Tried sous vide ribeye vs cast iron sear only side by side last night

I had two thick ribeyes from the same steer so I figured why not. Did one sous vide at 130 for 2 hours then seared it, and the other just straight into a screaming hot cast iron pan. The sous vide one was perfectly even edge to edge but the crust was pretty weak even after a hard sear. The cast iron only had a way better crust and more of that beefy flavor, even if the middle wasn't as perfect. Has anyone else found that the texture tradeoff on sous vide steaks just isnt worth it for ribeyes?

3 comments

3 Comments

nathan5454d agoProlific Poster

Ribeyes are one cut where sous vide actually hurts you more than it helps. All that fat needs higher heat to render properly and you just dont get that with a sous vide bag bath. Try dry brining the sous vide one overnight next time and pat it bone dry before searing with a little bit of baking powder mixed in the salt to help the crust form faster. Or just stick with the cast iron only method since ribeyes have enough internal fat to stay juicy.

lisa9763d ago

@nathan545 honestly, I've been down that road too and ended up going back to just straight cast iron for ribeyes. Maybe it's just me, but I found that with sous vide, even with a good sear, that fat cap just doesn't get the same texture. I did a side-by-side once with two ribeyes, same salt and pepper, one sous vide then seared and one straight pan seared and the all-pan one won every time for flavor. I mean, the crust was way better and the fat just melted into the meat instead of staying kind of rubbery. So yeah, I agree with you on that.

nancy_davis3d ago

You know what, I used to be all about sous vide for everything, thought it was the only way to get a perfect steak. But reading this side by side test you did really makes me rethink my whole ribeye game. I never really paid attention to how the fat cap comes out, but now that you mention it, yeah, that rubbery texture is real. I always just accepted it as part of the sous vide trade off, but now I'm wondering if I've been missing out on a way better crust this whole time. Gonna have to try a straight cast iron ribeye tonight, no bag, just salt and fire. Thanks for opening my eyes on this, seriously.