How to cook a filet mignon?

The Cen-Tex Smoker

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. 

I don't do it every time either. It's just another fun tool to have in your toolkit. It works great and guarantees perfect doneness. The best thing about it for burgers is that you can eat grocery store ground beef at med rare (or rare even) and it's perfectly safe. I love a med rare burger and this way it is pasteurized in the bath before cooking. That's the best reason for me to sous vide a burger

Cullum

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. 

I don't do it every time either. It's just another fun tool to have in your toolkit. It works great and guarantees perfect doneness. The best thing about it for burgers is that you can eat grocery store ground beef at med rare (or rare even) and it's perfectly safe. I love a med rare burger and this way it is pasteurized in the bath before cooking. That's the best reason for me to sous vide a burger

Thanks for all the info! I'm assuming your from Central Texas?

The Cen-Tex Smoker

I am. I live in Autin.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

*austin.

Cullum

*austin.

Cool. I use to live in San Marcos off Aquarina Springs Drive. My cousin owns a restaurant in Austin called Vespaio. 

Cullum

actually, that one was done at 133 degrees

I noticed you have the "DEMI". How many steaks can you put in there at once, and up to about what size?

The Cen-Tex Smoker

actually, that one was done at 133 degrees

I noticed you have the "DEMI". How many steaks can you put in there at once, and up to about what size?

You can do 4-5 large ribeyes in there. 

eggo

Stike - sorry, seems like we're talking "past" each other (not difficult via this type of medium). 

At any rate, "sous vide" or its little cousin "hot tub" are a means of cooking, or, in the case of "hot tub" - semi-cooking the steak, such that the internal is all one constant temp.

Check - got that point. 

So let's say you "hot tub" to about 125 degrees, then do a quick sear. 

That "sear" can be done on ANY device which can produce heat high enough to get a searing temp.  It doesn't have to be done on the Egg. 

So basically, the method I just described (theoretically) bypasses the Egg as a cooking vessel. 

I guess the way I look at it is - I like using the Egg because of the smoky taste it imparts onto the food.  (yes, other charcoal cookers can do that, but that's a discussion as to *which* charcoal cooker is better, which is out of the scope of this discussion). 

So, if I use the Egg to cook things because I like the way it makes the food taste (ie, smoky), then why would I want to bypass 90% of that? 

If the Egg was never invented, folks would eventually come to a forum & say "hey, I found that if you "hot tub" your steak for X amount of time to Y internal temp, then throw on a CI griddle on the stove (or on my gasser) to finish off w/ a "sear" at the end (or beginning), it makes the BEST, most evenly "done" steak I've ever tasted!!!" 

And this would be withOUT the Egg... I dunno, just an observation...

After reading all these posts, I (think) I totally agree with HH. Allbeit a good way to get a good steak less the egg.

stike

i get smoke flavor on my hot tubbed steak. plenty of charcoal and woodsmoke flavor.

just how it is.  perhaps my egg is magic.
>-

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Stike - sorry, seems like we're talking "past" each other (not difficult via this type of medium). 

At any rate, "sous vide" or its little cousin "hot tub" are a means of cooking, or, in the case of "hot tub" - semi-cooking the steak, such that the internal is all one constant temp.

Check - got that point. 

So let's say you "hot tub" to about 125 degrees, then do a quick sear. 

That "sear" can be done on ANY device which can produce heat high enough to get a searing temp.  It doesn't have to be done on the Egg. 

So basically, the method I just described (theoretically) bypasses the Egg as a cooking vessel. 

I guess the way I look at it is - I like using the Egg because of the smoky taste it imparts onto the food.  (yes, other charcoal cookers can do that, but that's a discussion as to *which* charcoal cooker is better, which is out of the scope of this discussion). 

So, if I use the Egg to cook things because I like the way it makes the food taste (ie, smoky), then why would I want to bypass 90% of that? 

If the Egg was never invented, folks would eventually come to a forum & say "hey, I found that if you "hot tub" your steak for X amount of time to Y internal temp, then throw on a CI griddle on the stove (or on my gasser) to finish off w/ a "sear" at the end (or beginning), it makes the BEST, most evenly "done" steak I've ever tasted!!!" 

And this would be withOUT the Egg... I dunno, just an observation...

After reading all these posts, I (think) I totally agree with HH. Allbeit a good way to get a good steak less the egg.

