Recipe: Sous Vide Pork Steak

Ingredients

• 1 pork steak (or as many as your sous vide container can fit), preferably cut about 1 1/2-inch to 2 inches thick
• Kosher salt
• Barbecue sauce of your choice

Method

1. Set the sous vide temperature to 149 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Season the pork steak(s) liberally with salt. Use 1.5 percent of the weight of the meat to determine your salt amount, so 16 ounces of meat would require 1/4 ounce (or 7 grams) of salt. Brush a thin coat of barbecue sauce onto the meat, and place it in a sous vide bag. I use a vacuum sealer, but this method with a plastic bag and a sink full of water works too. Submerge the sealed bag of meat into the water and leave it alone. You will have to add more water every 6-8 hours or so to replace what's lost through evaporation. Flip the meat around at the halfway point if it makes you feel better, but there's no need if it's fully submerged in the water.
3. Once the meat is done, after 24 or 28 hours depending on your tenderness preference, take it out of the water and place the bag on a plate to rest the meat for an hour. Just before the hour is up, heat up the broiler and coat a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Once the meat is rested, cut the bag open and remove it. There is liquid in the bag. You can strain it and save it for bean or soup stock, or reduce it for a sauce. But a warning for the latter: the sauce will have an unpredictable amount or salt. Blot the surface of the meat dry, place it onto the foiled baking sheet, and put it under the broiler.
4. Watch the pork steak(s) under the broiler. The fat will start bubbling first, then the meat. Let it get nice and brown before flipping it and repeating the same process on the other side. Once the pork has been browned, brush a solid coating of barbecue sauce on the surface of the meat. Brown it again, and repeat the brushing and browning on the other side. It's ready to slice and serve as soon as the browning is complete. Serve it with a dish of the warmed barbecue sauce, or pour a little sauce on the serving plate and put the sliced meat on top to warm it.