I love my sous vide. I’ve made salmon, ny strip steaks, filet mignon, chicken and eggs since my wife gave it to me a few weeks ago. By far the best thing for me and my wife are the thick filet steaks that come out perfectly every time at 130 degrees. My only problem is this: By the time we get home from work and get the sous vide going, if the steak is really thick, we are looking at eating on the late side, close to the time we want to go to bed. I’ve tried to take some short cuts to speed up the process (e.g. heating water over the stove before putting in anova, timing the sear just right, etc), but it’s still a lengthy process. I wish coming home early was an option, but it’s not. If I put the steaks in before I left for work, that’d be over 10 hours, which seems way too long. So my question is this: Is there a way to slow it down even more? Could I put ice in the bath to slow down the heat process, or would that exhaust the anova? Could I maybe leave it at a lower temperature and turn it up to 130 degrees when I get home, or does it not work like that? Or do I just need to buy thinner steaks?
One thing you can do is to cook the steak ahead of time, cool quickly and refrigerate or freeze then reheat later. Reheating takes about 45 minutes per inch with an additional 30 minutes if frozen. This may save you a little time. I usually save the longer cooks for the weekend and have fish and chicken during the week for the most part with an occasional steak here and there. I want to get a whole tenderloin and after trimming cut it into steaks, vacuum seal and freeze. I will cook the trimmings for another meal. Even the little pieces wont be overcooked.
Another suggestion is to cook tough cuts of meat. Cook them for 24 hours and they will be extremely tender and you save money. With this method you can start it the night before and pull it out when you come home.
@Matt78777, How long are you cooking the steaks and what’s the approximate thickness? Keep in mind you don’t have to pasteurize beef like you do poultry if your eating it directly after cooking. That could shave some time if your currently cooking to pasteurization.
How thick are the steaks and how do you like them done?
Theses are beef steaks correct? How long do you want them to cook?
I agree with john.jcb
When I want to reheat something smallish later I put it in a Ziploc with some ice and water and put it in the fridge.