I love red meat. 

In 2017, I lost a bet to a friend that ended up with me having to try out vegetarianism for a month. After a little negotiation, I managed to get them to settle with pescatarianism. But even so, it was a proper challenge. More power to those of you that are vegetarian or even vegan, but it’s just not for me. 
That being said, I’m not the most successful with cooking red meat precisely. Growing up in a braai household meant that I didn’t really have to do much of it. Dad was the expert. I just had to make sure his beer was full (and cold) from time to time. Whenever I had to handle the cooking, my steaks never came out the way I wanted them to. 
So when I heard about the sous vide method, and how successful it was at producing consistent and precise results, I became obsessed. (It’s a little gimmicky too, which is right up my alley if we’re being honest). And so, a week ago, after months of reading and countless YouTube videos, I tried out the sous vide cooking method for the first time.

In the interests of keeping things honest between us, sous vide is not the type of method you use for whipping up a quick dinner. In exchange for a perfectly cooked ingredient, you’re going to have to sacrifice time and effort. If you’re looking to spend a few hours in the kitchen to impress some guests (or just your own household), this is absolutely the way to go. 

Sous vide – translated from French, literally means ‘under pressure’. Vacuum sealing food products and then placing them in hot water was first used as a method of pasteurising and/or sterilising meats and vegetables. In 1974, French chef Pierre Troisgros decided to make use of the method when cooking foie gras – where it is essential to preserve the fat in order to keep the flavour. In the 80s and 90s, the craze spread mainly throughout France and the United States of America, where it was used on various different meat products. Today, sous vide is used all around the world on a host of ingredients ranging from red meat to fish to vegetables and fruit.

And now, it’s your turn.

Mythbusting time: You absolutely do not need the fancy (and expensive!) sous vide equipment. 

While the water-adjusting thermometer, or the sous vide machine, or even the vacuum sealer, will make your life a hell of a lot easier – it’s not necessary to spend this amount of money. Sous vide is a technique that you can experiment with from time to time in the comfort of your kitchen with its standard cooking supplies. 
All you’ll need here in terms of equipment is a large, deep pot with a thick bottom, a cooking thermometer and a strong Ziploc bag.

When choosing your cut of meat, take care to keep your cooking preferences in mind. If you, like me, prefer your steaks very rare : still half alive, buttery soft and full of blood, you’ll be better off with a piece that is lower in fat content. If you like your steak medium rare, choosing something with a medium fat content, like the top sirloin pictured above, is perfect. Other options like tenderloin are also great. If you like your meat well done (god forbid), you can go a little higher on the fat content, like a short rib or hanger steak. The inverse rule is also true: you should base your cooking preference on the type of cut. While I will almost always order a sirloin bleu (very rare) at a restaurant (and silently judge anyone who orders it above medium rare), that doesn’t work for all cuts. If I’m being served a very marbled cut like ribeye, I know that I should be asking for it medium-rare.

This is because steaks with higher fat content require longer cooking times in order to break down the connective tissue. This inter muscular fat, when properly cooked, makes the steak more tender and juicy – even if it is a little more ‘done’ than you’re used to. However, when we don’t leave them long enough to cook, these fatty areas remain tough and chewy – not a pleasant experience. Steaks with lower fat content, like sirloin, don’t have much (or any) inter muscular fat, and so longer cooking times dry them out considerably.

For this reason, sous vide cooking requires a careful combination of two essential factors – time and temperature.

Another factor to keep in mind when using this chart is the thickness of the cut you’ve chosen. Steaks that are thicker will take a longer time to heat through (and therefore cook). A steak with 1cm thickness will generally take between 6-10 minutes (give or take) to reach the water’s temperature and begin cooking, while a thicker cut at 2cm will take 35 minutes. At 5cm thickness, you’re looking at a minimum of 2 hours before the steak’s core even begins to properly cook. 

Once you’ve picked out the cut, it’s time to choose the flavour. You can keep things simple with a spice rub, or you can pick out a marinade.

You’ll let the meat sit in these flavours for several hours – either in a marinading dish, or in the plastic bag, before getting to the cooking. Anything from four and half hours onwards is good – but the longer the better.

Dry brining before sous vide is another excellent way of ensuring that you have a tender steak – perfect for those meats with a little extra chub. This is essentially the process of coating the meat with coarse salt and letting it sit for 24 hours in the fridge. The salt draws the water out of the steak while locking flavour in by breaking down the fat tissue in the meat. If you’re choosing this method, keep in mind that it’s essential to thoroughly rinse and dry the meat afterwards before cooking in order to get rid of excess salts.

Once your steak is well-marinated or dry-brined, it’s time to get your equipment ready. As I mentioned previously, you don’t need a chef’s kitchen to sous vide successfully. A large pot and thermometer will do. Fill the pot with water and place it over medium heat. Don’t go crazy on the heat yet, otherwise you’ll find it difficult to stabilise later. Secure your thermometer; some come with clips. Otherwise, you can just use a washing peg like I did – works a charm. Take care to use a wooden peg here. Plastic will melt and snap off, flying in two different directions in your kitchen (Yes, I speak from experience).

As the water reaches your desired temperature, lower the heat. Now it’s time to add the steak. If it isn’t already bagged, place it inside the Ziploc now. You can choose to keep the marinade in or let it cook without. If your marinade is fat-heavy (like butter), rather cook without. Fats like butter draw other fats out of the meat, which isn’t our goal here.

Open the top of the bag and lower it in slowly, letting the water vacuum seal the plastic around the steak. Close the bag again once the steak is fully submerged. It’s important not to open or lift the bag out of the water while it’s cooking so that the vacuum seal remains shut.

You’ll need to be checking the temperature every now and then while the steak cooks. A couple points’ change is acceptable, but if it heats up too much, simply remove a cupful of water from the pot and replace it with a cup of cold water. I experimented a little with ice cubes, but it wasn’t as effective as the cup method.

Don’t panic if it changes by several degrees by the time that you check again. A few minutes of cooking time at a different temperature won’t change the level of your steak at the end. Simply bring the temperature down (or up) again and continue. 

And for the rest of the time? Catch up on some reading; have a few glasses of wine… whatever blows your hair back. Just remember to check your thermometer at least every 10 minutes. Once the time is up, turn off the stove and remove the bags from the water. There’s one last stage to our cooking process. The sear. 

Cooling is an essential step in achieving a perfect sear. When you remove the steaks from the plastic bags, their temperature will already be elevated. Searing them will add additional heat – and therefore cook them a little longer, too. To avoid overdoing your steak, remove them from the bags after the sous vide and let them cool for 15 minutes. 

The next step is drying. This is an especially important step if you’ve cooked the steak in its marinade. When we sear, we want the cooking agent (oil, butter etc.) and heat to penetrate directly into the meat without having to work on evaporating the moisture on its surface. With some kitchen paper, dab the steaks down thoroughly. 

Place a pan over high heat. Your best bet here would be a cast iron skillet, but if you don’t have one, stainless steel is fine. Add some butter (and herbs, if you like) and let it soften before adding the steak. Sear for 1 minute / 1 minute 30 seconds per side and remove.

The final steps are easy – slice your steaks open, admire, and serve immediately with your choice of sides. Here, we served it alongside an Argentinian carrot salad, some basil-infused roasted potatoes, and a Chimichurri sauce.