I've never understood the oxymoron of calling an overcooked steak "well done." How is a synonym for "good job" the term for a ruined $20/lb cut of beef?
Like sour cream.
I've never understood the oxymoron of calling an overcooked steak "well done." How is a synonym for "good job" the term for a ruined $20/lb cut of beef?
Uh at about 9:00..What heat are you grilling at?
I've always been told to order a steak one step up from where you want from a restaurant because they would rather throw an under-cooked steak back on the grill then an over-cooked steak in the trash.
FYI, there is no blood in a steak or burger. What you think is blood is actually myoglobin.
Odd I find the opposite. They always over cook it, so if you truly want a medium rare, order it rare. order it a medium rare you well get a well done at most places.
I’m intrigued by the blue steak, but not sure if I’m brave enough
As others have mentioned sous vide will beat about any other way to cook a steak. It's basically like reverse sear but with precise temperature control through the whole cut. If you want a steak at 135 and cook it using any method that uses a heat source above 135 you are going to get a gradient of done through the steak. the middle will be 135 but it will gradually move from medium rare to well done as you move to the edged.
I typically sous vide at 130 for a couple hours, then I chill in a ice bath for 30 minutes or so (I skip this step sometimes) and then sear it either on a blazing hot griddle or grill to finish. Haven't had a better cooked steak.
You have to get the equipment, but you can find either Joule or Anova for under $100. It does take more time, but the time isn't active time, it's just sitting in the sous vide.
The sous vide is great for other cooking too. Most of the smoking I do I've moved to sous vide first then finish in the smoker. Way easier and ends up better in by opinion.
Have you done larger cuts of meat for a long cook via Sous Vide. I want to try that next, but everything I see has a pretty large vessel for it, usually hacked out of a large cooler.
For steak I do pretty much the same thing. I've toying around with between 125 and 130 and then the sear with the super hot cast iron skillet with a pad of butter. Started out set ting it at 132 but found the sear cooked it too much extra, so still fine tuning that. Also I've read some good articles about how the time in the water bath effects the texture, so for most steak, an hour or two gets best results, but for tougher cuts you end up needing significant times. I think the last time I looked at doing a brisket it was 18+ hours.
I've done plenty of pork butts and several full briskets in the sous vide. I have a large 5 gallon plastic rubber maid container that has a lid specifically made to fit around the sous vide (lid limits evaporation). When I do a brisket I cut it up in three chunks and it fits fine. Three chunks works great anyway. I smoke one chunk right away and then just put the other two in the freezer. When I want more it's just thaw and an hour on the smoker to finish.
That's why smoking/low & slow bbq was started in the first place, particularly by slaves who got the worst cuts of meat. It takes a long time to break down/melt the collagen and connective tissue to make the meat tender, but anything over 250F for hours and hours would ruin the meat. So even with the improved temperature control of a sous vide, you still need hours and hours to break down the collagen. The good cuts that are used for steaks don't have hardly any collagen so they can be cooked faster at higher heat.... but for tougher cuts you end up needing significant times. I think the last time I looked at doing a brisket it was 18+ hours.
I haven't seen the rubber maid lids for sous vide, that sounds like a good solution. I know a big problem with long cooks is the evaporation. Most of the stuff I'd seen was coleman coolers hacked to fit a sous vide to control evaporation but to also keep a steadier temp. Have you had issues with that using the rubber maid? My guess is the circulator probably just runs more in a rubber maid container.