Have you heard of sous vide cooking?
Sous vide (pronounced sue-veed) is a cooking technique that allows for precise temperature control, guaranteeing perfect doneness every time. In French, sous vide literally means “under vacuum”. This method of cooking involves sealing food in an airtight bag and submerging it in a temperature-controlled water bath for a given length of time. The reason I love sous vide cooking so much is it produces extremely tender meat and helps someone who isn’t great at estimating doneness get it right every time – hooray for no more overcooked steaks! It also prevents meat from drying out, since it’s sealed in with all of that great moisture. This technique is really great for breaking down some of those tougher cuts and making them cut like buttahhhh.
For Christmas last year, I gave Colin an Anova Precision Cooker with WiFi capabilities (thank you Amazon Cyber Monday deals!). We’ve been testing it out with various proteins, and I FINALLY convinced him to use it to make one of my favorite meals: his Flank Steak with Argentinian Chimichurri. Am I the only one already drooling??
(Not So) Pro Tips
1. For a perfect medium steak, set your sous vide at 135F and cook for a minimum of 4 hours. Colin and I chose to cook ours for 7 because we were going to be home all day and wanted to see how tender we could get our flank steak – the extra time was worth it. However, if you don’t want to leave something sit all day, 4 hours is plenty! I know some steaks can cook in as little as 1 hour, it just depends on the level of tenderness and how long you’re willing to wait.
2. After the steak has been sitting in its cozy water bath, you’ll definitely want to include the final steps of patting it dry and searing it in a cast iron skillet (or whatever skillet you have available). This ensures you get a nice crust for additional texture and flavor and aren’t just eating (essentially) boiled meat…
3. If you don’t have a sous vide, you can also cook this steak the old fashioned way in a skillet or on the grill. Colin always used to make this for me on the stove and would sear the steak on a cast iron skillet over medium to medium-high heat for about 3 minutes per side. You’ll want to use a meat thermometer with this method so you don’t overcook it!
4. Always let the steak rest after cooking – this keeps all of those yummy juices locked in and prevents your steak from becoming dry.
5. Cut flank steak across the grain so you end up with strips that are easier to chew. The Kitchn gives an awesome breakdown of how and why here.
A note on nutrition…
Another reason why I love sous vide cooking is that because the food is vacuum sealed, it retains more of its vitamins and minerals – something that would typically leach out with a method such as boiling. Sous vide also removes the risk of charring your meat, which can cause the formation of compounds called heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). These compounds are formed when animal proteins are cooked at high heat, such as grilling or frying. HCAs and PAHs have been found to be mutagenic in laboratory experiments, meaning they could cause changes in DNA that would increase one’s risk of cancer.1 There isn’t definitive link between HCAs and PAHs and cancer, but it doesn’t hurt to use some lower heat cooking techniques more often than not.
With sous vide, the required amount of added fat is much less because you don’t need as much to prevent the food from sticking to a surface. I always add a little for flavor and to help with the marinade, but it’s much less than if you were cooking via a more traditional method.
Have you ever cooked something sous vide?
If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this method – did you think it was simple? Worth having another kitchen gadget? I’m excited to play with ours a bit more and develop some unique recipes – stay tuned!
Mindfully yours,
Sam
Resources:
1. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet/cooked-meats-fact-sheet
| Prep Time | 30 minutes |
| Cook Time | 7.5 hours |
| Passive Time | 7 hours |
| Servings |
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- 2 pounds trimmed flank steak
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 lime, juiced Please note that addition of an acid, such as lime juice, further breaks down the meat. You may need to adjust amount of juice and cooking time accordingly.
Ingredients
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|
- Add enough water to a large pot to submerge the steak once it has been added to a Ziploc or other plastic bag. Attach sous vide and set to 135F.
- Trim visible outer fat from the flank steak if your butcher didn't already do so. Mince the garlic. Cut the lime in half and juice (reserve the other half for garnish).
- Add all ingredients to a plastic Ziploc bag (or specialty sous vide bag large enough for the steak). Be sure the marinade is covering all sides of the flank steak.
- Once the water is up to 135F and before sealing the Ziploc bag, begin slowly lowering the bag into the water to remove excess air. Seal the bag once most of air has been pushed out. Clip bag to side of pot/container.
- Leave the steak submerged for at least 4 hours. The longer it is cooked, the more tender the meat will be. We recommend 7 hours for an extremely tender steak.
- After 7 hours, remove the bag from the water. With it still sealed, allow the steak to rest for 20 minutes so the temperature has a chance to decrease and the meat does not overcook when seared.
- Remove the steak from the bag and pat it dry with paper towels.
- Heat a pan over medium to medium-high heat and sear each side of the steak for 1 minute and 30 seconds.
- Finally, let the steak rest another 5-10 minutes before slicing across the grain and serving.
Top off this tender flank steak with Colin's recipe for Argentinian Chimichurri for a winning dinner combination. We enjoy ours with a side of grilled polenta and cumin roasted cauliflower, but get creative with your favorite veggies!
