What sous vide parameters for entrecote?
I want to cook an entrecote using my sous vide waterbath. The piece is approx. 5cm thick and currently frozen. I would like it to come out as medium-rare. It has a quite a bit of fat on it. At what temperature and for how long should this piece be cooked?
My own guess would be 3 hours at 57, but I after googling my eyes out, I see several different numbers that diverge to a confusing extent.
Best Answer
I confess I'm not familiar with the term entrecôte, but looking it up, its pretty clear this is a already-tender cut. So you don't need to tenderize it.
In fact, you probably don't want to tenderize it—at some point, it'll go from tender to mushy. Unfortunately, from frozen, at least according to the Baldwin tables, you'd need over five hours. If you additionally want it pasteurized, that'd probably be over six hours, but he doesn't have a table for that. Either of those times is risking mushy, at least on the outside.
You can reduce the heating time substantially by thawing it in the fridge. This also gives you the opportunity to sear before bagging (killing any surface bacteria, and also improving flavor). You're probably looking at around 3–3½ hours this way (maybe up to 4 for pasteurization, depending on exact thickness).
Finally, once its thawed, you could split it in half, giving you two, 25mm steaks (split before searing, of course). Then you're looking at around an hour in the water bath, or two for pasteurization.
Even with a pre-sear, you'll want to sear after cooking as normal, too.
Your final option is to up the water-bath temperature a bit, and pull before the steak reaches thermal equilibrium. Basically, the last few degrees take forever—heat transfer is proportional to the difference in temperatures—so if you're OK with a doneness-gradient, as you'd find in traditionally-cooked steaks though not as extreme, you can do this. Problem is, I don't have a table for this, so I'm not sure what the time would be at, say, 59°C. You could attempt to rig it with a probe thermometer to find out, but beware cheap probes are not waterproofed where the wire enters, and will be break if water gets there. There are i-Device apps that will calculate these times for you (PolySci Sous Vide Toolbox, Sous Vide Dash) but I haven't used either (no Android versions...) [This is called the deltaT method]
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What temperature should I sous vide my steak?
For example, a 1-2 inch steak will reach medium-rare doneness in 1 hour with your sous vide device set to 130\xb0 F....Sous Vide Steak Temperature.DonenessSteak/Sous Vide Temperature RangeCooking DurationMedium135\xb0 F to 140\xb0 F1-4 hoursMedium well145\xb0 F to 150\xb0 F1-3 1/2 hoursWell done160\xb0 F and above1-3 hours2 more rows•Jan 12, 2020How thick should steak be for sous vide?
Preparing a steak for sous-vide cooking is a simple as purchasing it and sealing it in a plastic bag. For best results, start with large steaks that 1 1/2 to 2-inches thick. And remember: It's better for two people to share one steak than to each have their own thinner steak.How do you cook entrecote steaks?
Cook the meat on both sides for about one to two minutes. Searing the meat seals the juices in. Add salt and pepper and put the steak in the preheated oven for between six and 12 minutes depending on its thickness. Remove the steak from the oven and leave it to stand for three to five minutes before serving.How do you cook medium entrecote?
For a medium done entrecote, cook for 3 minutes both sides and, for a well-done piece, almost 4 minutes. Rest for 2 minutes and a half. Try to turn the entrecote just once to cook it for each side but sealing the juices inside the meat at the same time.SOUS VIDE ENTRECÔTE | How to cook the perfect Entrecôte / Rib eye steak - Sous vide
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Answer 2
There are clearly many ways to approach this. This is a fairly thick, probably rib-eye steak. I would pre-sear while frozen, bag with a small amount of oil or butter, and cook at 55 or 56 for 3 hours, then season (do not season before the initial cook) and sear again before serving to develop a flavorful crust.
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