TGIFI- SV-What? Flat-Iron Steaks

Transglutaminase-Innovative-Flat-Iron-Sous-Vide
Say this three times fast

What can I say I work for Government and it's all about the acronyms. If you work for the government you know what I am talking about. So with that in mind I decided to use an acronym to describe yet another innovative idea. And of course the title of this post was too big for Google.

I think this is important to point out; when you use Transglutaminase to bind proteins you're only limited to your imagination and I have been told I have a big one. The idea of using TG on Flat-Irons came to me while eating a filet and realizing once again that it's really a tasteless tender piece of meat. I love Flat-Irons so what if ? Hmmmm.... Would'nt it be nice to have the best of both worlds? With Flat-Irons and Sous-Vide you certainly can. 

In the recent past I experimented with TG and Flat-Iron Steaks and it came out very well so I decided to do it bigger and better. Essentially I took one very large Flat-Iron steak, cut it in half, stacked it, trimmed it and shaped it into a cylinder. It came out great and it was worth doing it again but on a much larger scale this time. Bigger is always better in my world. This time I'm gonna take three large FI-Steaks and replicate the technique. 

2055 grams (4.53 lbs) of Beautiful Flat-Iron Steaks.

You first have to figure out the best way to stack the FI. The goal of course is to have the best symmetrical shape. And if they are close to the same weight and size this shouldn't be much of a problem. Sprinkle the TG thoroughly on to the FI getting it into every nook and cranny. Once you're satisfied with the coating stack them on each other and sprinkle the TG on the outside getting it everywhere. Doing this will ensure a cylinder shape that will hold.

Start rolling it up in plastic wrap. Make it sure it's very very tight. Tie off the ends and pop any air-holes that may be present. 

All done. The meat will stand vertically in my refrigerator (to keep its shape) for 24 hours. 24 hours is an optimum time for the TG to bind with the meat. This creates the best bond in my opinion. 

It's been exactly 24 hours and the Flat-Irons have formed one piece of meat. I took off the plastic wrap and salted (Dry-Brine) the Flat-Irons and vacuumed sealed for another 24 hours. After the 24 hours have elapsed I may add some fresh herbs to the bag to enhance and perfume the meat. A great technique I learned from the book Under Pressure by Thomas Keller is if I am going to add herbs to the bag prior to the SV process I want to first put them in plastic wrap and not directly on the food. Putting them directly on the food will over power it. 

After the 24 hour Dry Brine it was time for the SV. The thermal Jacuzzi was set at 133 degrees. I cooked the FI's for 9 hours which also coincided with the pasteurization time. After the cook I shocked the meat in an ice-bath for several hours to rapidly bring down temp. I refrigerated the meat overnight. This was not needed but I work for a living and sometimes our schedules interfere with our hobbies. 

This is a picture of what the meat looks like after I re-Submerged the meat into the SV to bring the temp up. Note: I did not want to serve cold meat so I had to warm it up prior to the next step. What better place then the SV to warm up the meat. 

This is a picture of everything that I was going to serve for dinner. BTW- I learned how to cook these veggies on Chefsteps.com. This is a great site for everyone to learn from. More on this later. 

After the meat rose to an appropriate temp I took it out of the vacuumed sealed bags, dried off the meat thoroughly and coated it with my favorite rub for this application. I like using 1 part Peppercorns, 1 part Grains of Paradise and 1 part coriander. I sprayed the meat down with Canola oil so the rub would adhere. Note: I did not add salt because of the previous dry brine. 

I tossed meat into a 500 degree oven for 9 minutes. That's it!! Nothing more to do.

See Review at the botom. 

My Review

Absolutely amazing I will not change a thing.

The sauce that accompanied the meat was a Bearnaise. Simple to make just Google it.  

Veggies

I cooked them at 194 degrees. I also added Fat and a little salt to the bag. I added Lemon thyme to the potatoes. 

Carrots 33 minutes (served warm)
Potatoes 45 minutes (sliced in half and browned)
Leeks 8 minutes (browned in butter)

How can I be so precise with my times. I ran an experiment that morning. 

