Sous Vide Butter-Basted Thick-Cut Rib-Eye Steaks
By America's Test KitchenPublished on September 17, 2017
Time
Sous vide: 2 to 3 hours, active cooking time: 40 minutes
Yield
Serves 4 - 6
Ingredients
Before You Begin
This recipe moves quickly once you start searing in step 3, so have everything prepared and within arm’s reach before you start. This recipe cooks the steaks to a precise medium-rare. For steaks cooked to medium, bring water to 130°F/54°C with sous vide circulator in step 1.
Instructions
- Using sous vide circulator, bring 4-inches water to 125°F/52°C in 7-quart Dutch oven or Lexan container.
- Pat steaks dry with paper towels and season liberally with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over high heat until just smoking. Cook steaks on all sides, about 1 minute. Place each steak and 2 tablespoons oil in 1-gallon zipper-lock freezer bag. Seal bags, pressing out as much air as possible. Gently lower bags into prepared water bath until steaks are fully submerged, then clip top corner of each bag to side of water bath container, allowing remaining air bubbles to rise to top of bag. Reopen 1 corner of zipper, release remaining air pockets, and seal bag fully. Cover and cook for at least 2 hours or up to 3 hours.
- Transfer steaks to plate and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes; discard zipper-lock bags. Pat steaks dry with paper towels. Heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil in 12-inch skillet over high heat until just smoking. Cook steaks, without moving them, for 30 seconds. Flip steaks and cook for 30 seconds.
- Slide steaks to back of skillet, opposite handle, and add butter to front of skillet. Once butter has melted, add shallot, garlic, and thyme sprigs. Holding skillet handle, tilt skillet so butter pools near base of handle. Using metal spoon, baste steaks with butter and aromatics, concentrating on areas where crust is less browned. Continuously baste steaks, flipping every 30 seconds, until well browned on both sides, about 2 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium and transfer steaks to carving board. Using tongs, stand each steak on its side in skillet and cook, rotating as needed, until well browned, about 1 minute; return to carving board. Strain seasoned butter through fine-mesh strainer into small bowl; discard solids. Carve steaks off bones, then slice 1/2 inch thick. Serve with seasoned butter.
Time
Sous vide: 2 to 3 hours, active cooking time: 40 minutesYield
Serves 4 - 6Ingredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
A nicely cooked rib-eye steak is a culinary showstopper but is also a challenge to pull off. The risk of over- or undercooking—and therefore ruining an expensive cut of meat—can make cooking a thick-cut rib-eye at home an intimidating endeavor. But with the help of sous vide, preparing steak at home is suddenly a sure bet. Cooking sous vide allows you to control the precise temperature (and therefore doneness) of a steak, cooking it to the exact same temperature throughout. This means your steak is perfectly cooked every time.
Sous vide steaks are often seared in a hot pan after cooking in the water bath to give them the Maillard browning we love on their exteriors. For these rib-eyes, we up the ante with butter-basting. This technique involves continuously spooning hot fat over the steaks to quickly create a nice deep-brown crust. Bonus: It also gives them the nutty flavor of browned butter. That butter is reserved and used as a rich sauce to be drizzled over top for a decadent steak dinner.
Note: Because these steaks cook at a slightly lower temperature to allow enough time to properly butter-baste without overcooking, we also quickly sear them before they go into the water bath to reduce the risk of bacteria growth.
Before You Begin
This recipe moves quickly once you start searing in step 3, so have everything prepared and within arm’s reach before you start. This recipe cooks the steaks to a precise medium-rare. For steaks cooked to medium, bring water to 130°F/54°C with sous vide circulator in step 1.
Instructions
- Using sous vide circulator, bring 4-inches water to 125°F/52°C in 7-quart Dutch oven or Lexan container.
- Pat steaks dry with paper towels and season liberally with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over high heat until just smoking. Cook steaks on all sides, about 1 minute. Place each steak and 2 tablespoons oil in 1-gallon zipper-lock freezer bag. Seal bags, pressing out as much air as possible. Gently lower bags into prepared water bath until steaks are fully submerged, then clip top corner of each bag to side of water bath container, allowing remaining air bubbles to rise to top of bag. Reopen 1 corner of zipper, release remaining air pockets, and seal bag fully. Cover and cook for at least 2 hours or up to 3 hours.
- Transfer steaks to plate and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes; discard zipper-lock bags. Pat steaks dry with paper towels. Heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil in 12-inch skillet over high heat until just smoking. Cook steaks, without moving them, for 30 seconds. Flip steaks and cook for 30 seconds.
- Slide steaks to back of skillet, opposite handle, and add butter to front of skillet. Once butter has melted, add shallot, garlic, and thyme sprigs. Holding skillet handle, tilt skillet so butter pools near base of handle. Using metal spoon, baste steaks with butter and aromatics, concentrating on areas where crust is less browned. Continuously baste steaks, flipping every 30 seconds, until well browned on both sides, about 2 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium and transfer steaks to carving board. Using tongs, stand each steak on its side in skillet and cook, rotating as needed, until well browned, about 1 minute; return to carving board. Strain seasoned butter through fine-mesh strainer into small bowl; discard solids. Carve steaks off bones, then slice 1/2 inch thick. Serve with seasoned butter.
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