How to cook a filet mignon?

The Cen-Tex Smoker · May 2012

Can you do the sous vide method with a burger and get the same results? I've got a friend coming over tonight and I want to cook burgers. Can I vacuum seal them and place in a crock pot on warm or around 140 or so and then sear on the egg?

yes. They are insanely good. If you have a true vac seal machine (food saver etc) don't let it vac all the way down. Just let it take the bag to where it forms around the burger then stop it and let it seal. it will compress the burger too much and it makes the bite too firm. Then just throw a little salt and pepper on the outside and sear it as hard and fast as you can.

Burgers are one of the coolest because you can pasteurize grocery burger meat at 130 (med rare) to where it is totally safe to eat, but still nice an pink from top to bottom. The egg is awesome to finish burgers too. You'll love it.

stike · May 2012

i think a lot of folks are confusing heating up a steak or burger for an hour with what you are doing C-T.

gonna have a lot of people dropping a burger in a baggie into water for an hour bragging about their sous vide success

>-

nothing really happens in that hour compared to your multi-hour (some go days, right?) at 130-140-ish temps, allowing enzymes to kick in and do their thing.

you are flying a copter, versus us baggy soakers running around in the front yard with our arms out making air-plane sounds

Eggbertsdad · May 2012

stike,

that last sentence is hilarious!

Duganboy · May 2012

OP, assumming that you are just going to do the steak on the egg without any of the exotic stuff, there are two methods.

Sear and Hold: Sear direct over very hot fire. I like to get the BGE to 700 degrees and do three minutes on each side. Close all vents and leave for another three minutes. Then take off and cover with aluminum foil for at least 5 minutes. Wife and I like them medium and this gets the typical 8 to 10 oz filet to that point.

Reverse Sear (which I really like) I get the BGE about 250, put on a lump of hickory, put a probe thermometer in one of the steaks and get them to 110 degees. Then I take the steaks off, open the bottom draft wide open, take off the daisy wheel and get the BGE to 700 plus. Put them back on the grill for about 90 seconds on each side.

Experience will teach you how long to leave them on each stage for your preferred taste.

The Cen-Tex Smoker · May 2012

i think a lot of folks are confusing heating up a steak or burger for an hour with what you are doing C-T.

gonna have a lot of people dropping a burger in a baggie into water for an hour bragging about their sous vide success
>-

nothing really happens in that hour compared to your multi-hour (some go days, right?) at 130-140-ish temps, allowing enzymes to kick in and do their thing.

you are flying a copter, versus us baggy soakers running around in the front yard with our arms out making air-plane sounds

Well, not really. Take the burger for example. It's ready in an hour. It's perfectly 130 (Bright pink med rare) from tip to tail and perfectly safe to eat. It has been pasteurized. When you sear it, you have a crusty exterior and then bight pink from top to bottom. So in the case of the burger, it makes it safe at 130, and it does not turn gray half way through to get the center up to temp. See attached pic. This burger is totally safe to eat and med rare top to bottom. Credit burgerdoctor.com for the image

The same really holds true with steaks, chicken, seafood. It's not really a long cook that gets you the ethereal texture. its the fact that A) everything is safe at much lower temps making the textures unreal and

you cannot overcook it- ever. So you can cook it for an hour, or 8 and it's pretty much the same. You will start getting some break down on meats after a period of time but that is not the main deal of sous vide. Generally, everything is done in an hour or so unless you are doing a roast or something like that (2-3 days for stuff like that).

Soooo....dropping a baggie in the water for an hour is sous vide success in most cases. it is the easiest thing I have ever done. The steaks in the attached pic- 1- hour sous vide, 45 sec each side BGE. Easiest steak I have ever cooked.

