This sous vide flank steak is tender, succulent, and juicy, and it pairs perfectly with a creamy peppercorn sauce.
Using the sous vide method to cook the flank steak yields perfectly tender, medium rare meat every time!
That’s the beauty of sous vide cooking. You can take a tough cut of meat (like flank steak or this sous vide lamb) and cook it to melt-in-your-mouth perfection without it ever being over- or under-done.
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WHAT IS SOUS VIDE?
Sous vide cooking involves vacuum sealing your food and cooking it in a temperature-controlled water bath. Cooking in this manner makes it nearly impossible to overcook anything.
You can prepare food exactly the way you want it every time. Restaurants have used it for a long time, and companies are now introducing home cook versions.
WHY SOUS VIDE WORKS SO WELL FOR FLANK STEAK
Sous vide is a culinary technique that is commonly used in fine dining establishments but has recently gained popularity among home cooks as well.
The technique, which translates as “under vacuum,” entails cooking vacuum-sealed foods in a temperature-controlled water bath.
As a result, the meat is extremely tender and consistently cooked. As a result, sous vide cooking tenderizes even the toughest cuts of meat.
Grass-fed meats, which tend to be tougher, and flank steak work especially well with this technique.
The constant temperature and long cook time allow enough time for the collagen and fat in the steak to liquefy without overcooking it. As a result, every time you cook, the meat is consistently tender and flavorful.
PACKAGING
Putting ingredients in an airtight bag or container is an important part of sous vide cooking.
Vacuum sealing and the water displacement method are the two most common methods for packaging your ingredients.
A vacuum sealer uses a vacuum to remove all of the air and seal the contents of a plastic bag.
Making sure the food is airtight and properly sealed keeps the bag from floating, which can lead to uneven cooking.
The displacement method entails placing your food and marinades in a sous vide bag, submerging the bag in a container of water, and allowing the pressure to force all the air out of the bag.
Both of these methods work for this recipe, so choose the one that suits you best!
FLANK STEAK TIME AND TEMPERATURE
After much trial and error, we discovered that cooking asian marinated flank steak at 54C/129F for 2 hours is the ideal combination.
Two hours of cooking time breaks down the connective tissue (collagen), resulting in extremely tender, juicy beef.
Furthermore, cooking the steak at 129F ensures that the beef is a beautiful medium rare with great texture.
Just make sure you have a dependable sous vide that accurately regulates the bath temperature, or your results may vary (check out the Anova or Joule).
Despite the fact that this is our preferred time and temperature, we recommend that you experiment with different combinations to find your personal favorite.
Our cooking guide can always assist you in determining the ideal time and temperature.
CAN YOU SOUS VIDE FROZEN STEAK?
The short answer is, of course! Cooking frozen foods sous vide is a quick and easy way to prepare your protein.
Simply remove the food from the fridge, repackage it (unless you know the bag is sous vide safe), and let the sous vide do its thing.
The only thing you’ll have to change is the cooking time. If you’re cooking frozen flank steak sous vide, we recommend adding an hour to the cook time, for a total of three hours.
HOW TO MAKE PEPPERCORN SAUCE
Reheat the skillet you used to cook the steak on medium heat while the steak rests. Cook for 1 minute after adding the brandy to deglaze (until the alcohol has burned off).
Bring the crushed peppercorns, salt, and beef broth to a simmer. Stir in the cream and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. If desired, season with additional salt.
BEST WAY TO SEAR BEEF AFTER SOUS VIDE
The most important step in the sous vide process is searing. Getting a deep, rich sear on your food can make it look Michelin-star worthy.
If you don’t, your dinner guests will wonder why they let you cook again. If you want an amazing sear on your steak, you must:
- Using a paper towel, completely dry the meat.
- Season liberally with salt or seasoning of choice.
- Extremely high temperatures are used to sear.
To begin, thoroughly dry the meat with paper towels. After the meat has dried, brush it lightly with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper or your favorite seasoning.
It’s worth noting that brushing with olive oil is optional, but it helps the seasoning stick to the meat and results in a deeper sear.
At this point, you should decide on the best searing method. We recommend pan searing, grilling, or using a searing torch for flank steak.
The trick is to heat up the pan, grill, or torch before searing for 1 to 2 minutes on each side. This produces a fast, high-quality sear without overcooking the steak.
TIPS FOR SOUS VIDE FLANK STEAK
- To seal your bags, use a vacuum sealer. To ensure that the steaks cook properly, remove all of the air from their packaging. That is why a vacuum sealer is essential for sous vide cooking.