All true. I would point out, at the risk of being accused of heresy, that of all the best steak houses in the world, none are cooked over charcoal. Most are done in ovens of 1500 degrees or so. I love my egged steaks and will cook them until I can't cook no more, but there are a lot of ways to skin a cat out there and I like using all of them. There was a time I would have never imagined eating a steak that was not grilled. then I got my egg and thought, this is it, nothing could beat it. Then I opened my restaurant and had 2 really talented chefs teach me some really cool techniques (while stealing all my beer and food . They didn't teach me Sous Vide, I found that at my favorite steakhouse in Austin and started researching it. 

Like I said, I do sous vide steaks 10-15% of the time (and finish on the egg or cast iron pan sear at 50/50). I do BGE for steaks 70% of the time and I do cast iron in the oven the rest. I would also say that the oven might even be the best.............gasp.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Just realized that we have totally hijacked this thread. Sorry.

stike

cent-tex: keep in mind that when you sear a steak at a dome temp of 700+, you aren't cooking it at 700+.  you are searing it at 1200-1500 or more.

the 1500 number you hear quoted by restaurants is the heat of the infrared element.  your lump can get hotter, if you really want it to

The Cen-Tex Smoker

cent-tex: keep in mind that when you sear a steak at a dome temp of 700+, you aren't cooking it at 700+.  you are searing it at 1200-1500 or more.

the 1500 number you hear quoted by restaurants is the heat of the infrared element.  your lump can get hotter, if you really want it to

Yep. Was just referring to process (no smoke in a hot oven) more than anything else

lousubcap

100+ posts on how to cook a filet mignon-just goes to show how adaptable the BGE and cooking can be... a knock-off taken from the USMC-Semper Gumby, "Always Flexible". >-

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Tru dat Cap. Well said.

allsid

My single experience with SV is that yes, it did a nice, pretty rib eye, but the fat did not really render down because @ 90 seconds a side, or whatever I did at the time, it just was not long enough to induce melting.  

Will a longer bath do anything to melt down the fat or marbling?  

I love the idea, but still do not want ginormous globules of fat that I have to cut off, I do prefer it to be mostly rendered if possible.  

I do realize this is OT from the tenderloin question, but it has gone kind of SV around here-  Cheers!

http://mtmisenplace.tumblr.com/

Cullum

I really appreciate all the ideas from the original thread. I don't believe anybody side tracked, just gave great answers to the original question. Thanks!!!!!!!

stike

allsid; try dry aged. it's not an issue of fat, but water in the fat.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

My single experience with SV is that yes, it did a nice, pretty rib eye, but the fat did not really render down because @ 90 seconds a side, or whatever I did at the time, it just was not long enough to induce melting.  

Will a longer bath do anything to melt down the fat or marbling?  

I love the idea, but still do not want ginormous globules of fat that I have to cut off, I do prefer it to be mostly rendered if possible.  

I do realize this is OT from the tenderloin question, but it has gone kind of SV around here-  Cheers!

http://mtmisenplace.tumblr.com/

I've never given this any thought but i don't think a longer bath is going to render fat. Does it really render on a normal egg cook? I've just never paid much attn to the difference

allsid

I will give the dry age a shot (again).  I guess thats the fun part about all this, try & try again.  It seems like when I am finally comfortable swearing off a dish or a technique that actually means I am about ready to try again.  

tdbmd

What do you put the meat that is sealed into to hold them at a set temp, say 140, for hours?  A crockpot or is there a specific cooker of some kind?

The Cen-Tex Smoker

What do you put the meat that is sealed into to hold them at a set temp, say 140, for hours?  A crockpot or is there a specific cooker of some kind?

I use a Sous Vide Supreme Demi (
http://www.sousvidesupreme.com/en-us/sousvidesupreme_vs_demi.htm ) and a food saver to vac-seal the food. You can use a crock pot or any other method to reliably hold temp over a few hours. You can use zip lock bags with all the air sucked out safely up to 170 degrees. Dark meat poultry is about the only thing done above that temp so you can play around with most everything else without having to buy equip (if you don't already have a food saver). 

Most foods are done in an hour or 2 but you can leave them in all day and it will hold perfect temp until you are ready to finish. You can never overcook as long as your temp does not fluctuate.