needed about 15 seconds a side.

Lessons learned: The coldness from the fridge helped to keep the steak from overcooking during the presear. Also there is less moisture to worry about on the surface during the presear vs searing after sous vide. Next time I will presear longer for a better crust.



TLDR: I preseared steaks before sous vide instead of after and I like it better