- Make use of food-grade plastic bags designed specifically for sous vide cooking. Because the plastic is heated, you should be cautious about the bags you choose. As a result, use food-safe plastic that is free of BPA and phthalates. I use FoodSaver bags because they work well for sous vide, are BPA and phthalate free, and are made of food-safe polyethylene and nylon.
- Temperature is critical. Your immersion circulator maintains a constant temperature that is even and free of cold or hot spots, ensuring that your food cooks safely and evenly.
- To finish the steak, sear it. While sous vide flank steak is safe to eat as soon as it is removed from the water bath, searing it adds a nice caramelization and develops that delicious, rich crust.
- Your leftovers should be vacuum-sealed. Put your leftovers in a FoodSaver bag, vacuum seal it, and store it in the freezer for a quick meal later.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cook for 1 1/2 hours in a bath if the flank steak is 1/2 inch thick. Cook for 2 to 2 1/2 hours if the meat is thicker. FINISH GLAZING: While the meat is in the sous vide bath, bring the reserved marinade to a boil in a saucepan, reduce to medium heat, and cook until reduced and slightly thickened.
Slow cooking is an excellent way to prepare flank steak for a variety of dishes, including slow cooker flank steak tacos, steaks in gravy, Mongolian beef, and more. Slow cooking tenderizes the beef much more than other methods.
Sous vide cooking allows us to keep tough, collagen-heavy cuts of meat at lower temperatures for longer periods of time while still achieving the same tenderizing effect as braising.
Grilling flank steak is probably the best way to prepare it, but you can also pan-sear it in a skillet or broil it in the oven. The real trick is to keep your flank steak grill time as short as possible; this lean cut is best cooked rare, medium-rare, or medium.
Sous Vide Flank Steak Recipe [With Creamy Peppercorn Sauce]
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours and 5 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours and 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This sous vide flank steak is tender, succulent, and juicy, and it’s served with a creamy peppercorn sauce.
- 1 ½ – 2 pound flank steak
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Peppercorn Sauce:
- ¼ cup brandy
- ½ cup beef broth
- ½ cup heavy cream
- teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- 2 teaspoon whole peppercorn crushed
Instructions
- Clip the immersion circulator to the side of a large container (I prefer this sous vide container) and heat to 129F.
- Pat the flank steak dry and season with half the salt and pepper on both sides.
- Place in a plastic bag and seal with a vacuum sealer (I like to use a Foodsaver for the best results). To make it airtight, use a ziplock bag and slowly drop it into the water while sealing it.
- Place the bag in the water once the water has reached the proper temperature. If it floats, clip the bag to the side to keep the meat fully submerged in the water.
- 2 hours in the oven
- Remove the bag from the water and place it in an ice bath for 10 minutes.
- Take the beef out of the bag and pat it dry with paper towels. Season with the remaining salt and pepper to taste.
- Warm a skillet over high heat with a high smoke point oil (ghee is my favorite, but you can use vegetable oil, avocado oil or coconut oil).
- Sear the meat for 2 minutes per side, or until a brown crust forms on each side.
- Remove from the skillet and set aside for 10 minutes to cool. Serve it with the peppercorn sauce, sliced against the grain (below).
Peppercorn Sauce:
- Reheat the skillet you used to cook the steak on medium heat while the steak rests. Cook for 1 minute after adding the brandy to deglaze (until the alcohol has burned off).
- Bring the peppercorns, salt, and beef broth to a simmer.
- Stir in the cream and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. If desired, season with additional salt.
Notes
To cook evenly on all sides, the beef must be flat in the bag.
For cooking, make sure the plastic bag is airtight.
Before adding the beef to the skillet (or grill), make sure it’s searing hot – it should be smoking. This allows for the formation of a nice crust without overcooking the meat.
Instead of a skillet, the steak can be seared on the grill.
If you’re not going to sear the steak right away after removing it from the sous vide, cool it in ice water and store it in the fridge or freezer.
- Category: Beef
- Method: Sous Vide
- Cuisine: American, French
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 servings
- Calories: 457kcal
- Sugar: 1g
- Sodium: 1697mg
- Fat: 12g
- Saturated Fat: 12g
- Carbohydrates: 3g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 50g
- Cholesterol: 177mg
Keywords: Sous vide recipe, sous vide, sous vide beef flank recipe, beef flank sous vide
source: https://www.wenthere8this.com/sous-vide-flank-steak/