TOP OF THE FLAT-IRON PAGE

Poor Mans Prime Rib (Shoulder Roast)

POOR MANS PRIME RIB

I have Sous-Vided almost every cut of beef with exception of the chuck shoulder roast. Why would I choose such a tough piece of meat to cook? I like to experiment so why not I say. This dish or experiment is not unlike my other recipes which are spontaneous. I just happen to be at QFC, and they had some beautiful shoulders on sale. I normally go with the more tender cuts like Rib-eyes, Porterhouse and or New Yorks but when I saw this cut, I became curious. 
Poor Mans Prime Rib (Chuck Roast)

The shoulder roast is one of the most flavorful and economical cuts and if cooked accordingly is flavorful and tender. This 1.68 lb chuck roast cost me $8.38. Note: some assert that the Chuck Roast is more flavorful. Of course the downside to this cut of meat is it's tough connective tissue and the dreaded gristle. The traditional way to cook this roast is a long braise but that was before Sous-Vide. Cooking Sous-Vide can take an inexpensive piece of meat and make it taste like prime. Well that's my goal anyway. 

The Sous-Vide method of cooking can yield some incredible results which can only be described as sublime. It's almost impossible to achieve results like this by traditional cooking techniques. Braising is a conventional way to cook tough meats, but in most cases, if you are not careful, the meat will dry out. I know what you are thinking how can meat sitting in liquid dry-out. Take my word the meat can and will dry out if braised too long and especially if not carefully supervised. There's a fine line between producing tender chunks of meat that melts in your mouth and meat that is too dry. 

Using Sous-Vide as the cooking method can mitigate these cooking faux pas. Don't get me wrong if you choose the wrong temp and time you can ruin the meat with Sous-Vide but it's unlikely because your time frame has a lot of wiggle room. 

Things to consider. The higher the water temp the more moisture will be squeezed out of the muscle fibers. You have to find that right temp and time that creates that perfect piece of meat. For me, a great prime Rib-eye is cooked at 128.1 F for about 4 hours depending on the quality, but a tougher piece of meat like a Flat Iron steak or Tri-Tip needs to be cooked at 133 degrees in my opinion for at least 6 hours. I like my Short Ribs cooked at 149 degrees for 48 hours. So, in a nutshell, to maximize moisture cook long and low. But wait let's say you prefer a textually drier piece of meat. What do you do?  The technique here would be to raise the temp up a bit but reduce the time. Oy-Vey this can get confusing and complicated fast. Well for me it's easy because I like to experiment. Everyone has a taste and texture preference. So like I said before 128.1 F for Rib-eyes for 4-6 hours but 133 F Flat Irons for 6 hours. Consider this; a flat Iron cooked for 12 hours at 133 degrees will render a piece of meat that is moist but is soft and slippery. Many people love this but not me. My textural preference is different.  

So what to do for the Shoulder Roast? I am going to try 133 F for about 48 hours. This meat reminds me of a cross between a Short Rib and a Flat Iron. If I don't achieve the results I was hoping for I will do it again but of course with different temps and time. I kept this recipe extremely simple because it was indeed just an experiment only to determine the optimum time and temp for this cut of meat. I covered the meat in Montreal Steak seasoning and vacuumed seal for 24 hours. I will then Sous-Vide for 48 hours at 133 F. 

The meat was given an ice bath and refrigerated overnight after the 48-hour thermal bath and seared off the next day. 

One thing I forgot to mention. After removing the meat from the cold refrigerator, I submerged the vacuumed sealed bag in the Sous-Vide thermal bath for a couple of minutes to warm it up a bit and then seared it off to produce that beautiful (Maillard reaction) brown look we all come to love. 

Overall it was delicious however I think I would have ended up with a better texture if I would have Sous-Vide it for 24-36 hours instead of 48. I prefer more of a bite in my meat. Some people might like extremely tender meat and most of the time I do too, but in this case, I would have liked more tooth or bite. Again there is a fine line. Some question that I must ask. If I Sous-Vide only for let's say 30 hours will this be adequate to render down the gristle and connective tissue? I am not sure. At the end of the day it's all about the love of food and the willingness to experiment and come up with something new and exciting. 

Update- 133F at 40 hours is just about perfect. 

TOP OF THE BEEF PAGE