Hope this helps

The Cen-Tex Smoker · May 2012

The steak pic is a perfect example- there would normally be a grey ring around the pink because the outside overcooks while the very center gets up to temp. You don't have that with sous vide. it's the same exact temp top top to bottom.it makes for unreal textures and the more delicate the meat, the better it works. No more dry chicken breasts! Water pours out when you cut them.

stike · May 2012

i agree about prewarming and the benefits, but when someone does sous vide for many hours, it isn't going to taste the same or have the same texture as when they do it for an hour.

one thing that occurs at extended times (as with aging) is that the enzymes break down the flavorless proteins into more flavorful amino acids. don't get as much in an hour...

The Cen-Tex Smoker · May 2012

i agree about prewarming and the benefits, but when someone does sous vide for many hours, it isn't going to taste the same or have the same texture as when they do it for an hour.

one thing that occurs at extended times (as with aging) is that the enzymes break down the flavorless proteins into more flavorful amino acids. don't get as much in an hour...

correct, but that is not the essence of sous vide. Long cooks are the exception, not the rule. You can do a butt or a falling apart roast at 140 that is still med rare (and totally safe)! It's really cool but i don't do them. You cannot cook in liquid without some serious commercial equip (cryo vac machine for $3500) so when I make a roast or something, I braise it to get all that flavor. When grilling, 1-4 hours is all you need but you can go up to 8 or longer. Steaks and chicken breast actually get mushy when in sous vide for too long. I haven't seen anywhere that it's recommended to cook any primal cuts at super long times. They say 8 hrs max to preserve texture.

The Cen-Tex Smoker · May 2012

and actually, anything under 130 you are not supposed to have in there longer than 4 hours because bacteria can flourish at those temps.

Little Steven · May 2012

Cen-Tex,

I warned you. He's gonna put his illustration up there

The Cen-Tex Smoker · May 2012

Cen-Tex,
I warned you. He's gonna put his illustration up there

I'm just hoping for a play......or a sonnet. What could it be?????

Little Steven · May 2012

It's sort of like a swan song. Have you ever seen his candlelit beef wellington? Pure art

The Cen-Tex Smoker · May 2012

It's sort of like a swan song. Have you ever seen his candlelit beef wellington? Pure art

I have not but I can't wait.

bvanma28 · May 2012

Wrap it in peppercorn crusted bacon. For added flavor

brentsee · May 2012

OP, assumming that you are just going to do the steak on the egg without any of the exotic stuff, there are two methods.

Sear and Hold: Sear direct over very hot fire. I like to get the BGE to 700 degrees and do three minutes on each side. Close all vents and leave for another three minutes. Then take off and cover with aluminum foil for at least 5 minutes. Wife and I like them medium and this gets the typical 8 to 10 oz filet to that point.

Reverse Sear (which I really like) I get the BGE about 250, put on a lump of hickory, put a probe thermometer in one of the steaks and get them to 110 degees. Then I take the steaks off, open the bottom draft wide open, take off the daisy wheel and get the BGE to 700 plus. Put them back on the grill for about 90 seconds on each side.

Experience will teach you how long to leave them on each stage for your preferred taste.

I like your methods Duganboy. I usually do the quick method thing, I might try your reverse method.

The S V method too hi tech for me!!

Eggbertsdad · May 2012

OK,

Last night I took 4 burgers I made, vacuum sealed them, and put them in my crock pot. My crock pot has a temp probe so I put it through the top and let it sit in the water. I kept the water temp at 130-135 for an hour and a half. I pulled them out of the bath and had some doubts. HOWEVER, after putting them on the egg for about 2 minutes on each side they were absolutely perfect.

Thanks for the help Cen-Tex, HH, and stike.

XLBalco · May 2012

so the 2 hours or so that you put into cooking those burgers outweighs the conventional method?

The Cen-Tex Smoker · May 2012

so the 2 hours or so that you put into cooking those burgers outweighs the conventional method?

It's hardly a lot of work watching them sit in hot water.

The Cen-Tex Smoker · May 2012

so the 2 hours or so that you put into cooking those burgers outweighs the conventional method?

Cool. Glad you enjoyed it.

