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

[TastesLikeChicken]

Maybe if you have Parkinson's.

So you have used a torch on a steak? I have. It produces crappy results. A torched steak doesn't produce a consistent maillard reaction. It makes for a crust that is a mix of overly-charred and under-browned crap. While it's nice for crème brulee it sucks for steak.

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

One recipe? K.

 

[Howard]

I hate threads like these

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Don't do that.
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.

1. Patting it dry is done to remove surface moisture. It doesn't remove the fats. The reason you want to remove the surface moisture is to minimize the steam a steak encounters when it is placed on the hot pan for the sear.

2. Guess what, most of a steak is being somewhat boiled (actually, a type of braising) when cooked regardless of how it's done. The interior of a steak is cooking primarily through moisture being heated, not through conduction. Sous vide just happens to accomplish that cooking very, very slowly. It's all about how the proteins react during heating and THAT defines how a steak is going to cook.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

I hate threads like these

That's a lie. I've seen your posts over at eGullet.

 

[l0cke]

I knew this would turn into a steak debate.

Have any pictures of the actual cooker?

 

[Howard]

That's a lie. I've seen your posts over at eGullet.

well i hate threads like THESE

EDIT: stalker

 

[RossMAN]

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

I'm new to sous-whatever, what can you make that's easy, delicious and idiot proof?

 

[Zeze]

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.

I see.

Unlike the typical internet mindset, I will withhold further judgement since I haven't personally tried a sous vide steak.

However, based on OP's pic and 2 hour investment, it doesn't look appetizing at all. Reading about it doesn't seem tantalizing on paper either.

But then again, a properly cooked high-heat cast iron steak also requires bringing the meat to room temperature which takes about 60-90 mins as well (makes ALL the difference vs cooking it straight out of fridge).

Your repeated second point about the short 'timing' and proper cooking window of grilling/cast-ironing makes it like sous vide method is for noobs who can't learn to grill/cast-iron the steak properly. So they have to invest 2 hours in sous vide. With zero ego and snobbery, grilling/cast-ironing steak perfectly isn't hard... at all. It just takes some practice.

I will reserve my judgement on sous vide. You may it sound like it's somehow magically more delicious. I doubt it because prime rib is essentially similar (slow roasted). The meat is pretty much very evenly cooked as you can see:

Prime rib is fvcking delicious. If sous vide is similar then, great. But then why does this method exist for steaks? Just prime rib it (standing roast).

 

[Howard]

I'm new to sous-whatever, what can you make that's easy, delicious and idiot proof?

Egg nog

STEAK

Anythin braised

Short rib

 

[Howard]

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

A complete lie. Stick with your meatballs, fiend!

 

[Rakehellion]

So you have used a torch on a steak? I have. It produces crappy results. A torched steak doesn't produce a consistent maillard reaction. It makes for a crust that is a mix of overly-charred and under-browned crap. While it's nice for crème brulee it sucks for steak.

So reduce the flame if you can't keep a steady hand. Or use the stove top. Or grill it. Or broil it.

 

[Rakehellion]

1. Patting it dry is done to remove surface moisture. It doesn't remove the fats. The reason you want to remove the surface moisture is to minimize the steam a steak encounters when it is placed on the hot pan for the sear.

It removes plenty of fat. You pat dry before cooking, not after.

2. Guess what, most of a steak is being somewhat boiled (actually, a type of braising) when cooked regardless of how it's done. The interior of a steak is cooking primarily through moisture being heated, not through conduction. Sous vide just happens to accomplish that cooking very, very slowly. It's all about how the proteins react during heating and THAT defines how a steak is going to cook.

This completely misses my point. Usually people brown the steak when cooking.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

It removes plenty of fat. You pat dry before cooking, not after.

When cooking sous vide, which I though we were talking about in this particular process, you would want to remove the surface moisture before searing it.

This completely misses my point. Usually people brown the steak when cooking.

For sous vide steaks the browning comes after.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

So reduce the flame if you can't keep a steady hand. Or use the stove top. Or grill it. Or broil it.

That is what I suggested. Sous vide first to cook the steaks to internal temp, then sear quickly in a pan for the external maillard reaction. If you think about it, it's merely the reverse of the classic method. Most think it is necessary to sear first, then cook the inside in an oven. With sous vide you slowly cook the steak to temp so the inside is perfect, then sear.

The only difference is that sous vide cooks a steak to a precisely controlled internal temp first before the sear. It's a no-brainer method. If you can always produce perfect steaks on a cast iron pan (and if you claim such you would be lying because even the best chefs can't do it consistently) more power to you.

 

[linuxboy]

(makes ALL the difference vs cooking it straight out of fridge).

So then, bringing it up past room temp would actually shorten the cooking time, right? To the point where a very fast, high-heat sear is all that one needs, and it will not overcook the edges?

 

[Howard]

Don't do that.



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.

Why are you teaching someone how to SV food when you don't know anything about it?

 

[Howard]

/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.

But you can't do this:

http://stefangourmet.com/2012/02/27/sous-vide-to-the-next-level-tenderizing-beef-by-warm-ageing/

with any method other than SV

 

[zinfamous]

2 hours to cook a steak?

fo real.

I like the geekiness of it all and everything, but I'd rather use fire. ffs--it's goddamn cooking!

 

[Howard]

fo real.

I like the geekiness of it all and everything, but I'd rather use fire. ffs--it's goddamn cooking!

Are you a Luddite or just Amish?

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

But you can't do this:

http://stefangourmet.com/2012/02/27/sous-vide-to-the-next-level-tenderizing-beef-by-warm-ageing/

with any method other than SV

Have you tried that?

 

[yhelothar]

I love my sous vide seared steaks.
Sous vide makes it failproof for even the most amateur noob cook to get the center cooked perfectly evenly. It also locks the juices in so you get a perfectly juicy steak.

You just need to toss it on the grill or cast iron pan to get that nice crust afterwards and it's NOM tiem.

It normally only takes about 30mins for me to get a steak out of the fridge to the targeted internal temperature.

That's not too much longer than the 20 minutes you have to leave your steak out to get to room temp if you weren't going sous vide anyways.

 

[WelshBloke]

But you can't do this:

http://stefangourmet.com/2012/02/27/sous-vide-to-the-next-level-tenderizing-beef-by-warm-ageing/

with any method other than SV

Or you could buy properly aged beef to begin with?

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Or you could buy properly aged beef to begin with?

That's not a thing easily found.

 

[WelshBloke]

That's not a thing easily found.

Ahhh, I'm obviously lucky where I live then.

 

[Zeze]

Ahhh, I'm obviously lucky where I live then.

Make sure they Are indeed properly aged. The latest news have been pointing out the rampant scam that is aged steak.