Blow torching meat after sous vide - add fat or not?
After I pull the meat out of the sous vide and then use a blow torch to sear it, should I use a fat on it or not? Will that get a better crust on it?
Best Answer
I have not noticed any real difference from using a fat, so I skip it. What does make a difference is thorough drying the meat.
I haven't ever had great results from a torch though. I prefer a screaming hot pan or grill, although both are way more effort.
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Quick Answer about "Blow torching meat after sous vide - add fat or not?"
Yes. If it's hot enough to sear off quickly, then the oil splatters everywhere. The issue is the clean up, not the cooking. Ah, that makes a bit of sense, gotcha.How do you finish meat after sous vide?
To Finish on the Stovetop. Steak cooked completely sous vide will not have any browning on its surface, so this must be added afterward for improved flavor and texture. The stovetop is a great way to add a nice, well-browned crust to your meat. Skip this section if you prefer to finish your steak outdoors on the grill.How do you torch steak after sous vide?
Sousvide can render fat if warm enough (135), but in shorter cooks for steak it will not compare with dry hotter heat. For that reason I prefer to reverse sear ribeye and steaks with lots of fat. Longer cooks can render fat at cooler temps (131 or so).How do you render fat after sous vide?
Chill-based reverse sear is when the meat is taken from the sous vide bath and chilled\u2014still in its cooking bag\u2014in an ice bath. By shocking the meat in an ice bath, we cool the exterior and a thin gradient of the interior so that when we perform the sear, we don't risk overcooking the precisely-temped steak.How to Sear Sous Vide Steak with a Blowtorch
More answers regarding blow torching meat after sous vide - add fat or not?
Answer 2
At least one commercial chain (Panera Bread) uses fat when searing meat that is prepared sous vide.
Here is a video example. After cooking sous vide, they dry the meat and use a very hot cast iron pan with generous amounts of butter.
Answer 3
I haven't noticed any real difference with or without oil or fat to be honest. When searing in a pan, the oil would simply aid heat transfer from the pan to the meat by eliminating insulting air pockets.
However, I have experimented a little with brushing a weak glucose syrup onto steak before torching, and believe (without scientific measurements) that this results in a nicer crust with a lower propensity to blacken due to the flame. This is based on something I read in McGee's On Food and Cooking, which implied that the browning Maillard reaction would be accelerated by the addition of glucose. Apparently glucose is more reactive than sucrose found in normal sugar.
I've also discovered that drying the surface of meats with a paper towel just before blow-torching results in nicer and more rapid browning. I'd speculate this allows the surface temperature to rise more quickly as there is less liquid to boil off first.
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