What's your favorite way to grill steaks?

RyanStl said:

I tried SV for first time then cast iron butter sear because it was raining outside.  It wasn't as amazing as people talk about when talking SV.  I think I'm good with nothing fancy and cook direct on the BGE.

So… a couple of thoughts here.  First of all, SV isn’t always the best approach for everything.  With steaks, in my experience there are some cuts where it really shines (like filets).  But for thick ribeyes, I actually prefer the reverse sear.

But secondly, and this is just as important: sous-vide is not just a one time experiment.  With a SV cook, you need to think of time and temperature in the bath as ingredients.  Changing either can have a fairly significant impact on the final product. 

Just my $0.02

RyanStl said:

JohnInCarolina said:

RyanStl said:

I tried SV for first time then cast iron butter sear because it was raining outside.  It wasn't as amazing as people talk about when talking SV.  I think I'm good with nothing fancy and cook direct on the BGE.

So… a couple of thoughts here.  First of all, SV isn’t always the best approach for everything.  With steaks, in my experience there are some cuts where it really shines (like filets).  But for thick ribeyes, I actually prefer the reverse sear.

But secondly, and this is just as important: sous-vide is not just a one time experiment.  With a SV cook, you need to think of time and temperature in the bath as ingredients.  Changing either can have a fairly significant impact on the final product. 

Just my $0.02

Good point, I did some large rib eye and t-bones at the same time.  The SV process took out so much juice, I felt the steaks were drier than they should have been.  The juices made awesome gravy for mashed potatoes though.  I cooked at 135 for 3 hrs. I think initially it was set to 139, but decided to lower down to 135 after 30 minutes.

Th wife was also dissatisfied I wouldn't fire up the grill when it was a steady rain.

Oof.  139.  Way way too hot.  I SV at 129 for 1-4hrs.  Then pull out of bag, pat the steak dry, let it cool down for 10-15 minutes, then sear it hard.  If I have squeamish guests I might bump temp to 131, but I find that borderline for quality.  If you bump from 129 to even 134 the juice loss difference is significant.

Ozzie_Isaac said:

RyanStl said:

JohnInCarolina said:

RyanStl said:

I tried SV for first time then cast iron butter sear because it was raining outside.  It wasn't as amazing as people talk about when talking SV.  I think I'm good with nothing fancy and cook direct on the BGE.

So… a couple of thoughts here.  First of all, SV isn’t always the best approach for everything.  With steaks, in my experience there are some cuts where it really shines (like filets).  But for thick ribeyes, I actually prefer the reverse sear.

But secondly, and this is just as important: sous-vide is not just a one time experiment.  With a SV cook, you need to think of time and temperature in the bath as ingredients.  Changing either can have a fairly significant impact on the final product. 

Just my $0.02

Good point, I did some large rib eye and t-bones at the same time.  The SV process took out so much juice, I felt the steaks were drier than they should have been.  The juices made awesome gravy for mashed potatoes though.  I cooked at 135 for 3 hrs. I think initially it was set to 139, but decided to lower down to 135 after 30 minutes.

Th wife was also dissatisfied I wouldn't fire up the grill when it was a steady rain.

Oof.  139.  Way way too hot.  I SV at 129 for 1-4hrs.  Then pull out of bag, pat the steak dry, let it cool down for 10-15 minutes, then sear it hard.  If I have squeamish guests I might bump temp to 131, but I find that borderline for quality.  If you bump from 129 to even 134 the juice loss difference is significant.

The doneness came out the way I wanted, pink in the middle. It just wasn't as juicy as I expected. Still great though, but hey we driving for perfection.  Next time I'll dial it down, but thought anything under 130 should be avoided if cooking over two hours.  Next time I'll try 131. Can't believe a few degrees makes that big a difference, but apparently it does.

my preference for ribeye is 127 internal, no sousvide, just leave it out for 3 to 4 hours on the counter before cooking. strip is fine with the water bath and if i used the sousvide it would be set at 122 and  max 124 internal remove off the grill. the ribeye just needs those few extra degrees for doneness for me.  this is pretty much the only thing that im type a with

Ozzie_Isaac said:

RyanStl said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

RyanStl said:

JohnInCarolina said:

RyanStl said:

I tried SV for first time then cast iron butter sear because it was raining outside.  It wasn't as amazing as people talk about when talking SV.  I think I'm good with nothing fancy and cook direct on the BGE.

