Best. Steak. Ever.

This recipe is adapted from "Modernist Cuisine at Home" and is, hands down, the best steak I have ever had.

The second day I served this to Pineapple she delightedly exclaimed "We are never eating out again!"

Tools

• Sous vide cooker: this is essential, my cooker looks like a crock pot, but any kind will work
• Zip-top bags: name-brand will be better; off-brand may leak which results in less-flavorful meat
• Meat tongs
• Meat thermometer
• Skillet or Pan: A thick one (e.g. cast iron) will work more effectively
• Spatter Guard: This is optional, but helps reduce the mess

Ingredients

• Grass-fed beef: my preference is the tri-tip cut
• Salt: Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt is easy to apply via pinching
• Mild-flavored oil: I use a refined coconut oil which is liquid at room temperature
• Butter or cooking oil: for my steak I employ virgin coconut oil (solid at room temperature) and for Pineapple's I use butter

Directions

When I cook this steak I follow a basic process. The process comes from more-detailed instructions.

Quick Reference

1. Cook the meat sous vide to 133 degrees for medium rare, 136 degrees for medium
2. Pan-sear the meat for 30 seconds per side at about 60% heat
3. Salt the meat generously

Full instructions

1. Start heating the sous vide to 135 degrees Fahrenheit for medium rare.
1. 138 degrees for medium.
2. Place each piece of meat in its own zip-top bag.
3. Add a couple of tablespoons of the mild-flavored oil to the bag.
4. Submerge most of the zip-top bag in water to drive out the air.
1. The oil is there to fill in the gaps instead of leaving bubbles next to the meat.
5. Zip seal the zip-top bag.
6. Place the bag in the sous vide (you can put the meat in before the device is at temperature)
7. After the sous vide is at the correct temperature, set a timer for 35 minutes.
1. The original recipe calls for 50 minutes. 35 minutes is what I use for the meat I buy. This duration is dependent on the sous vide and the thickness of the meat. You will need to adjust your cooking time accordingly.
2. It's difficult to overook at this point; If you left the meat in for an extra hour it might start tasting like cardboard as the nutrients and flavors break down.
8. When the timer is finished, check the temperature of the meat using a meat thermometer. 
1. Insert the thermometer in the thickest portion of the meat.
2. Ensure the center temperature is at least 133 degrees Fahrenheit (136 if you are targeting a medium cook).
3. If the meat isn't to temperature, adjust the cooking duration as necessary; i.e. leave the steak in for another 5-10 minutes and measure again.
9. When the meat is at temperature, start heating the skillet/pan on the stove stop with 2 tablespoons of either cooking oil or butter
1. For a gas range, I recommend a smaller heating element to avoid potential flames
2. I recommend setting the temperature to about 60% of maximum; where butter will bubble quite a bit when initially put in the pan but won't cook away for a few minutes
3. You may want to use the spatter guard to reduce the mess and subsequent cleanup
10. Remove the beef from the zip-top bag
1. The beef will be a dull gray color
11. Sear the beef in the skillet for 30 seconds per side
1. You should get nice caramelization on each side (The tri-tip I buy comes in strips so I cook all 4 sides). Butter will give you a darker color than coconut oil, so if you use coconut oil you might cook it for 45 seconds per side.
2. Make sure that there is plenty of oil/butter between the pan and the beef and that you cook over the center of the heat. You will get uneven cooking if the meat is toward the side of the pan or the pan is significantly larger than the heating element.
12. Place the steak on a serving plate
13. Salt the steak generously on the top, flip the steak and salt the bottom (which is now the top)
1. Grab a large pinch of salt
1. As much as you can reasonably grab between your thumb and forefinger
2. Sprinkle the salt from about 6-10 inches above the steak
1. Sprinkle by moving your thumb and finger back and forth in opposite directions
2. But also move your arm up and down the steak to get an even coating everywhere
3. I usually salt enough that the salt is still white for about a half second before it turns translucent
4. If you seared using salted butter you should use about half as much salt
5. Adjust the salt to your taste
14. Serve/Enjoy immediately

Awesomeness Deconstructed

Great steak has 2 major attributes which make it amazing: flavor and texture. Traditional steaks will have a sauce/marinade to give it flavor while the texture comes from the cut; the more expensive cuts being softer.

With this recipe the salt brings out the awesome flavor of grass-fed beef; without the salt the steak will definitely taste flat. Just make sure the beef has enough fat in it. In addition, the sous vide will ensure that the steak is always tender, regardless of the cut.

Cooking with Purpose

Meat sweetens when you cooking it which makes the steak more appealing and easier to digest. Humans also want tender meat so that we do not have to work our jaws as much to consume the meat. Moist meat is also more tender. In addition, we cook for sanitary reasons; meat needs to be cooked all the way through to kill any potential bacteria.

Cooking sous vide and pan searing for a short time will get us consistently tender, moist meat, with relatively little failure. There is no more need to guess how a steak is progressing while on the grill or to constantly prod the meat to measure its temperature. In addition, you get a steak which is a mouthwatering medium rare all the way through (or medium, depending on your preference).

Tender Meat

Meat is muscle and muscles are full of cells. Although the cow is long dead, the cells in the cow's muscles are still alive and will respond to their environment. This is similar to a high school biology experiment reanimating frog legs via electric shocks.

When muscles are burned they contract, but when they are warmed up slowly they relax. Think about how your own muscles responds to the environment. If you injure one of your muscles you'll get a cramp. Alternatively, if you are in a sauna or hot tub then your muscles relax.

Grilling/searing damages the muscle so it contracts and starts to squeeze juices out of itself. To get heat all the way into the center of the meat quickly chefs tend to grill at high temperatures. The high heat caramelizes the exterior while the center slowly comes to temperature. But the combination of tensing up and high temperatures means a lot of juice is squeezed out of the meat, and to end up with tender meat it must be tender before cooking begins.

Cooking sous vide, on the other hand, acts more like a hot tub; heat up the meat slowly so that it is relaxed. Searing the meat afterward adds some great caramelization, and sweetens the meat a little. Searing damages the meat, but only about a few millimeters deep because of the short duration. The meat is already at a safe, delicious medium-rare so there is no potential for disease. Consequently the meat is tender even though it may have started as tougher meat, it is sweet and flavorful from the searing, and the salt just makes it sing.

Bonus Benefits

One other benefit of sous vide is that you can cook a frozen steak perfectly without needing to thaw it. Just add 50% to your cooking time to compensate for the sous vide thawing your meat for you.

Even though I have this steak almost every night, I haven't gotten bored of it. Just writing this post has my mouth watering for more. I hope your mouth is watering, too.

Bon appetit!