Flank Steak Sous Vide - Blood Spots?
I got a SV wand for X-Mas, so have been doing alot of that this month.
I did a flank steak today, which I cut into 3 parts, 3 bags, and did at 52 Deg C for 4 hours. I then Ice Bath'd all three pieces, and 2 went in the freezer, and one went in the fridge.
For dinner, I pulled the fridge version, and warmed up at 48 Deg C for 30 minutes while preparing Lomo Saltado fixins.
When I was slicing the steak, against the muscle grain, I ran into 2 or 3 small blood spots (bright red pockets in the meat - maybe 1" across and spread across 1" worth of slices. I took them out, but was wondering if anyone knows what they are, and what that means? I've cooked many steaks in my 30+ yeas on this earth, and had never seen that.
Second, follow on question: if I want the other 2 steaks more well done, can I pull from the freezer 90 minutes before another meal, and SV at 54 Deg C, or does "twice cooking" them introduce new problems?
Thanks in advance for your feedback!!!
Best Answer
I would think the red pockets are liquefied fat and/or water with red dye in them (and some myoglobin, which is what makes red meat red, but often dye is the bigger reason).
If it's steak from a supermarket, it's probably thoroughly dyed, so maybe some of the dye (or a lot of it!) stuck with the fat. Blood wouldn't be bright red, it would be oxidized and a nice brown/gray (if it were even in the steak - almost no blood remains in a steak, it's not why they're red). If you're used to grilling or similar methods, those would allow the fat (and water) to drip off, while SV won't: you're packing it in a bag and keeping the water and fat inside (that being the point of sous-vide cooking, after all).
Pictures about "Flank Steak Sous Vide - Blood Spots?"
Can you overcook flank steak in a sous vide?
If you plan to grill your flank steak, it is best to cook it sous vide first, then pop it on the grill over high heat for about a minute per side to produce a nice sear. Care should be taken not to overcook this cut of beef; it could lose its tenderness.Is flank steak good for sous vide?
When sliced on an angle, the temperature of the flank steak was a perfect medium rare. Bottom line: Both thin or thick flank steak will work great with sous vide cooking.Why is my steak bloody after cooking?
It turns out, it's not actually blood, but rather a protein called myoglobin, according to Buzzfeed. The protein is what gives the meat and its juices a red hue, and it's perfectly normal to find in packaging.Sous Vide Flank Steak | BEST EVER!
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Answer 2
Flank steak consists of the abdominal muscles, primarily the rectus abdominis muscle. The superior epigastric artery and vein* pass through the muscle. Sometimes, during processing, small clots will form inside the blood vessels which will manifest as blood spots when the muscle is cut perpendicular to grain.
*The drawing linked is of a human, but in this case bovine anatomy is similar.
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