Last night I came home from a very exhausting day. I was sleepy, unprepared for dinner, and short on time. I flirted with the idea of sous viding my ribeye steak that I picked up from the butcher. But it was already really late and I wanted dinner ASAP.
I decided to pan-fry the steak.
How could I destroy such a beautiful steak?
The texture was a bit rough and it wasn’t cooked to the “perfect” doneness. I didn’t get a steak that was buttery soft, cooked perfectly from edge-to-edge, or bursting with juiciness. What I got was 12 oz. of disappointment.
Sometimes, you just gotta make a little cooking misteak, to remind you how beautiful sous vide really is.
While I feel your pain, I would like to inquire how you cooked it. Pan-fry is a little vague. I find you can get a lot closer to what you’d expect from using an immersion circulator if you flip the steak every 15-20 seconds. It will not be that perfect edge to edge, but it will be a whole lot closer than what most folks are used to pulling out of a pan. Just a thought.
I did not flip my steak every 15-20 seconds, more like every minute. But if I were being honest, I wasn’t expecting the same sort of results I would have gotten from sous vide. It just had been so long since I’ve fried up a steak - so it was sort of a reminder.
I gotcha. If you have the inclination and the steak (get a cheaper on from Wal-Mart or something) and try it that way at some point in time. I’m not saying it’s better than sous vide, but almost anything that comes from Heston Blumenthal is already touched by gold. That’s usually how I make surreal when not sous vide.
AlyssaWOAHA - This is when a great tool like the Instant Pot Duo (pressure cooker) can save your day. You would sear your steak at the beginning instead of the end. Mind you, you can sear it at the end too if you prefer. Not as good as S-V, but a very, very useful tool to have at hand. If interested, wait for the upcoming yearly sales where 50~60% price cuts are not unusual. I find the Instant Pot Duo to be a great companion to the Anova.
Alyssa, I have to second what Andre said. I am a gadget person and I am a foodie. Give me something to cook with that has a cord and I’m in heaven. I’ve now got four pressure cookers, three of which are Instant Pots. I’ve even got one with Bluetooth but unfortunately, no WiFi. If I can’t sous vide the steak, pork chop, or chicken breast, then I will resort to my pressure cookers. Anything less just isn’t juicy.
