In anticipation of my purchase, I was thrilled to find a skirt steak to serve as my first edible guinea pig.  I took the meat and put it directly into the bag, not realizing that I had already made a mistake.

I added a few springs of thyme, a bay leaf, some solidified bacon grease, garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Then came the fun part—the vacuum seal—which was the point when I realized that I had already screwed up! The meat was fresh, and therefore pretty wet.  In order to get a good vacuum seal, it’s important that the meat is as dry as possible.  Some sites recommend freezing the meat first, and suddenly I understood why as the vaccum quickly began to suck up the juices.  I spot the “manual seal” button and furiously punched it. I was saved, or so I thought.

I put the meat in at 134 degrees, as the Sous Vide Supreme recommended.  Since 135 is rare, and I would be searing the meat afterward, this seemed logical enough.  I left it in for 14 hours, seared the meat (or at least attempted to; I found this to be difficult considering how wet the meat was), the deglazed the pan with the juices from the vacuum bag—which were considerable.  I rested the meat while the sauce reduced and I whisked in some butter and crème fraiche.

The result?  It was one of the toughest steaks I’ve ever had.  For some reason, I thought my awesome improvising skills would include being a sous vide know-it-all with out having so much as gelled an egg.  Ever since I was very little I have had a way of just throwing things together and making them taste good—a skilled I honed even further in culinary school.  But sous vide cooking is hardly the place for imrpovisiatin.

When my husband and I bit into the skirt steak, I almost couldn’t tell if it was under or over-cooked.  One thing was for certain though: it was not cooked well.

My husband remarked, “Maybe it’s just a bad, tough cut of meat.”

To which I responded, “There are no bad cuts of meat; only bad technique.”

After a few google searches that I should have done a day earlier, it turns out that it was under-cooked.  I should have left it in for at least 24 hours, and 131 would have been a better temperature.  I knew that this way of cooking would be slow, but I think I may have underestimated how much planning it takes to prepare a meal a few days in advance.  That will take some getting used to, but it should stream-line my shopping once I do.

There was one bright note though—even though the texture of the meat was terrible, the flavor was very good, even after chewing the same piece for a full minute just to swallow it safetly.  Also, the sauce was excellent—meaty and with more essence of fresh thyme than I’ve ever found in my sauces prepared the traditional way, despite the fact that I used fewer springs than normal.

Clearly, I’ve got a lot to learn!