FoodBanter.com - View Single Post - My Sous Vide Experiences. (WAS: Hacking your slow cooker for Sous Vide)

Curt Nelson[_3_]

On 11/9/2010 8:01 AM, wrote:
> Curt, have you experimented with working searing of steaks, etc. into
> your sous vide cooking methodology? How do you address the problem of
> appearance?
>
> -- Larry

Steaks have become so easy that I feel like I'm cheating somehow.

When you do your first sous vide steaks, it sort of freaks you out how
grey and nasty they look when they come out of the bag. I mean they
*really* look gross...

I'm fortunate enough to have a Weber gas grill on my deck with cast iron
grates, so I sear them off for :45 seconds a side with three flips,
which results in great color and crosshatched grill marks. The key is
getting all the moisture off the surface of your meat before you try and
brown it. I also like to coat the protein with a little oil before I
brown it because I believe it helps displace moisture and conducts heat
better to achieve a Maillard reaction. It feels like sacrelidge, but I
simply shoot a little cooking spray on before I brown them.

When the weather's crappy, I've also had great results with a cast iron
pan.

Until this weekend I hadn't figured out a good way to brown boneless
skinless chicken breasts without screwing them up. I thought it was a
stupid idea for the longest time, but I finally busted out a creme
brulee torch and torched my chicken breasts after drying and oiling
them. They turned out beautiful! It only took a few seconds and they
looked like something from a glossy magazine shoot. I still feel stupid
for using a torch on a chicken breast, though...

Hasta,
Curt Nelson