Sous-vide and top heat grills: the dream combination
Steak lovers and top heat grills: This is a combination that actually goes together perfectly. In many cases, however, only until the man's toy is shown to the regulars' table and then has to feed six hungry guys. After all, the guys all think that a steak should weigh at least 300 grams... So what exactly is the problem? The answer is simple: capacity. Most top heat grills have relatively little surface area. At best, it's enough for two rib eyes or rump steaks at once, but not for six. And unlike classic gas grills with an infrared zone, devices from Beefer, Beeftec, 1650, Klarstein & Co. lack an additional cooking space. This is why the steak normally just moves further down the grill after the crust has been applied so that at least the core reaches a temperature that makes eating fun. As a result, the grill is initially blocked for more meat - the thicker the steak, the longer it takes. Maybe a “real” grill would have been the better option after all… – By Markus Mizgalski
Do I need a vacuum sealer to prepare the meat for sous-vide? The answer is: You don't need one, but it would be practical... We have vacuum sealers from Lava for beginners and advanced users in our shop.
Sous-vide is the solution
To put it bluntly: A "real" grill is not necessary, because with the right additional equipment, a top heat grill can also achieve a decent throughput. The trick is to only use the device for what it does really well, namely conjuring up powerful roasted aromas on a steak. The actual cooking must be done elsewhere. The simplest variant is a process that originally came from the laboratory, then migrated to molecular cuisine and is now available to the general public. Since this year at the latest, even discounters have discovered sous-vide for themselves. But what exactly does that actually mean? Literally translated, the term, which comes from French, means something like "cooking under vacuum". But that's only half the truth, because it's not enough to throw a shrink-wrapped steak into hot water to get the desired result. The real secret is precise control of the water temperature. High-quality sous-vide devices can be regulated to within 1/10 of a degree, which is also the reason for their popularity in molecular cuisine. For example, egg white can be brought to a solid-liquid borderline consistency at around 62 °C without the yolk even beginning to solidify.
You don't have to go that far in the grilling area; the cheaper sous-vide devices usually work to a precise degree, which is perfectly adequate for home cooking, unless you want to follow in the footsteps of Ferran Adria. Of course, the use of the water bath is not limited to meat; you can also use it to cook fish or vegetables to perfection. In connection with steaks, sous-vide is ultimately a special form of "reverse grilling". This normally refers to a grilling technique in which a steak is cooked to the desired core temperature using indirect heat and then, at the very end, given roasting aromas using very high temperatures. The water bath basically does exactly the same thing: if you set the device to 55 °C, it ensures that the water stays at this 55 °C. This means that a steak is heated to exactly this 55 °C over time. It cannot be overcooked or turned into a shoe sole, at least not while it is in the bag. Especially since the vacuum bag ensures that a lot of meat juice stays in the steak. And it (almost) doesn't matter how long the steak is in the water. This way, the guest who was unfortunately late gets an excellent piece of meat.
The right device
Anyone looking for affordable sous-vide devices a few years ago would sooner or later end up with a DIY solution made from aquarium accessories. Because there was hardly anything available for less than 1,000 euros. Alternatively, some dishwashers had to be used for testing purposes. That sounds weird, but it works because most models have a 55 °C program. The prerequisite, however, is that the machine is otherwise free of dirty dishes and that you don't use tabs. The steak should be warm, not clean. Discounters now offer small basins for around 50 euros. But is that enough? What does the griller actually need? To do this, it makes sense to first look at what is actually available. There are basically three different systems to choose from: small basins with heating, larger basins with circulation and thermostats that are hung up like an immersion heater. The small basins usually hold between five and six liters; more than that cannot be heated evenly without a circulation pump. In terms of their size, such devices can hold about three T-bone steaks, each weighing 600 grams, and smaller steaks can hold more. For most amateur grillers, this should be sufficient, especially since these models are really attractive with prices of up to just under 150 euros.
