Started with a pair of ribeye steaks about 2 inches thick. rubbed them with Argyle Street spice mix and vacuum packed.
Put in bath for 3 hours at 130 degrees.
Post bath…
Then onto the grill for the sear - about 3 minutes per side.
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They look good but 3 minutes per side is overkill. The steaks are already done—you’re just looking to sear, not keep cooking.
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Yes, I agree with nestorph. 3 min per side on a hot grill is a good way to prepare a rare steak, but too much for searing a sous vide steak. That pale strip that’s done “medium” is too thick. Aim for something ~2mm thick, with the rest of the steak a juicy “rare”.
I prefer a very hot cast iron pan for searing. It makes a firm contact with the meat, and the searing can be augmented by pressing the meat on to the pan.
In order to perfect your sear, whether in a pan or on the grill, dry your meat very well. Blot is dry with plenty of paper towel. You may then choose to brush it lightly with a little high smoke point oil and season, or just lightly season the dried meat. Your pan or grill should already be hot. The meat can then be quickly seared in around 30-45 seconds per side.
The perfect sear is a skill well worth cultivating, but it takes practice.
You’ve made a great start though
These look very good. When I first started I was very concerned that searing would overcook my steaks. My first efforts were definitely under seared and I now do not worry so much and go for a really good sear.
One thing to remember though that if the steak is very thin getting a good sear will be hard without overcooking it.
3 hours? Why so long?
I agree with the 3-4 hour cook on a cut of fatty meat like ribeye. It seems to melt the fat a bit better and make for a tastier end result.
Nothing to do with the fat. Fat will not render at such low temperatures. It will take around 2.5 hours for a 2 inch steak to reach thermal equilibrium. Heat penetration is non linear. While it will take around 2 hours to get mostly up to temperature, the curve slows down and reaching the last few degrees gets harder as the temperature gets closer to that of the water bath.
I agree, did some prime rib steaks for 4 hours Saturday and they were also awesome due to the longer cook.
Nice photography! I was sniffing the pics. haha.
I agree with chrisblaxland, cast iron gives a great sear in a minute. Also, I am going to get a grill press and start experimenting with it.