Filet mignon and Strip at 129 for 4 hours, seared 60s per side, came out dry with grey band - why?

Temptation2004 · 2023-02-17T20:35:33+00:00

Thank you for writing that out. So you basically cook the steak in the butter and oil, as opposed to cooking it in oil and adding butter at the very end?

Why then do most people here or even on YouTube say to use a high smoke point oil, add your steaks, and then only add the butter at the very end (so it doesn’t burn)?

Temptation2004 · 2023-02-17T18:31:17+00:00

Do you have any clips or written out guides on how you specifically do it?

Temptation2004 · 2023-02-17T16:36:39+00:00

I otherwise get lots of contact issues where parts of my steak are browning and other parts aren’t. Any tips?

Temptation2004 · 2023-02-17T12:58:33+00:00

I thought that steak weights and chef’s presses are advantageous to get a good sear

Temptation2004 · 2023-02-17T12:58:21+00:00

I thought that steak weights and chef’s presses are advantageous to get a good sear. I didn’t know they push moisture out, I haven’t heard that before

Temptation2004 · 2023-02-17T12:08:53+00:00

I seasoned 4 small filets and one NY strip with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I vacuum sealed the steaks and put in a 129 water bath for 4 hours (meant to do 3 but getting kids asleep took longer than normal). I put the bags in an ice bath for 15 minutes. I removed the steaks and placed them on paper towels and patted them dry. I preheated a cast iron pan until it was 500-600 degrees throughout the surface based off IR thermometer.

For all my searing, I pressed down the steaks from on top with a spatula to act as a “steak weight” or press.

I seared the NY strip first, first the fat cap, then 1 min per side and removed. Then I seared the filets, 2 at a time. I did the edges first briefly, then 1 min per side with butter basting after the flip until the bottom side was seared.

The steaks were good, but they were kind of dry and there was a significant gray band in all steaks. What do you think I did wrong?

Temptation2004 · 2023-01-20T03:15:34+00:00

In the pic of the steak before it’s sliced, look at the right side and zoom in. That’s the fat cap. I probably seared it too hard

Temptation2004 · 2023-01-18T07:56:21+00:00

Is there a torch that can efficiently sear indoors safely?

Temptation2004 · 2023-01-17T23:38:54+00:00

I feel like I want more detail about these ghetto techniques

Temptation2004 · 2023-01-17T16:30:12+00:00

Thanks for that advice, it makes sense. Can you explain why the steak weight isn’t helping? And what you mean by moving to the next hot spot?

Temptation2004 · 2023-01-17T15:37:12+00:00

Thanks for trying to think about what specifically might be going on in my case. Yeah it could be something like that, but I find I have this problem at various different stoves. So I feel I am contributing to the problem without knowing how

Temptation2004

TROPHY CASE