Sansaire Sous Vide Steak – Est! Est!! Est!!!

We’ve tried eggs and we’ve tried chicken. Both have been successful, both have produced interesting results not readily obtainable by other methods. But neither prompted me to say, “You must buy a sous vide machine, if only for this”.

But sous vide steak is a game-changer. This is why sous vide is so worthwhile:

We’ve not had a chance to visit a farmers’ market or proper butcher, so I bought a couple of pieces of rump from a supermarket, albeit their “premium aged for 10 days” rather than the “ordinary aged for 10 minutes” range. They weren’t very evenly cut, which presents even more of a challenge.

They were cooked sous vide unseasoned for around 3 hours at 56C (133F).

Then drained, seasoned with salt, pepper, and thyme, and browned under a very hot grill for a minute or so on each side.

The juices were thickened slightly and heated to boiling to make a sauce.

The result, as shown in the first picture, was absolutely superb. Almost no liquid was lost, perhaps 5% of raw weight, as opposed to around 30% by conventional frying or grilling. The meat was tender without being overly soft, juicy, and full of flavour.

The only disadvantage that I can see is that, unless you have several sous-vide machines, it’s difficult to cater for different degrees of done-ness. I selected a temperature on the medium side of medium-rare to suit my taste for medium-rare and Jean’s preference for medium. In the event, it worked for both of us. I might try one degree less next time.

Anyhow, if you’re hesitating about sous vide, don’t. It’s worth it just for the steaks!