Garlic Herb Butter Sous Vide Steak Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Should I put butter in with my sous vide steak? ›

Our preference is to place butter into the bag itself, rather than on top of the product. Butter added to the bag will help with air displacement, prevent things from sticking together and help to retain shape, and can also be used afterwards for a pan sauce. Butter also works really well for vegetable dishes.

Coarse sea salt + black pepper– you salt your steak before you place it in the sous vide. Be sure you use both coarse salt and pepper rather than finely ground. Fresh herbs- we used a combination of rosemary, thyme, and oregano for this recipe. You can use one or all of these herbs.

Season the steaks generously on both sides with salt and pepper. Smash 4 of the garlic cloves with the side of a knife to flatten. Place each steak in a vacuum bag, add 2 of the smashed garlic cloves and 1 of the rosemary sprigs to each bag, and vacuum seal closed.

The main issue is that the meat doesn't actually absorb any flavor from the butter. In fact, the butter can actually pull some fat-soluable compounds out of the meat, reducing the flavor slightly.

Q: Can I add aromatics, like herbs or alliums, to the sous vide bag? Yes, you can. I like to add thyme or rosemary sprigs, along with sliced shallots or garlic cloves, to the bags with my steaks during cooking. Adding the same aromatics to the pan as you sear the steaks will bolster that flavor.

Once a good initial sear has developed on both sides of the meat, add unsalted butter to the pan along with aromatics. A garlic clove or two, or a halved shallot, are both good ideas, as are woodsy herbs like thyme or sage. The butter will melt and the herbs and aromatics will infuse the fat with their flavor.

Season steaks generously with salt and pepper. Place in sous vide bags along with herbs, garlic, and shallots (if using) and distribute evenly. Seal bags and place in water bath for desired time according to charts.

Seasonings – coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper is all that was used for this reverse-seared steak. Herbs – I used fresh thyme sprigs to enhance the flavor of the steak during the sous vide and searing process.

The short answer is that it's very tough to predict exactly how spices are going to react in a sous-vide bag. I've found that if I want spice flavor, it's better to rub the spices into the meat after the sous-vide cooking phase and before the final searing phase.

Naturally occurring sulfur in the garlic interacts with those enzymes, occasionally turning it slightly green or blue. Sometimes the color change happens, sometimes it doesn't. Shifts in temperature, pH, and the age of the garlic can also come into play, so heating it or mixing it with acid might have some affect.

Why not sous vide garlic? ›

It's normally harmless, which is why you don't hear any concerns over garlic in the vast majority of recipes, but in warm and low-oxygen conditions like those present in sous vide, it starts to form the spores that cause botulism.

Don't panic, this is normal and totally edible! This colour change is due to a chemical reaction between the garlic and the lactic acid in the fermentation. Find out more about lactic acid fermentation in our Guide to Lacto-Fermentation.

This is because garlic can have botulism bacteria on it which thrive in low oxygen environments, such as a sous vide bag. This is typically a concern when you are canning or making infused oils, but it can also be an issue in sous vide cooking because most of the oxygen is removed from the bag.

If you're not careful about cooking times (as specified by the product manufacturer), your food can become contaminated. In addition, if your food is not properly vacuum sealed, or your food becomes contaminated during prep, cooking sous-vide poses an additional threat.

“Since the cannabis and oil or butter are sealed and placed under water to infuse, there's no smell. There's also no need to babysit a stovetop or an open flame, and you can make multiple infusions at once.” Lo cooks her infused fats sous vide at 185°F for four hours.

(See note below for temperature and timing charts, or find the same charts here.) Season steaks generously with salt and pepper. Place in sous vide bags along with herbs, garlic, and shallots (if using) and distribute evenly.

Add the steak to and sear on the first side until golden brown, about 1 minute. Flip the steak and add the butter and thyme to the pan. As the butter melts, tilt the pan and spoon the butter over the steak until the steak is well-browned on both sides, about 1 minute.

It's one of those techniques that all chef's learn but actually don't do much if anything. Putting butter garlic and herbs in the pan will flavour the steak from under and around, you don't need to scoop it on top because you'll flip the steak anyway.