Cook the perfect steak - Every Time!

The perfect steak

One of our custom sink clients used to own 7 restaurants. He told me a trade secret that perhaps you already know. In case you don't, this is how he cooked perfect steaks in his restaurants and didn't even have steak knives offered! The steaks could be cut with butter knives.

Many of you know that I love to cook. My background comes from an entire Italian family of amazing cooks. I am the cook in our home, and I love every part of it - including the clean-up. 

First, to always cook a steak perfectly, you need a sous vide. I prefer the brand Anova. Get the model that has Bluetooth and wifi. So... what is a sous vide?

It is a gadget that hooks on to just about any tall pot or container. Make sure the pot is plenty deep. You can use Ziploc bags, but I find the vacuum seal bags are best. Before you start, season the steak well. Use a generous amount of salt and pepper, or best yet, seasoned salt. Place the steak in the bag, remove all air, and place it in the pot. The sous vide will clip on to the pot. Plug in the sous vide and set the temperature. I have found that 134 degrees will be medium rare (shown above). Here is the best part. Leave it to cook for several hours. It will not overcook. The steak you see above was cooked for 4 1/2 hours. Pick the doneness you like. 132 will be rare, 136 medium, and 138 medium-well. I have found that leaner meats work best. I believe a strip steak or a filet would be best. The steak in the photo was a ribeye. It was terrific, but the fat areas were unappealing. The ribeye is easily my favorite for grilling, though. 

So, when you are ready to eat, take a cast iron skillet and put it in your oven at the highest temperature possible (around 550 degrees). Once hot, remove your steak from the bag and DRY it thoroughly! Put the steak in the skillet, shut the door for about 45 seconds, flip the steak, and shut the door for another 45 seconds. Take the steak and skillet out of the oven and place them on the cooktop. Sear the sides of the steak quickly, and you will have the perfect steak!

It is impossible to overcook or undercook if you leave the food in the sous vide for at least 2 hours. Read some online recipes; you will be amazed. 

My son actually made "poached eggs" in the shell in the sous vide, and he said they came out perfectly. 

Who has two hours to cook a meal? Well, this is the best part of the sous vide. Let's say you would like steak for dinner tonight. Before leaving for work, set up everything and put cold water and plenty of ice in the pot. This will keep the meat from sitting at room temperature. Remotely (from a smartphone), turn on the sous vide at 3pm. Your steaks will be ready any time from 5:30 or so through 9pm. The longer the time, the more tender the meat. 

I hope you learned something fun today! I have had a ball cooking with my sous vide.