Beef Ribs Cooked En Sous Vide - 135 F for 48 Hours

Step 5 Sear the Outside of the Meat

The meat is now fully cooked, but it won't smell done because it's not seared. Seared meat smells good. There's something deep in our genes that tells us to kill animals, cook them with fire, and eat as much as possible because those high-quality calories will make us more likely to reproduce. Or something really close to that.

Searing temperatures are much higher than cooking temperatures, especially sous vide cooking temperatures. If you bring an entire piece of meat to searing temperatures, it will be overcooked and dry, so you only want to sear the outside. This way you get all those nice Maillard reaction products and seared-meat smells on the surface, and perfectly-cooked meat on the inside.

Here, I'm using a propane torch to sear the outside of the beef ribs. Briefly pan frying them in hot oil, or putting them on a hot grill also works. Note that we're only talking a minute or so - this really is just for surface effects.

Comments

[jeff-o]

I'd be tempted - as you mentioned - to pop the ribs onto a propane grill set to High for this final step.

[devineDIY]

Yep- this works perfectly- just don't forget them!