Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)

Sous-vide Warm Aged T-Bone Steak

When I prepared a Bistecca alla Fiorentina in January to celebrate Conor’s board, there were two things I put on my to do list: (1) to try this with real Chianina beef from Tuscany, and (2) to try to ‘warm age’ the t-bone steak first to make it more tender and to make it easier to cook it evenly. I then went on to other things, also because I didn’t know how to get my hands on Chianina beef. Then within the same week, Jo posted about a real Bistecca alla Fiorentina using Chianina beef, and I found a source for it in the Netherlands. I decided to to try the warm aging trick with a ‘regular’ T-bone steak first before trying it on the expensive Chianina. I did this before we left on our culinary tour of Italy, and took the photos with me on my laptop so I could post about this along the way.

DSC04142
As it happens, we were in Jo’s neck of the woods yesterday, and we stopped by to meet her. She treated us to very good ice cream and showed us the sights of Frascati. Jo was exactly like I expected her to be: very warm, funny, and entertaining. It seemed like we had known each other for years and it was a pity we had to leave again very soon. We didn’t have time for any cooking, but that’ll happen some other time. Back to warm aging the T-bone steak.

DSC06437
As a tribute to Conor, here is a gratuitous shot of the T-bone steak, naturally presented on Conor’s beautiful board.
DSC06439
I rubbed the T-bone steak with salt and extra virgin olive oil.

DSC06443
Then I vacuum sealed it.

DSC06438
I ‘aged’ it sous-vide. First 90 minutes at 39.5C/104F followed by 90 minutes at 49.5C/121F.

DSC06459
This is what it looked like after the warm aging, with very minimal loss of juices.

DSC06463
I patted the T-bone steak dry with paper towels for better browning.

DSC06466
I then browned it quickly on hot char coal, only a couple of minutes per side. Remember that the beef already had a core temperature of 49.5C/121F when it was put on the grill, so this is only for browning.

DSC06469
Isn’t it a beauty?

DSC06474
Look how great it looks inside.

DSC06475
Only the very outer edge is browned. It was delicious!

When I’m back home, I’ll order the Chianina for the real thing and I will prepare it just like this.

Flashback


Scampi tartare with apple is all about obtaining very fresh scampi and good presentation. Scampi are so photogenic, that not much is needed for a nice look.

12 thoughts on “Sous-vide Warm Aged T-Bone Steak”

  1. This is a wonderful way to prepare tender and juicy steak. It’s cooked to perfection and the grill gives it that delicious smoky flavor without fear of overcooking. We recently had one of our bull calves processed and some of the cuts are a little chewy. Do you think this process would help with that?

    Like

    Reply

    1. Hi Lindy, thanks for visiting and the nice compliment.
      This process would indeed work if the cuts are a little chewy. For very chewy cuts such as short ribs or brisket, you would need to cook them 48 hours at 55C/131F to get them tender. This is for a young animal (or wagyu), for regular beef 57C/135F is needed.
      Hope this helps!
      Stefan

      Like

      Reply

  3. Seriously perfect. The best steak I have seen anywhere ever – you could sell those on Ebay. Well you couldn’t but it would be nice if you could.

    Like

    Reply

  5. Hi! Thanks for the post. Was wondering why you cook the steak at 2 different temperature? Can’t wait to try your method. I have always did it for 4 hours at 120. Thanks in advance.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Hi, the two temperatures are because there are two enzymes naturally in beef that tenderizes it. One of the enzymes works best at the first temperature, the second one at the second temperature (the first one will be inactive at that temperature). I have never tried a side-by-side, but using the two temperatures should give more benefit of the first enzyme.

      Like

      Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.