I’ve used a culinary torch, a propane torch, a totally ceramic skillet, and a Cuisinart grill set to sear, but I’ve not been satisfied with the sear of any of my cuts of meat. I suspect that my searing process sometimes results in steaks that are a bit overcooked for my liking, and that the sous vide is not to blame for the overcook. I am totally not interested in heating up the outside grill to finish off a cut of meat - more time and hassle, difficult to clean. I don’t want a cast iron skillet, because I can’t resist the urge to clean it with lots of hot water and soap.
It’s a lot to spend, but has anyone used the Philips Smoke-less Indoor BBQ grill? It heats up to a single set temperature of 446 degrees.
It’s an old wives tale that you can’t use soap and water on a cast iron pan. As part of seasoning the pan the oil becomes a polymer - that’s what gives cast iron pans their nonstick surface. You would have to scour it with something abrasive to remove it.
This doesn’t answer your question directly but have you tried shocking the meat for a couple minutes or setting it in the fridge for 10 minutes or so (depending on the thickness of the meat) before searing? Part of the reason Sous Vide’d meat doesn’t sear well is because the juices come oozing out during the sear. Cooling it down helps that plus helps to not over cook. I’m assuming you are patting the meat dry before the sear as well.
I’ve also heard of people pre-searing before taking a bath (allowing more juices to stay in when you sear again post-bath) but I haven’t tried it.
No, I haven’t tried shocking the meat before searing it. Intuitively, it seems like leaving meat in the fridge for 10 minutes would cool it down too much, such that the meat, after its searing, would not be appetizingly warm. But it could be worth a try.
I’ve recently heard that some sous viders sear before sealing, but didn’t hear the part about searing again afterwards.
I’ve been through 3 cast iron pans. Each successive time I always thought, this one will be the ONE. My Mom and Dad always cooked beautifully in an old cast iron skillet. The problem for me was that everything sticks, and I mean sticks like glue, even using what should be a sufficient amount of oil. There’s no way that a simple wipe-down with a cloth or paper towel would clean it sufficiently, so I would wash with soap and water. Then everything would stick even more the next time. I followed instructions for seasoning the pans to the letter. Then I would season it again later. I finally came to the conclusion that I was born under a star which does not favor me with good cast iron skillet results. If I hadn’t thought I could injure someone, with the last cast iron skillet I had, after sticking and messing up the breading on chicken fried steak, I would have taken it out to the back yard and flung it as far as I could. Probably wouldn’t have been very far, but could have been satisfying.
I’m sorry, I wish I could be specific, however it has been years since my last cast iron skillet. The first skillet I bought came with seasoning instructions, which I followed. The second and third, I used directions off the web. I recall liberally oiling it (Crisco comes to mind, but that could be a ghost memory gone wrong), and leaving it in the oven for a long time at a low temperature.
With what little you’ve provided, i strongly suspect your pan was improperly seasoned. You do see products like in your start cook time to time. I’ve never heard shining reviews from sites i trust, though I’ve never seen this particular one before.
446°F seems really low for searing, but do it if that’s what you want to do, do it. Good luck!
WOW! This looks like a winner. Like a couple of the comments on the article, I’ve used mayo on the outside of my grilled cheese and it works great. So I bet this will do the trick. Randall’s has their choice TBones on sale tomorrow for $4.69 a lb. Sounds like the perfect time to try this trick.
If during your searing juices come oozing out there’s something wrong with the technique you’re using. Moisture in meat always moves away from the heat source. If the juices appear on the upper surface of the meat it has been too long in place. If the juices flow from the bottom surface, there’s not enough heat or it was insufficiently dried before searing.
It seems to me that many cooks attempt to replicate the exterior crust of a grilled steak with pan searing. Unless you use a butane torch there isn’t enough time without overcooking your precisely cooked beauty.
“It seems to me that many cooks attempt to replicate the exterior crust of a grilled steak with pan searing. Unless you use a butane torch there isn’t enough time without overcooking your precisely cooked beauty.”
Sorry, but based on my experience, I completely disagree.
Well Photo, it’s likely there are different quality expectations in the Community.
Maintaining a satisfactory eating temperature has frequently been brought up as a topic here. Extending the time between completing cooking and service may be detrimental to perceived food temperature. I understand that when meat is served directly after searing a higher surface temperature is perceived.
The Laws of Thermodynamics and equilibrium have been accepted for almost 200 years. If you cook meat to the point of thermal equilibrium within that body additional heat energy as in the action of searing forces liquid molecules away from the source.
Excuse me, but it seems to me that nothing compares with the taste of a dish that was cooked on a standard grill with real fire. This incredible flavor … mmm
Are there any here who would not exchange a standard grill for any others? My favorite grilled, for example - Weber
Hi Dru, I was just on Amazon’s page, and that particular grill is out of stock, and they don’t know when or if it will be back. I purchased a Searzall and BenzOmatic torch. Attached to a 16.4 oz camping propane tank. It works great, although you do have to take it outside to use it. If you decide to go this route, buy your tank at a store, not from Amazon, they’re charging way too much for the tanks!
Wow, I posted this nearly a year ago, so you must be going through the site to learn things. I did formerly use the BenzOmatic torch a couple of times, but because it left an off flavor to the meat, I stopped using it quickly. But I have conquered my searing of sous vide meats. I use a metal pan with a ceramic coating, liberally pour avocado oil onto the bottom of the pan, turn the flame to high, completely dry my steaks, sprinkle some steak rub type seasoning into the oil, wait til the oil comes to a slight smoke, throw the meat into the pan, and sear on each side for about 35-45 seconds. Yum! The last thing I did was a choice 2" chuck roast that was in the bath for 12 hours at 131. It was incredibly tender; could have been a steak.
Someone replied to your post, so that bumped it back up. It is in my feed. I didn’t notice the date, lol.
The Searzall prevents the “torch taste”. I’m also using a stainless pan at times for searing, haven’t tried sprinkling steak seasoning in it.
Does a roast like a chuck come out “shredded”, like it is when it comes out of a crock pot? Or does it slice like a steak?
I was amazed to discover that the chuck roast that I sous vided was very similar to a tenderloin steak when completed. There was no shred to it at all. I will soon try this again and see if it was an aberration.