Flat-Iron-Steaks Sous-Vide

I needed something quick and easy to cook for Wednesday night dinner and a thought crossed my mind. How about Sous-Vide. It's not quick but if you time it well it can be both quick and easy. So say it with me SOOO-VEEE!!!! because it is so so good. Yea, Yea I know it sounds geeky but you know what I don't care because Sous-vide to me is exciting and new. You can make virtually anything well. However, Sous-Vide cannot replace basic culinary cooking skills and great techniques. As I tread along these uncharted waters I hope to educate my self and others who read my blog. 

I got off work at 6 AM after working an almost double with no sleep but I still had a little fuel in the tank so I headed for QFC to go shopping for tonight's dinner. I just knew I can find something to Sous-Vide. 

I needed something that 

• could be cooked in a matter of 6 hours or something close to that or
• cook at least 16 hours or more so I could sleep

By chance Flat Iron Steaks were on sale and I purchased them. 

There's not much of a story here except for the easy steps I used to cook them. 

Just came out of the water water. Blah looking!!! No maillard. Cooked at 130 degrees for 16 hours.

I applied a dry rub and some BBQ sauce and applied some intense heat. 

Beautiful looking.

Some final thoughts. I loved my T-Bones at 129 degrees F but the Flat Iron steak at 130 f gave me the sensation of slipperiness.  It is really hard to describe. Overall I loved how the Flat Iron came out but steak I think next time I will shoot for 132-133 f. At 130 f degrees the intramuscular fat should have rendered down a little bit more and firmed up the meat. I am learning that a degree or two can really make a huge difference depending on several variables.  Cut of meat, age of meat, and quality of meat. There is definitely a learning cure when it comes to Sous-Vide. 

Update- 7/4/14 Flat Iron Steaks Sous-Vide Temp of 133 f degrees for 6 hours was perfect. The time of 6 hours was perfect because the meat was no longer slippery when eaten and had a better chew which I enjoyed and the temp of 133 f was just the right temp to render down the fat and connective tissue.

Update- 5/24/15 I still like the 133 fdegree temp but prefer a 6-9 hour cook time. I also do a dry-brine for at least 24 hours.  

Update- 7/19/15 These were a last minute Dinner thing. They were still in the package frozen like a Rock. I vacuumed sealed them in their package and SV'd them for about 7 hours. There was no dry-brine but they tasted great. 

Right out of the SV

Update- 4/30/2018- Dry-Brined with 1% Fish Salt from Red Boat for exactly 72 hours. Warm Aged at 113 F for 3 hours and finished at 133 f for 7 hours. Flawless!!! You can see some of my Experiments HERE. 

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