Basins with circulation offer significantly more capacity. There are freestanding units with a water volume of up to 600 liters; tabletop units are available up to around 25 liters. Some manufacturers have integrated a practical drain tap into these large tabletop baths. Other suppliers do not have one because they see this as a cold bridge that has a negative impact on accuracy. For the grill area, however, as already mentioned, it does not have to be accurate to 1/10 of a degree - the version with a tap is more practical in any case. However, such basins are not bargains: a model with a capacity of 12.5 liters costs around 350 euros. Nevertheless, the nice thing about them is that you are dealing with a relatively compact unit that is very temperature-stable and runs efficiently, not least thanks to a matching lid. If such a bath is too expensive for you or takes up too much space in the kitchen, a hanging unit is an option. These models can be attached to the edge of many containers using a holder. A tall pot is also an option, as is a cool box, for example. In the last two years, a kind of subcategory has developed here, the so-called sous-vide sticks. They are very compact and can be bought for as little as 60 euros. Unfortunately, the market for these sticks has become extremely confusing, especially since many "manufacturers" offer identical devices that are simply labeled differently. In any case, it makes more sense to go for an established and popular model that may cost a few euros more but doesn't take hours to heat up a few liters of water. A slightly larger thermostat is a really space-saving and flexible option. Priced between 200 and around 250 euros, these models have more heating power than the sticks, a more powerful circulation pump and can also be used for larger containers if required. A large cool box with 30 liters of water is no longer a problem, so that a larger group can be supplied with steaks if required. Most sticks, on the other hand, are designed for five to ten liters.
The application
The disadvantage of all hanging solutions is that they logically protrude over the edge of their respective container. This sounds trivial, but it means that - unlike with basins - a tightly closing lid cannot be used. Half-closed covers not only allow heat to be lost, but sooner or later, depending on the temperature, they also cause puddles of condensation next to the container. So you can get plastic balls as sous-vide accessories that float on the water surface as a kind of insulator and minimize heat loss across the surface. This works quite well, but it is a bit cumbersome when emptying the basin on a regular basis.
Once you have decided on the right device, the next question arises almost automatically: Do I need a vacuum sealer? The answer is: You don't need one, but it would be practical. You can also use standard freezer bags for steaks, which you press out the air from under water in the sink or sous-vide bath and then seal them tightly - zipper bags are ideal in this case. The solution has the advantage that you can remove individual steaks as needed. The disadvantage is that it doesn't create a perfect vacuum. Incidentally, regardless of the vacuum sealer, you don't have to worry about the combination of plastic bag and warm or hot water. Good bags are temperature-resistant, and this is often explicitly stated on the packaging. The rest of the process is pretty simple. The meat goes into the water bath in the vacuum bag and can stay there for a few hours. You can salt it beforehand, some people put a few fresh herbs in the bag, for example in the form of a sprig of rosemary. How long you ultimately soak the meat depends on the situation.
At a party, it should have enough time to reach the desired temperature. So if you want to prepare 10 rump steaks, each weighing 300 grams, you will certainly not make a mistake by giving them two or three hours in water beforehand. A single T-bone steak, three to four centimeters thick, can be put under the 900 °C burner or simply on an ultra-hot grill after around 60 minutes. You sometimes read that meat has even been "bathed" for 24 or 48 hours. Long cooking times are ideal for very base cuts that have a lot of connective tissue. For example, you can use this method to texture a boiled fillet of beef so that it can later be carved into slices that are then briefly seared like classic steaks.
However, some caution is required here. With beef in particular, we are not yet at the stage where the connective tissue collagen dissolves. But too long in the bag can still lead to a rather mushy consistency, especially with very short-fibered meat; this is not uncommon with game in particular. Once the steak has acquired its crust in the top heat grill, it does not need to be cooked any further; it can be served straight away. With this method of preparation, there is no longer any reason to let the meat rest so that it "relaxes", which is otherwise rather controversial. But it is cooked very gently and, above all, evenly, which you can see when you cut it. Because a steak from the water bath has the desired degree of doneness over practically the entire cut surface, while one that is grilled in the classic way only gradually changes color from gray to pink from the outside to the inside.
Conclusion :
Sous-vide is essentially a cooking method in its own right, but can be an ideal addition to the grill, especially for steak lovers. Buying a water bath makes a lot of sense, especially in combination with a top heat grill or a high-temperature zone. Of course, a thermostat and basin invite you to try out other things. Here too, as the example of the boiled tip shows, something good can come out of it. Whether you end up using all the possibilities of such a device is a matter of taste. Whether it is desirable for a real griller to make pulled pork using sous-vide is another matter. What works very well with the water bath, however, is keeping warm or warming up that very BBQ speciality.