A Dry Aged Sous Vide Steak Taste Test

[cowgirl]

I've been meaning to post pics, this was a cook I did a couple of weeks ago.
Tried out the new Anova sous vide machine. This was my first cook with it.

I decided to try out the Anova with a couple of dry aged steaks.
A 30 day dry aged KC Strip..

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=224639

and a 45 day dry aged Ribeye..

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=225409

The Anova

I used a stock pot for the cook. This barely fit on my counter top.
Shooting for medium rare, I set the Anova to 131F.

The 30 day dry aged KC Strip on the left, the 45 day dry aged Ribeye on the right.

bagged with a small drizzle of oil...

in with the Anova for 1 hr 45 min. These steaks were between 1 1/2" to 1 3/4" thick.

The color of the meat looks pretty sad straight out of the bath.

I seasoned both with coarse salt and cracked black pepper..

gave them a quick sear over hot coals...

Still the KC strip on the left and the Ribeye on the right...

The KC..

The Ribeye..

This was my favorite part. I sliced a bit of the KC ...still on the left and the Ribeye, still on the right. Sauteed some morel mushrooms in butter and garlic and started tasting.

I loved both!

A couple of things I noticed. There is no "juice" running out of the sous vide steak when you cut into it, the moisture is still there, it's just incorporated into the meat. There is no resting period for sous vide steak, which is kind of nice.

Also, when direct grilling the 30 day KC strip and the 45 day Ribeye in the past....without using the Anova, I noticed a bigger difference in tenderness between the two steaks. Of course the 45 day dry aged Ribeye was the more tender than the KC Strip.

Both had the great beefy flavor from dry aging. I was amazed at how tender the Anova made the KC strip. I didn't notice a difference between the two steaks as far as tenderness goes. They both cut like butter.
I'll try some cheaper cuts of meat in the bath and see if they turn out tender too.

I hope to get a different set up for the Anova. Probably go with a small cooler like Brethren Norm posted. This way I could free up my little kitchen counter.

This was the first try using the Anova. It's simple to use. I am not sure if I'll sous vide one steak just for me (easier for me to throw a steak on the grill and be done with it) but I'll definitely toss in a few steaks to cook for friends.
I plan on testing it with chicken and fish next.

Forgot to mention. I love the fact that the Anova will turn out perfectly med rare steaks with no fuss.




Thanks for looking!

 

[legendaryhog]

Looks good jeanie. I have done a couple steaks with the anova as well. I wouldn't say it would replace my regular method, but it is replacing my cooks for deer backstrap and beef tenderloin (basically any red-meat loin at this point). Much easier to control the interior on the loins. I've seared the steak and then put it in the sous vide as well. I'm not sure that there was a huge difference, but it didn't look weird coming out of the sous vide as much.

Try some cheaper cuts with a little salt, pepper and oil in the bag and then the sous vide seems to really shine. I did a beef heart the other day and it looked like a perfectly cooked steak (and basically tasted like it too, just super lean and a little game-y, which I personally like...some folks don't dig the whole cow). I'll try and find a pic. It doesn't even look like heart. I'm going to do a liver too and see what happens.

 

[Enrico Brandizzi]

Jeanie,
First both your steaks look perfect.
But I must ask you: 130F is still your suggestion OR should I stop at 120F to ensure a deeper searing action?

 

[Smoke Dawg]

Thanks Jeanie

Those do look pretty good after the trip to the grill for a sear. It does look odd with no juice running out.

Might have to give it a try sometime.

 

[Smokedawg86]

That definitely passes the eye test.

 

[cowgirl]

Looks good jeanie. I have done a couple steaks with the anova as well. I wouldn't say it would replace my regular method, but it is replacing my cooks for deer backstrap and beef tenderloin (basically any red-meat loin at this point). Much easier to control the interior on the loins. I've seared the steak and then put it in the sous vide as well. I'm not sure that there was a huge difference, but it didn't look weird coming out of the sous vide as much.

Try some cheaper cuts with a little salt, pepper and oil in the bag and then the sous vide seems to really shine. I did a beef heart the other day and it looked like a perfectly cooked steak (and basically tasted like it too, just super lean and a little game-y, which I personally like...some folks don't dig the whole cow). I'll try and find a pic. It doesn't even look like heart. I'm going to do a liver too and see what happens.

