Sous vide sirloin... we weren't hungry. Now what?

(Brian) #1

2 days ago, I put a couple of very tough sirloin steaks in the sous vide. At the time, we said, “Lets have some steak and eggs for breakfast!” (Day after tomorrow.)

Fast forward 2 days. This morning, neither of us were hungry. We had a big supper last night and really just were not hungry this morning. So what to do with the steaks??

I took them out of the sous vide and put them in the refrigerator. I didn’t think they needed to cook any longer. I left them in their bags so they’re in their own juices. Not sure if that was a mistake or not. They did have some rub type seasonings on them when they went into the bags, not a lot, but they’re not completely naked either.

Don’t know. Did I mess them up? Should I have done something different? I hate it that we weren’t hungry this morning as steak and eggs sounds really good. But it just wasn’t gonna happen.

These weren’t great or expensive cuts of meat. They were actually quite cheap. We had a couple more of them a while back that were way too tough at maybe 18 hours in the sous vide. So I figured I’d try something closer to 48 hours this time. (I think they were actually in about 40 hours. 145 degrees, I know that’s a little more done than many like but we tend to like things medium or medium well.)

Whatcha think? Did I kill 'em? Not a huge loss if I did. Or maybe there is hope yet. LOL!! Interested in your opinion of you’d like to share.

Thanks!

(Allie) #2

I would just freeze them then defrost and use in stir fry or whatever. This is what I do with any meats that need to be cooked before I’m ready to use them.

(bulkbiker) #3

Should be fine… breakfast tomorrow? I’ll be round…

(Brian) #4

Thanks for the replies. :slight_smile:

Kinda sounds like I’ll be able to use them just fine. I won’t keep them in the fridge very long, either use them within a day or two or freeze them. Not sure what the next few meals will look like.

The leftovers tend to pile up more than they used to and there are some of those waiting, too.

(Bob M) #5

I’d say they’ll lay a least a week.

145? That sounds high. I usually cook at 132 or so.

(Todd Allen) #6

A couple days ago we had sous vide beef tongue cooked at 135F for 48 hours. It was good, very tender. It was a 2 lb tongue which is enough for about 4 meals for my wife and myself. Last night we had cold sliced leftover beef tongue on a salad and I liked it as well as the first night hot. Will probably have the same tonight.

Your steaks should be fine in the fridge for a few days. Eat them cold or give a quick sear.

(Carpe salata!) #7

Yummy. Pan fried in a spoonful of lard a minute-30 on each side. Maybe another minute or two on the edge-fat. Two more days fasting here so that steak is sounding really good.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #8

So many steaks, so little time . . . (sigh) :grin:

(Brian) #9

OK, you all were so kind to reply in to my post in the first place, I figured I needed to update.

We took one of the steaks from the fridge this morning and put it in a frying pan on low to warm in it’s juices. I had put on a Montreal Rub (I think that’s what it’s called) before it went in the sous vide and so it was still sitting in that marinade in the refrigerator after the 40 hour sous vide.

Anyway, we cut it in half, half for each of us, which was still a very generous helping, made up some scrambled eggs and chowed down.

OMG… I think it was one of the best steaks I’ve ever had. When I said I did it at 145 degrees, I think most of you probably thought that was way too high. It was still a little pink in the middle, not bleeding, and to our taste, not overdone in the least, but very nicely done. At 40 hours, the texture was much more tender than the previous shoe leather experience (same exact batch of steaks). 48 or even a little longer would have probably been just fine as well. It still had hearty structure. And the flavors seemed to have penetrated the meat quite well in that there was flavor on the inside, not just the outside. We liked that. (Did that have anything to do with what effectively was it being marinated after the sous vide?)

So maybe the little oopsie with not being hungry turned out to be a really good thing! The steak sure ate well. :slight_smile:

The nice thing is, we only ate one of two so there is another one sitting there waiting for us. I suspect it will have a similar happy ending. We are going on a little day trip Saturday morning and will be surrounded by a bunch of vegans / vegetarians by around lunch time that will want to have a putluck lunch. Steak & eggs for breakfast should assure that we will not be hungry by lunch time. :smiley:

(bulkbiker) #10

I have started cooking steaks longer in the sous vide as well… Most people seem to say 2-6 hours but I prefer 24h although have never tried 48h maybe I will next time. I cook at 49 c (120F) which leaves a red inside but not bloody… the great thing about that temp is the steak is still very juicy. Then brown it in a pan with butter… mmmm heaven.

(Mike W.) #11

Meat cooked sous vide has been said to last 2-3 weeks in the fridge as long as it’s still in the sealed vac bag.

(Brian) #12

Actually, Mike, I never did seal it up in a vacuum bag. I just used a ziplock freezer bag. But I didn’t open that bag, just put the whole thing in the fridge.

Somehow, I don’t think it’ll make it to 3 days let alone 3 weeks. :smiley: That first one was some good eats!

(Mike W.) #13

As long as it’s still sealed so no O2 can get in, you’ll be good.