So… a couple of thoughts here.  First of all, SV isn’t always the best approach for everything.  With steaks, in my experience there are some cuts where it really shines (like filets).  But for thick ribeyes, I actually prefer the reverse sear.

But secondly, and this is just as important: sous-vide is not just a one time experiment.  With a SV cook, you need to think of time and temperature in the bath as ingredients.  Changing either can have a fairly significant impact on the final product. 

Just my $0.02

Good point, I did some large rib eye and t-bones at the same time.  The SV process took out so much juice, I felt the steaks were drier than they should have been.  The juices made awesome gravy for mashed potatoes though.  I cooked at 135 for 3 hrs. I think initially it was set to 139, but decided to lower down to 135 after 30 minutes.

Th wife was also dissatisfied I wouldn't fire up the grill when it was a steady rain.

Oof.  139.  Way way too hot.  I SV at 129 for 1-4hrs.  Then pull out of bag, pat the steak dry, let it cool down for 10-15 minutes, then sear it hard.  If I have squeamish guests I might bump temp to 131, but I find that borderline for quality.  If you bump from 129 to even 134 the juice loss difference is significant.

The doneness came out the way I wanted, pink in the middle. It just wasn't as juicy as I expected. Still great though, but hey we driving for perfection.  Next time I'll dial it down, but thought anything under 130 should be avoided if cooking over two hours.  Next time I'll try 131. Can't believe a few degrees makes that big a difference, but apparently it does.

The actually safety point for steaks is around 126.  However, due to variations in devices, measurements, and process they say "131".  That is for safety margin.  I check my water temp with a thermapen also.  I feel safe at 129.  Also, I am not a biologist or a doctor, but is based on this:

https://douglasbaldwin.com/sous-vide.html#Safety

This is where I point out that Baldwin is an excellent resource, and that he is also a mathematician 😎

Legume said:

JohnInCarolina said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

RyanStl said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

RyanStl said:

JohnInCarolina said:

RyanStl said:

I tried SV for first time then cast iron butter sear because it was raining outside.  It wasn't as amazing as people talk about when talking SV.  I think I'm good with nothing fancy and cook direct on the BGE.

So… a couple of thoughts here.  First of all, SV isn’t always the best approach for everything.  With steaks, in my experience there are some cuts where it really shines (like filets).  But for thick ribeyes, I actually prefer the reverse sear.

But secondly, and this is just as important: sous-vide is not just a one time experiment.  With a SV cook, you need to think of time and temperature in the bath as ingredients.  Changing either can have a fairly significant impact on the final product. 

Just my $0.02

Good point, I did some large rib eye and t-bones at the same time.  The SV process took out so much juice, I felt the steaks were drier than they should have been.  The juices made awesome gravy for mashed potatoes though.  I cooked at 135 for 3 hrs. I think initially it was set to 139, but decided to lower down to 135 after 30 minutes.

Th wife was also dissatisfied I wouldn't fire up the grill when it was a steady rain.

Oof.  139.  Way way too hot.  I SV at 129 for 1-4hrs.  Then pull out of bag, pat the steak dry, let it cool down for 10-15 minutes, then sear it hard.  If I have squeamish guests I might bump temp to 131, but I find that borderline for quality.  If you bump from 129 to even 134 the juice loss difference is significant.

The doneness came out the way I wanted, pink in the middle. It just wasn't as juicy as I expected. Still great though, but hey we driving for perfection.  Next time I'll dial it down, but thought anything under 130 should be avoided if cooking over two hours.  Next time I'll try 131. Can't believe a few degrees makes that big a difference, but apparently it does.

