Smoke-Free Sous Vide Strip Steak — First Run With a New Anova

I finally got around to trying my new toy — I’d purchased the Anova Sous Vide, Bluetooth edition. I’d done a little research on the method, which is labeled precision cooking: you season the product you want to cook, seal it, and set the target temperature you want it served at. I used my vacuum sealer to remove the air, then placed the bag in the water. The device heats the water to that exact temp and holds it there for as long as you want. For this first test, I picked up some strip steaks on sale — about a $15 meal.

Seasoning and Sealing

I added salt and pepper to both sides, along with a pat of butter to each steak, then vacuum sealed them.

Strip steaks vacuum sealed for sous vide

The Sous Vide Stage

Since I didn’t bother to read the instructions, I just placed the steaks in the water and set the device to 129°F, which is what’s recommended for medium rare. The device heats and circulates the water at that temp, with a timer that alarms when it’s complete. Reading up on it afterward, the recommendation is 2-4 hours at 129°F followed by a quick sear — the longer you cook it, the more tender it gets. But the real magic is that the meat cooks consistently end to end. Normally a medium rare steak is well-done on the outside, medium just inside that, and only medium rare in the center. Because of time constraints, I cooked mine for 3 hours.

Strip steaks cooking in the sous vide water bath

Strip steaks in the sous vide bath, alternate angle

Cooling and Prepping to Sear

Once the timer went off, I pulled the bag from the water and ran it under the cold tap, right there in the bag, to stop the cooking process before it went any further.

Once cooled, I opened the bags and pulled the steaks out. Straight out of the bag, they’re pale and honestly pretty unattractive — that’s normal for sous vide, since all the color and texture people actually want comes later, from the sear.