Sous-Vide Steak

In my first post, I described how I built my sous-vide cooker.
 This time I have a photo-journal of cooking my first sous-vide steak.

 I started with an angus strip, and patted it dry with a paper towel.

Season with salt and pepper.  Place in a vacuum seal bag

Place in vacuum sealer

And vacuum seal

I'm using a napkin holder to keep the steak from floating in the crock pot

Place in the crock pot, and wait

1.5 hours later take it out.  Doesn't look very appetizing

Take it out of the bag,  not much improvement

Sear for 1 minute each side on a very hot cast iron skillet.   Now it looks like a steak

Cut it open.  Bad cut angle, but you get an idea of how evenly the steak is cooked.

Here's a better cut.  Click the picture to get the full resolution to see just how juicy the steak was.

Conclusion:  The results were somewhat mixed.  

The recipe guide I had listed 

• 120F as rare
• 134F as medium-rare
• 140F as medium

My sous-vide was tracking a bit high and ended up cooking at 135F.   The result was probably juiciest and most tender steak I've ever eaten, however the flavor was what I associate with "medium".  Tasted more like roast beef, than a grilled steak.

I think the next time, I will lower the temperature to 130F, add more salt/pepper seasoning, and sear a little more (or use a kitchen torch) to get more of a crispy seared crust.