Hot-Tubbed Steak Question!

Here is Little Steven's explanation.

http://www.eggheadforum.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=994688&catid=1

you're just warming up the steak. don't get caught up in temps and times... steaks into a ziploc, suck the air out, and sink into a bowl of hot tap water. give it 20 minutes or so to come up to temp. might need a change of water or two also.

then throw it on and sear to your liking. it will cook much faster. use the thermapen

...rest of the technique. That is, the salting. When this method was published by Cooks Illustrated, they recommended salting the steak for at least three hours. Then the last hour is spent in the warm water bath. (So, for the minimum it would be salting the steak and holding it in the fridge for 2 hours, then 1 hour in the water bath)

Salt draws juices to the surface, where they eventually dissolve the salt; the juices are then reabsorbed in the form of a flavorful, concentrated "brine," bringing out beefy flavors and masking livery ones.

Right, plus it dissolves at a lower temperature which makes it great for making brines.

And for those that may experiment with different salts in different applications, be sure to go by weight. In other words, if your recipe calls for a tablespoon of kosher salt (which is coarse), a tablespoon of canning salt or fine grind sea salt will be too salty because it's grain is finer.

i agree. i think, though, that here (and maybe only here) hot tubbing has become a separate 'thing'.

i personally don't do it to the specs of the cooks illustrated article simply because i don't carry it around in my head... i just do it to warm the meat before slapping the heat to it. in order to maximize the preferred cross section of "med-rare"-ness.

to me, the "hot tub" method is cooks'-method-lite. more about taking the chill off than anything.

i know you know this, but just using this as an illustration. maybe it will keep adam happy :laugh: left is a steak put on the egg cold, cooked to med-rare. right is a pre-warmed (one way being hot-tubbed)

Stile has the explanation done perfectly. This method of cooking is called sous vide and is French for "under vacuum" as the meat is in a bag.

This method works for steaks but I have done a roast using this method and it's unreal. Next time I do it I'll toad pictures but the same principle is true butthe roast is even thicker.

For a roast or steaks I fill a cooler almost full with 120 degree water and then the temp does not drop due to the amount of water and the fact that's it in a cooler. For a roast, I'll go for 3 hours to get the whole roast up to 120ish.

Throw it on a hot egg for crust and then slice. Another nice thin using this method is that the meat does not have to rest after cooking.