The actually safety point for steaks is around 126.  However, due to variations in devices, measurements, and process they say "131".  That is for safety margin.  I check my water temp with a thermapen also.  I feel safe at 129.  Also, I am not a biologist or a doctor, but is based on this:

https://douglasbaldwin.com/sous-vide.html#Safety

This is where I point out that Baldwin is an excellent resource, and that he is also a mathematician 😎

Ted Streleski & Ted Kaczynski both mathematicians as well.

And your point would be?!?!?

Thatgrimguy said:

Some of you guys like your streaks really rare. Anything under 135 turns me off.

I am with you.  I know it's blasphemy, but I am more a fan of medium.

Thatgrimguy said:

Some of you guys like your streaks really rare. Anything under 135 turns me off.

I want it cooked to the point that a good veterinarian could get it back on its feet.

When I order in a restaurant, if they ask me if I need any steak sauce, I tell them "Maybe a little aloe vera."

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Hook_emHornsfan_74 said:

Thatgrimguy said:

Some of you guys like your streaks really rare. Anything under 135 turns me off.

I am with you.  I know it's blasphemy, but I am more a fan of medium.

I used to eat my steaks with catsup.  You should try it.

I only use catsup on the finer things like tater tots.  Sheesh.  lol

I mean it’s been in the fridge overnight but this is 137

JohnInCarolina said:

RyanStl said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

RyanStl said:

JohnInCarolina said:

RyanStl said:

I tried SV for first time then cast iron butter sear because it was raining outside.  It wasn't as amazing as people talk about when talking SV.  I think I'm good with nothing fancy and cook direct on the BGE.

So… a couple of thoughts here.  First of all, SV isn’t always the best approach for everything.  With steaks, in my experience there are some cuts where it really shines (like filets).  But for thick ribeyes, I actually prefer the reverse sear.

But secondly, and this is just as important: sous-vide is not just a one time experiment.  With a SV cook, you need to think of time and temperature in the bath as ingredients.  Changing either can have a fairly significant impact on the final product. 

Just my $0.02

Good point, I did some large rib eye and t-bones at the same time.  The SV process took out so much juice, I felt the steaks were drier than they should have been.  The juices made awesome gravy for mashed potatoes though.  I cooked at 135 for 3 hrs. I think initially it was set to 139, but decided to lower down to 135 after 30 minutes.

Th wife was also dissatisfied I wouldn't fire up the grill when it was a steady rain.

Oof.  139.  Way way too hot.  I SV at 129 for 1-4hrs.  Then pull out of bag, pat the steak dry, let it cool down for 10-15 minutes, then sear it hard.  If I have squeamish guests I might bump temp to 131, but I find that borderline for quality.  If you bump from 129 to even 134 the juice loss difference is significant.

The doneness came out the way I wanted, pink in the middle. It just wasn't as juicy as I expected. Still great though, but hey we driving for perfection.  Next time I'll dial it down, but thought anything under 130 should be avoided if cooking over two hours.  Next time I'll try 131. Can't believe a few degrees makes that big a difference, but apparently it does.

Here is a result from cooking three nearly identical steaks at three different temperatures in the SV:



Look at the liquid that was expelled from the steak at 120 vs 140.  It's a huge difference.

The pic is from this article:

https://www.seriouseats.com/food-lab-complete-guide-to-sous-vide-steak

Definitely worth a read. They do speak to food safety in the article as well.  The basic guidance is that if you're using temps under 130, you shouldn't cook them more than 2.5 hrs.  

Read that that's why I went with 135.  I'll go with 131 next time or less.  Steaks are already tender so I would like to retain the juice 

The thing I always tried to tell my ex-wife is that the red juice on her plate was NOT blood.  It is NOT blood!

I should have told her it was blood.  Maybe I would have become single sooner.

Griffin said:

Sous vide for a few hours and then sear at high heat either on the Egg or the Blackstone

^ This man knows what he's doing.