Cullum · May 2012

The steak pic is a perfect example- there would normally be a grey ring around the pink because the outside overcooks while the very center gets up to temp. You don't have that with sous vide. it's the same exact temp top top to bottom.it makes for unreal textures and the more delicate the meat, the better it works. No more dry chicken breasts! Water pours out when you cut them.

How do the burgers come out? Are they flavorful? Do you season before or after the bath or both?

The Cen-Tex Smoker · May 2012

The steak pic is a perfect example- there would normally be a grey ring around the pink because the outside overcooks while the very center gets up to temp. You don't have that with sous vide. it's the same exact temp top top to bottom.it makes for unreal textures and the more delicate the meat, the better it works. No more dry chicken breasts! Water pours out when you cut them.

How do the burgers come out? Are they flavorful? Do you season before or after the bath or both?

You can season either way. If you season before, it adds some good flavor but it liquefies inside the bag. I like to throw a little S&P on right before the sear. They are very flavorful and very tender. If they crumble on you (which I haven't come across but have heard about it) you can mix in an egg and that acts as a binder that holds it all together.

Eggbertsdad · May 2012

I didn't season my burgers while they were in the bath. Just before I put them on the egg I hit them with DP's Cow Lick. They had a wonderful flavor and in that short amount of time they did pick up some smoke.

I was surprised as to how much liquid was released from the burgers during the bath. That had me a little concerned, but they're a keeper.

XLBalco · May 2012

so the 2 hours or so that you put into cooking those burgers outweighs the conventional method?
It's hardly a lot of work watching them sit in hot water.

i suppose... but i was asking it if it was worth it?

Eggbertsdad · May 2012

XL,

I was skeptical as well but it was pretty cool to impart that much flavor from the egg in under 5 minutes and to have each of the 4 burgers perfectly done.

I can see the benefit if everyone likes their steak cook to the same temp, although you can do multiple temps in the water bath and still cook each steak the same amount of time on the egg.

Cullum · May 2012

I didn't season my burgers while they were in the bath. Just before I put them on the egg I hit them with DP's Cow Lick. They had a wonderful flavor and in that short amount of time they did pick up some smoke.

I was surprised as to how much liquid was released from the burgers during the bath. That had me a little concerned, but they're a keeper.

How do you know when your meat hits the temperature you want when you do it this method? Just let it cook for so long in the water?

XLBalco · May 2012

@eggb... I am not even saying that i am skeptical at this point. just asking if it was worth it and this will be your new method for cooking burgers or if it was more of a novelty try.

The Cen-Tex Smoker · May 2012

It's usually done in a hour or do for steaks, burgers, chicken breast etc but it can sit in there all day and never overcook.

Cullum · May 2012

It's usually done in a hour or do for steaks, burgers, chicken breast etc but it can sit in there all day and never overcook.

How would you say the TEXTURE of the burger is when cooking this way compared to when cooking on grill conventionally?

Eggbertsdad · May 2012

Cullum,

The texture was great on the burgers I made. I was concerned about that as well as I pulled them out of the bath and there was a lot of juice in the bag. I was thinking, "oh sh&t!"...but when I removed them from the bag I could see they were pink inside and the just the very outside was slightly gray. Blast in on the egg for about 2 minutes at 550 or so and they were perfect. Very moist.

I still have one left over from last night. I'll cut into it and post a pic.

@Xl...I don't know if I'll do this every time. It worked out to try this method as a buddy of mine was running late last night and didn't get there until after 9, the wife was hungry, and since the coals were already lit and on temp...the burgers were done in under 5 minutes.

I still want to try the reverse sear to see which way I like better. Maybe keep the egg around 200-225 and toss the burgers or steaks on, then finish with a sear.

Lit · May 2012

I found a recipe in Steven Raichlens book for gorgonzola walnut butter that is amazing on filets. I love the tenderness of filets but they are not the most flavorful meat. I put the butter on the filets right after they come off the egg when I am doming them in foil. I don't wrap the steaks I put them on a plate and make a foil dome over it and tuck the sides. I am pretty sure I have posted the recipe for the butter on here before if you search.

How to cook a filet mignon?

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