Sous Vide New York Strip Steak

November 15, 2017

Sous Vide New York Strip Steak

New York strip is the steakhouse cut from the short loin - well marbled, with a firm chew and a wide fat cap running along one edge. Cooking it sous vide means holding the steak in a precisely controlled water bath until it’s cooked through edge to edge, then finishing it in a screaming-hot pan just long enough to build a crust. There’s no gray, overcooked ring under the surface the way there often is with a straight pan or grill sear, because the interior is never above the water bath’s temperature to begin with.

The water bath does the real work. An immersion circulator holds the steak at a set medium-rare temperature for one to several hours, so the exact timing stops mattering much - pull it at the one-hour mark or the three-hour mark and it comes out the same doneness either way. That forgiveness is the whole appeal: the steak can’t overcook while it’s in the bag, only while it’s in the pan, and the pan step takes about a minute.

What comes out of the bath is a steak that’s the same rosy pink from edge to center, with none of the tapering bands of gray-brown, pink, and red you get from conventional cooking. The sear adds color, crust, and the browned, nutty flavor of butter basted over the top in the last seconds - flavor and texture the water bath alone can’t give it, since 55°C (131°F) is far too low to brown anything.

Sous vide steak is a modern technique, not a heritage recipe - home immersion circulators only became affordable and common in the last fifteen or so years, borrowed from restaurant kitchens that used the method for consistency at scale. It’s become a favorite for entertaining specifically because the steaks can be seasoned and bagged days ahead, then dropped in the bath and forgotten about until it’s time to sear and serve, which takes the last-minute pressure off a dinner built around expensive steaks. Serve it the way you’d serve any good steak dinner - with roasted or mashed potatoes, a simple green salad, or creamed spinach on the side.

Ingredients

Serves 4

4 New York strip steaks, 2.5–4 cm thick (about 300–350 g each)
3 tsp kosher salt
black pepper, freshly ground, to taste
4–6 sprigs fresh thyme (or rosemary), optional
2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed, optional
2 tbsp neutral oil (canola, vegetable, or avocado), for searing
2 tbsp unsalted butter, for basting

Directions

Set an immersion circulator in a large pot of water to 131°F (55°C) for medium-rare. Pat the steaks dry and season generously on all sides with the salt and pepper.

Slide each steak into its own vacuum bag or zip-top bag along with a share of the thyme and garlic, if using. Vacuum-seal the bags, or, for zip-top bags, lower them into the water and let the water pressure push the air out before sealing just above the waterline.

Lower the bagged steaks into the water bath and cook for 1 to 2 hours. The bath holds them safely for up to 4 hours without pushing the doneness past medium-rare, which is the real advantage of cooking this way - the steak reaches temperature and then just sits there instead of drifting past it.

When you’re ready to eat, pull the steaks out of the bags and pat them completely dry with paper towels. A wet steak won’t take a crust, so don’t skip this step.

Heat the oil in a heavy cast-iron or stainless-steel skillet over your highest burner until it’s just short of smoking. Add the steaks and sear, flipping every 15 to 30 seconds, for about 1 to 1½ minutes total, pressing the fat cap against the side of the pan for a few seconds to render it. Add the butter partway through the last 30 seconds and tilt the pan to spoon the foaming butter over the steaks as they finish.

Rest the steaks for a minute or two - a long rest isn’t necessary here, since the inside is already evenly warm all the way through from the bath. Slice against the grain if you’re serving the steaks sliced, and spoon the browned butter from the pan over the top.

Notes

For rare, drop the bath to 125°F (52°C); for a more rendered fat cap, go up to 135°F (57°C). If you set the bath below 130°F (54°C), keep the total cooking time under 2.5 hours for food safety.
Flipping the steaks every 15 to 30 seconds during the sear builds a thicker, more even crust than one long sear per side, without a gray band forming underneath it.
The steaks can be seasoned and bagged up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated, or frozen, so the active cooking on the day is just the water bath and a quick sear.