Thank you! Also, thank you for the info, I hope to try different cuts of meat to see what happens. Will try some venison too... bet that turns out buttery tender! Thanks again!

Jeanie,
First both your steaks look perfect.
But I must ask you: 130F is still your suggestion OR should I stop at 120F to ensure a deeper searing action?

Thank you Enrico!
I researched here on the forum and came up with 131F for medium rare based on what other folks were using. The steaks are only on the fire to get a nice color on the outside. I pulled them off the heat to prevent further cooking.
Hope you have great luck with it! Thanks again!

 

[cowgirl]

Thanks Jeanie

Those do look pretty good after the trip to the grill for a sear. It does look odd with no juice running out.

Might have to give it a try sometime.

Thank you SD! They look pretty bad coming out of the hot water. lol It was a learning experience for me. I'm a lover of fire, this kinda goes against my grain.
I'll probably try another one for myself, they did come out extra tender. :grin:

That definitely passes the eye test.

Thanks so much Smokedawg! :grin:

 

[Big George's BBQ]

Those steaks look amazing. I have had the same results. I need to leave it on the grill a little longer so it is warmer when it hits the plate. I do want to try the dry aging but need to get a different food saver and for that I need to discuss with the wife. I have been eating for this post

 

[cowgirl]

Those steaks look amazing. I have had the same results. I need to leave it on the grill a little longer so it is warmer when it hits the plate. I do want to try the dry aging but need to get a different food saver and for that I need to discuss with the wife. I have been eating for this post

Thank you George! I'm still not sure if I like the texture better on a sous vide steak or one hot off the fire. I'll have to do another taste test. lol
These were pretty tender though!

 

[ssv3]

Looks outstanding Jeanie! Look nommy to me. :-DI've done steak by default a few times and I love it. One thing I've noticed people do is pat dry the steaks before they sear them. I'm yet to do this. I can't wait to try some fish, lamb etc with it for that perfect doneness. It's a good tool to have in the arsenal as I've seen people do some crazy things with it like make yogurt among other things.

 

[cowgirl]

Looks outstanding Jeanie! Look nommy to me. :-DI've done steak by default a few times and I love it. One thing I've noticed people do is pat dry the steaks before they sear them. I'm yet to do this. I can't wait to try some fish, lamb etc with it for that perfect doneness. It's a good tool to have in the arsenal as I've seen people do some crazy things with it like make yogurt among other things.

Thank you Sako! :hug:
I hadn't thought about yogurt! Will keep that in mind..
I didn't pat these try, they still had a bit of oil on them. I just seasoned and seared. Next time I might try the hot skillet sear, maybe with a sprinkle of smoked salt.
Lamb sounds great, thanks for the idea. I bet that would come out perfect.
Thanks again Sako, I appreciate it!

 

[IamMadMan]

Awesome steaks....

Thanks for sharing your comparison experiment with us.

 

[KevinJ]

My mouth is watering right now.

 

[martyleach]

Looks great Jeanie! I have not tried steaks in mine yet. I have cooked lots of fish and it really does a great job .

 

[ssv3]

Thank you Sako! :hug:
I hadn't thought about yogurt! Will keep that in mind..
I didn't pat these try, they still had a bit of oil on them. I just seasoned and seared. Next time I might try the hot skillet sear, maybe with a sprinkle of smoked salt.
Lamb sounds great, thanks for the idea. I bet that would come out perfect.
Thanks again Sako, I appreciate it!

You're welcome! :wink: I'm still experimenting myself and I've noticed that a CI pan, like you said, or a raging fire is the key to a nice crust. The texture, moisture and taste is spot on and with a good crust it'll be killer.

 

[Ron_L]

They both look great to me, Jeanie! Thanks for the detailed post!

 

[Stingerhook]

Jeanie, the steaks look fantastic. Think I have to run a Sous Vide by Nellie.

 

[mattmountz94]

Thanks for the great post! They look awesome

 

[Happy Hapgood]

Fantastic Jeanie!

 

[Hillbilly BBQ]

Wow those steaks look awesome! Ive been waiting on this review before I pull the trigger on one of these.....Would you get it again if you had the chance? Worth it?

Thanks as always for the great reviews and awesome cooks!