Anybody else get in on the Nomiku Kickstarter (sous vide cooker)?

[Viper GTS]

Finally got it yesterday and had it in a pot of water within 20 minutes. Then it was off to the store for random things to cook.

First up, a ribeye. Two hours at 135 degrees yielded this:

My first sous vide cooked steak (or anything, that I'm aware of) and it was great. I need a torch though as it would have been better with some crust.

Have pork chops and a sweet potato in now, chicken scheduled for tomorrow.

I can't be the only one playing with this stuff, what are you all doing?

Viper GTS

 

[Ns1]

might taste delicious but does not look anything like a steak.

thus, my disdain for sous-vide steak.

 

[Anubis]

2 hours to cook a steak?

 

[Elixer]

I wouldn't eat that. Too rare for me.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

I am so getting that.

 

[Drako]

Sous-vide: French for waste of time :biggrin:

 

[GagHalfrunt]

There are many things sous-vide cookers do well. Steak is not one of them.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

There are many things sous-vide cookers do well. Steak is not one of them.

Why not?

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Why not?

Google Maillard Reaction. That will tell you all you need to know about the drawbacks of things like sous vide, pressure cookers and crockpots. They all have their place and they all do some things well. And there are many things that they do terribly. Cooking a steak to the proper internal temperature using conventional methods is child's play. It takes a few minutes and develops FAR better flavor than can be gotten via sous vide alone. If you don't know how to cook fish and are afraid of overcooking something expensive sous vide is wonderful. But for a steak it's just plain silliness.

 

[Viper GTS]

Google Maillard Reaction. That will tell you all you need to know about the drawbacks of things like sous vide, pressure cookers and crockpots. They all have their place and they all do some things well. And there are many things that they do terribly. Cooking a steak to the proper internal temperature using conventional methods is child's play. It takes a few minutes and develops FAR better flavor than can be gotten via sous vide alone. If you don't know how to cook fish and are afraid of overcooking something expensive sous vide is wonderful. But for a steak it's just plain silliness.

Hence the torch.

Nobody is suggesting that charred meat isn't a beautiful thing but for completely unsupervised, flexible cook time with no chance of overcooking + great results... Where's the downside?

There simply is no conventional way to reach proper internal temperatures without overcooking some of the meat. This gives better results and it's nearly impossible to screw up.

Viper GTS

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

A hot cast iron pan would work much better than a torch. A torch will make for spotty results. Throw a sous vide steak into a hot pan for 30 seconds to a minute each side. You'll have a great crust and there is no rest time required.

 

[mcurphy]

Did the ribeye come out juicy and tender? Despite the pinkness, it almost looks dry...

 

[alkemyst]

might taste delicious but does not look anything like a steak.

thus, my disdain for sous-vide steak.

QFT...I was like WTF is that pictured.

 

[KlokWyze]

Grill or pan sear for me thanks

 

[Zeze]

What the heck is the point of sous vide? Why even temp for the sake of it?

What's wrong with a perfectly seared steak that's crispy on the outside and softer towards the center?

OP's look doesn't look good at all. And what do you know, sous vide steaks also get seared on the pan for texture. Why not grill/cast iron them in the first place?

Pictures of steak I cooked:

 

[Viper GTS]

Did the ribeye come out juicy and tender? Despite the pinkness, it almost looks dry...

I patted it dry when I pulled it out of the bag, was debating searing it on cast iron but wanted to see how it was straight out of the bag.

It was not dry in any way.

Viper GTS

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

What the heck is the point of sous vide? Why even temp for the sake of it?

What's wrong with a perfectly seared steak that's crispy on the outside and softer towards the center?

OP's look doesn't look good at all. And what do you know, sous vide steaks also get seared on the pan for texture. Why not grill/cast iron them in the first place?

Pictures of steak I cooked:

Sous vide steak is generally not eaten after it comes out of the vac bag. Usually it is seared at very high heat, then served. A reason for doing sous vide is evidenced by pic 2 of your post. Notice the 1/4"+ of grayish area that accompanies the sear on both sides? A proper sous vide is primarily tasty red meat with a seared finish and very little of that. In addition a sous vide makes it much easier to control the temp of the meat to a very precise degree. Even with a thermo-pen, searing and oven-roasting a steak is a guessing game and isn't nearly as accurate.

 

[gorcorps]

2 hours to cook a steak?

I actually loled :biggrin:

 

[ultimatebob]

Bitchin looking steak there, Zeze!

 

[Zeze]

Sous vide steak is generally not eaten after it comes out of the vac bag. Usually it is seared at very high heat, then served. A reason for doing sous vide is evidenced by pic 2 of your post. Notice the 1/4"+ of grayish area that accompanies the sear on both sides? A proper sous vide is primarily tasty red meat with a seared finish and very little of that. In addition a sous vide makes it much easier to control the temp of the meat to a very precise degree. Even with a thermo-pen, searing and oven-roasting a steak is a guessing game and isn't nearly as accurate.

The half of that 1/4" grayish area is the seared crust. The other half is the gradual 'uneven' heat of being medium well.

So you're investing 2+ hours for making the other half (1/8th inch) being pink as the center.

That's an awful trade-off.

Also searing is not a guessing game for any experienced steak cooks.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

The half of that 1/4" grayish area is the seared crust. The other half is the gradual 'uneven' heat of being medium well.

So you're investing 2+ hours for making the other half (1/8th inch) being pink as the center.

That's an awful trade-off.

Also searing is not a guessing game for any experienced steak cooks.

There is more to it than that. With searing and high temp finishing, which seems to be the accepted only way to properly cook a steak in OT because the experts in here have read online that supposedly that's the best method, you get graduations of temperature from the sear to the center. That changes the way the proteins react all throughout the steak. With sous vide the protein reaction is consistent basically all the way through. With a low temp cook like sous vide the proteins don't contract as tightly either which tends to retain more moisture in the cells of the meat so you get a juicier steak in the process.

Also, there is no 2 hour "investment." Unlike pan searing or grilling you aren't as slave to perfect timing. You drop your vac bags in the water and come back two hours later. It takes a few seconds to drop them in the water and takes a few seconds to fish them out. In overall time you're spending just as much time, if not more, with the pan searing/oven finish method.

btw, have you ever done a sous vide steak? What other methods have you used to cook steaks? iow, what makes you consider yourself experienced? Employing a single method doesn't imply experience, imo.

 

[notposting]

I've done the low-temp then sear method (yes, ATK) with the center cut tenderloin (Châteaubriand), and that is just perfection.

Definitely ditch the torch and just sear it, though you don't need a cast iron pan to do so. I just use our regular 12" tri-ply skillet on the stovetop. Couple minutes on each side works fine and then you get beautifully cooked meat with great exterior.

edit: but just low temp in oven, not sous vide in particular.

 

[waggy]

There is more to it than that. With searing and high temp finishing, which seems to be the accepted only way to properly cook a steak in OT because the experts in here have read online that supposedly that's the best method, .

/this

I said pretty much the same in another steak thread. While i enjoy "alton browns" method (cast iron) it is not the only way. Just as cooking a steak in a 1500 salamander broiler is not the only way to get a damn good steak.

 

[Rakehellion]

A torch will make for spotty results.

Maybe if you have Parkinson's.

One recipe says to freeze it after cooking, then deep fry it in oil.

 

[Rakehellion]

I patted it dry when I pulled it out of the bag

Don't do that.

was debating searing it on cast iron but wanted to see how it was straight out of the bag.

Don't do that.


1. Patting it dry removes all of the fats, which means less flavor.
2. Sous vide without searing is just boiled steak. You made a damned pot roast.