That was my plan B!
In the past I’ve tried searing my steaks on a frying pan, but that made a mess of my kitchen. I haven’t been able to buy a cast iron pan yet, so I was hoping that I would get the desired sear from the Optigrill, which claims that it goes up to 260 degrees Celsius. So, I will either abandon my Anova and try to cook the steaks directly on the Optigrill, or I will try something different. Perhaps a cast iron pan with clarified butter, or a torch.
For low mess searing, I’ve seen good results from an electric heat gun of the paint/paper stripper variety.
I usually go with a cast iron pan on a portable induction burner, and occasionally touch up what I’m searing in the pan with a bernzomatic ts8000 torch to ensure I get a sear everywhere I want. The induction burner was 50USD, the pan 12USD, and the torch a gift from my sister (thanks Donna! 
).
The portable induction burner lets me take my searing outside onto the deck so that my wife won’t be bothered by any mess or smoke, so if you’ve an exterior outlet I’d recommend getting one, and the cast iron pan is now a favorite of mine for other cooking tasks as well.
Dala, an inexpensive mesh splatter shield might revive your Plan A then. Definitely use cast iron.
I use Mirozen’s technique most often without the torch.
Back in another century in a commercial setting i used a Silesia contact grill for finishing steaks in the manner you attempted with the Optigrill. The Silesia drew 2.5Kw with 220v and therefore provided a juicy SV steak with a fast 35-second sear on both sides at once.
If you want to have minimum smoke and mess you may manage it with your Optigrill if you try it again but smear both sides of your steaks with mayonnaise as that gets a good sear very quickly so you will not get any mess or smells, other than the smell of a nicely seared steak.
I will definitely try the mayonnaise sear!
I must buy a torch!
Dalagiorgos - Did you make sure to pat your steaks dry, then butter both sides of the meat with clarified butter, ghee. or regular butter? Setting the Optigrill manually on Red color and waiting for the temperature confirmation shime before placing your steaks should yield a very satisfactory sear with adequate grill marks rather quickly. Actually, I find the Optigrill more efficient and less messy than a pan for searing .
Yes, no and yes: Yes, I did pat my steak dry, no I didn’t butter it with anything, yes I did wait for the OptiGrill to beep after setting it on high. I will try it again, this time after buttering the steaks as well as patting them dry.
Hello, Dalagiorgos
I purchased a torch and Searzall, the Searzall, even though not required , prevents “torch taste”.
I’ve also used a heavy stainless pan on the stove, with avocado oil, on high heat. If you decide to use butter, I’ll suggest ghee, (clarified butter) as it has a higher burn temp, since the milk solids are removed.
The use of the pan indoors is my plan B if weather doen’t permit me using my Searzall outdoors.
Good Luck!
My BBQ has an infrared burner that reaches up to 1800F. It sears steak in 30 secs.
I should amend that post but don’t know how. Last night I used my SV m/c for the first time. Cooked 2 strip steaks then seared them on the infrared burner for 30 sec. each side. Ended up with 2 pieces of dried black charcoal. Guess I have some experimenting to do with it.
Bluesnow…that’s a perfect example of why we need to put the “hotter is better” idea to bed. With a high continuous heat source, it’s very easy for the surface temperature of your meat to quickly move from the Maillard to caramelization to charring and burning.
Ideally, you want to hold the surface of the meat in the temperature zone where the Maillard reaction between proteins and sugars progresses at a fast rate (300-330°F or 150-165°C) and you develop those complex meaty/umami notes.
If the meat surface temperature gets into the 330°-400°F or 165-200°C range, sugar caramelization starts to take over from the Maillard and the Maillard stops.
If the surface temperature of the meat gets much above 400°F or 200°C you get only caramelization that can quickly progress to charring and burning and bitter flavours the longer it is heated. If you’ve ever made caramel or browned butter on the stove top, you know how quickly it can turn. Cast iron skillet pre-heated to 500F in the oven is just about perfect for getting lots of Maillard with some caramelization (which I personally like).
That said, most people like a combination of Maillard, caramelized and charring flavours on their steaks because that’s what grilled steak tastes like to them, in their experience. Eventually it all comes down to a matter or personal taste…
Oh my, you lost me with all those terms. I have much reading to do to understand better.
Tonight I redeemed myself though. I did a marinated pork chop. If you have a Costco or Price Club near you might know which ones . . . 1” thick boneless marinated by the store. The wife blamed the Anova for the steak fiasco so wanted hers on the bbq the normal way. I cooked mine in the SV at 140 for an hour then patted it dry and dropped it on the infrared burner. The 30 secs worked out perfect and the meat was delicious.
I think with the steak, the fat around it hadn’t melted at the SV temperature and then I brushed it with butter as I saw in the forums here someplace. The high temperature melted the fat which caught fire and the butter dripped and caught fire. I stood there smiling thinking it would be nicely seared.
I’ll have to read up on the processes you mentioned to learn. However, tonight’s chop was the best!!!
Thank you @StillAqua for saving me from my commonly voiced searing rant.
Still, your well-informed input is appreciated in attempting to dispel the, if a lot is good then a lot more must be very good, thinking that seems so common.
Please join the discussion anytime.
Thank you.
Blues, before cooking you might want to consider your plan before starting.
Yes, an infrared burner used by an experienced grill cook can quickly produce a perfectly cooked steak from the raw state, it will quicly overwhelm already cooked meat. Think about what’s happening. You may have a varying sense of 30-seconds.
All will be revealed by Blanchard.
Not sure what you mean by a “varying sense of 30-seconds”.
And, I always consider my plan before cooking. Remember the steak was my very first SV attempt. I use my IR burner regularly with excellent results (I also have an IR rotisserie burner). What I didn’t yet realize is how the fat behaves when prepped by the SV time and temperature, then plopped on a very hot source of flame. The butter on the steak didn’t help any either. I’ll be experimenting with steak further. The chop I cooked the next day the same way couldn’t have been better, but pork is lean so there was no fire.
Who is Blanchard?
Blues, 30-seconds may not always be the exact time without using a timer. Many cooks don’t use one introducing an inconsistency among events. Digital timers have become a standard tool in kitchens seeking to deliver consistent outcomes.
Consider that SV cooking is considerably different than the grilling techniques you have been using and are familiar with, thus the need to replan for the differences. That’s all.
At those extreme temperatures you are applying to cooked meat a few seconds too many can have a substantial impact on doneness because of surface thermal carryover.
Here’s the link for you: