Hello, novice here just getting into the world of sous vide. I cooked a ribeye today at 133F for 3hrs which should be medium rare, and then finished with a sear on the cast iron around 30s each side. I was aiming for a medium rare steak which should be juicy, but it actually tasted quite dry and tough, except for the section on the top of the picture. I was wondering what mistake I made that gave this result? Any pointer would be appreciated.
by Random_Urges
21 Comments
Where did you get the meat?
Did u freeze it
3 hours is too long. 1 hour is all you need. 133 is closer to medium than medium rare. Try 131 for 60 mins next time?
Try 127f for 4h. Wait for it to come back to room temp (or chill in fridge), PAT EXTREMELY DRY, and sear over open flame (or hot pan if that’s your thing).
2h is firm, 8h is mush, we wanna be between those. 4-6 is the sweet spot, adjust based on preference and cut.
For temps, i always do low and slow, so 127-8 for me, but I know plenty in here have different techniques with success as well and their times will differ accordingly as well.
Edit: apparently kenji’s own advice is not food safe? I dunno, maybe I’ve just been getting lucky.
https://www.seriouseats.com/food-lab-complete-guide-to-sous-vide-steak#toc-how-to-select-the-right-temperature-for-sous-vide-steak
EDIT 2 Do not do what is written above. It is wrong. I am wrong. The link looks fine but I didn’t see the disclaimer part. I’ve been doing 128 for 4h and that advice is dangerous.
Leaving this post as is so other people avoid my near miss with sickness and/or death.
Thank you to the commentors pointing it out.
Because the fat won’t render at 133, you should go higher for something so fatty. Although I’m having trouble wrapping my head around what’s in your picture being from a ribeye.
Your beef colouring looks off a bit, you sure it was ribeye and decent quality? I do 136F for 2 hrs and colouration is much much red-er.
The fat isn’t rendered. 137 for two hours! Search 137 in the sousvide subreddit!
That does not look like 133. Check your water temp, your sous vide may be running hot. Or the sear overcooked it. Try throwing it in an ice bath as soon as you’re done with the sous vide or throw it into the fridge, if you sear it immediately after the water bath will bring the internal temp up and overcook it
Are you adding butter or fat into the bag? That’s what I used to do and it always came out dry with a weird texture. Steak in the bag with salt, finish with butter after the bath.
Looks like inside round. That’ll be why
How long did you leave it out after you sliced it up?
A few possibilities:
The meat you buy isn’t well marbled. Get some usda prime beef from Costco.
Try cooking it a little shorter. 1 hour per inch of thickness is the minimum.
Make sure your water temperature is really what it is supposed to be. Use a second thermometer to double check it. You could be overcooking it.
How long did you sear the outside for?
133 is too low for ribeye. 137.5 for longer than you think (no more than 4 hours or it’ll have near zero texture). if it was frozen, double the time.
you also might (i always do) ice bath immediately after sous vide so the sear doesn’t over cook and gives you more margin for error.
How fresh is this steak? It looks kind of like it’s been frozen for too long and freezer burned.
These are fighting words here, but steak is not the ideal cut for SV.
You’ll have more margin of error with fattier cuts and larger, bone-in cuts with less surface for moisture loss. (So things like brisket, picanha and ribs.)
That’s not to say you can’ t get a good result from steak. There’s just a learning curve.
Whereas with fattier cuts you generally get an amazing result the first time and every time.
Higher temp or longer time in the sous vide. Something about fat not rendering and if not well marbled you need low and slow to break the fibers.
Do you have a picture before it was sliced? It doesn’t seem like it’s a ribeye.
Simple answer, because this doesn’t look like ribeye. Could be a genuine mistake, but maybe don’t buy from where you got this from again. Also, personally, if its a ribeye and you have good marbling , id bump the temp up a slight bit for a better render
137 my man
It’s a sous vide thing. You are cooking in a bag and the juices run out of the meat. Then you are left with all this juice in the bag. You can use the bag juices to make a pan sauce.
Cooking for less time will help. Longer cook= more bag juices = juice not inside the meat