Perfect Steak

I love a nice steak cooked just right on a campfire. My success rate has been about 50%. I have used a couple of different methods. For rare or medium rare I usually get a nice hot fire and sear each side for about 5-7 minutes. When I cut it open it is usually dark brown near the surface and rapidly turns red and sometimes will go to raw in the middle. Method two I use for a more medium well to well done steak. Lower the heat and try to heat up the middle to about 160 degrees without cooking all the tenderness out of the steak. So frustrating.

Now I get perfect results every time from rare to well done.

As you can see by the chart above that the difference between rare and medium is only 20 degrees. And since you are using 400-500 to heat the outside, the surface will be at 160 in 5 minutes while the center is just getting started. This leaves you with a inconsistent cook.

Enter temperature control

For the last year or so I have been using a method of cooking that some the finest restaurants use to deliver a great crust and a pink center from top to bottom. Its called sous-vide. Here’s how it works. You purchase a precision cooker. This unit is placed into a pot of water, then you set the temperature according to wh

at level of doneness you want you steak to be. The steaks are placed in waterproof zipper bags and put into the water and clipped to the side of the pot.

Cooking Time Guide

It is important that you do not leave your steak cooking to long. While there is a huge margin for error with sous-vide, your protein will start breaking down if cooked to long. I recommend a steak an inch to an inch and a half thick. Choose a nice rib-eye or tenderloin. Don’t worry about the cost per pound, chances are your serving size is going to be around six to eight ounces which will only be two dollars more for the good stuff. When the pot of water is up to temp the cooker will beep. Place the steaks in the pot and cook for one to two hours. After cooking is finished, remove the steaks form the plastic bag a pat them dry. Finish them off with a very high heat to scorch the surface. This can be an open fire, (my favorite) a hot fry pan, or even a torch.

Let’s Eat!

Only thing left is to set the table, say a blessing, and cut into the best steak you have ever had. You can also use this type of cooking to cook other cuts of meats like roasts. For this use the well done temperature and adjust the cooking time to the weight of the roast. You can also cook eggs, vegetables, chicken and fish.

You most likely will need shore power for this type of cooking as the precision cooker is about 800 watts. That’s only half the needed power of your crock pot or microwave.

This cooking takes a little planning, is easy to setup, practically cooks without your intervention and produces amazingly consistent results.