This is a small section of a comprehensive illustration of sous vide cooking prepared by the French Culinary Institute on their Cooking Issues blog.
Percy Bysshe Shelley, a militant vegetarian, wrote, “It is only by softening and disguising dead flesh by culinary preparation that it is rendered susceptible of mastication or digestion, and that the sight of its bloody juices and raw horror does not excite intolerable loathing and disgust.”
This kind of writing just whets the appetite of modern carnivores, many of whom appreciate “bloody juices and raw horror.”
But how best to prepare such rare cuts of meat?
Since sous vide cooking provides precise control over cooking temperatures, questions such as “How rare is rare” need good answers.
Fortunately, the Internet provides some guidance. Let’s do a few quick searches…
Steak Enthusiast proposes the following degrees of doneness for beef steaks:
rare: 140°F (60°C), center of the steak is very red and cool
medium rare: 150°F (65°C), center of the steak is red and warm
medium: 160°F (71°C), center of the steak is pink and hot
medium well: 165°F (74°C), center of the steak is pinkish and hot
well done: 170+°F (77+°C), steak is thoroughly cooked
About.com offers these:
rare: 120° – 130°F (49° – 54°C), center of the steak is bright red and warm
medium rare: 130° – 135°F (54° – 57°C), center of the steak is warm and pink
medium: 140° – 150°F (60° – 66°C), center of the steak has band of light pink
medium well: 155° – 165°F (68° – 74°C), center of the steak has hint of pink
well done: 170+°F (77+°C), steak is thoroughly cooked
goodcooking.com identifies these:
rare: 120°F (49°C), center of the steak is bright red and cool to warm
medium rare: 126°F (52°C), center of the steak is warm and red
medium: 135°F (57°C), center of the steak is hot and pink
medium well: 145°F (63°C), center of the steak has slight color
well done: 160+°F (71+°C), steak is thoroughly cooked
This is not very helpful. Rare apparently ranges from 120° – 140°F (49° – 60°C). And medium spans a range from 135° – 160°F (57° – 71°C).
Common sense suggests that the guidelines offered by goodcooking.com provide the best advice, since their temperature ranges for rare and medium rare are more precisely defined.
There’s one way to find out: try cooking at these temperatures.
Here’s a mind-boggling view of 14 pieces of hanger steak cooked in vacuum bags for 20 minutes at temperatures ranging from 122°F (50°C) to 162°F (72°C), courtesy of Cooking Issues, the French Culinary Institute blog. (If you’re fascinated, here’s their higher-resolution PDF.) This is, of course, the source for the image at the top of this page.
Incidentally, many cooks choose to finish their sous-vide steaks in a hot frying pan to brown them.
If you choose to do this, heat a cast iron frying pan on high for at least five minutes.
You can add butter or oil to the pan to prevent sticking, or omit the oil.
Brown the steak for one minute on each side, pressing down slightly with kitchen tongs to achieve even color.
Don’t leave the steak in the pan for more than two minutes total, or you’ll overcook it.
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