Peanut Butter Sous-Vide Steak? Nope. This is Better. 

Speaking from experience, surface area is a huge factor in imparting flavors doing sous vide. As you say, a garlic clove for example won't do anything, even if you crush it. Even mincing won't help much. However, if you puree the garlic, or even better use garlic powder, you can impart an intensely garlic flavor to the food. A trick I like to use when doing steaks is to add a pretty heavy amount of garlic chili paste to the bag, usually the huey fong brand (the same folks who make sriracha). It doesn't make the steak spicy, and you should clean it all off before searing, but it does give a strong and distinct flavor to the meat.

Thank you Helen for being there for me! I started sous vide using another channel on RU-vid and soon realised they were missing out some crucial steps; I could not emulate their results. Having found your channel I have now a talented lady to follow; every one of your posts is fantastic. I've learned a good deal of knowledge. Thank you.

#realcomment. Small lid. Pressing on the meat. What a great idea! Tried it last night. Low splatter, no retained moisture. Fast (FAST) browning. Thank you.

Tried using a bit of mayonnaise? This also provides an excellent crust and browning.

I think the soy sauce also contributes a lot. As a Chinese I grew up with dishes that use soy sauce, every time you add em in a hot pan the water’ll evaporate instantly, leaving behind a thick fond that coats the bottom of the pan

I was surprised by this video. I've been doing this for sous vide meats (mostly chicken) for quite a while. I also like to use sweet and sour sauce. My mustard sauce: 3 Tbsp Dry Mustard 2 Tbsp hot water 1 Tbsp Sesame Seeds (preferably toasted) 1/4 tsp Sesame Oil 3/4 cup Soy Sauce 1 clove Garlic, crushed Adding 3 Tbsp heavy cream makes this a wonderful dipping sauce. I omit the cream for sous vide. I feel a little bit bad for not sharing this sooner.

I thought I had all the nuances of sous vide down. You just made my day with this video! I stumbled onto your channel via your fresh pasta troubleshooting video. I subscribed, and I’m very excited to burn through your back catalogue! How do you not have at least 500k subs? You’re working on the same level as chefsteps and SE. Methods before recipes! I love it. Thanks so much!

Try 1 to 2 "eye dropper" drops of liquid smoke. Not to much! Remember it's concentrated smoke. I started salting, peppering, and adding liquid smoke to my ribeye. Sous vide then blow torch. Comes out amazing every time.

Maillard reaction occurs with amino acids AND reducing sugar (practically anything but sucrose or regular sugar). When you add regular sugar to your marinate, it burns easily because most of it only caramelise but doesn't undergo Maillard reaction.

All your sous-vide advice mirrors what I've learnt from personal experience and fills in all the gaps other places like Serious Eats have left out. Excellent content!

Most excellent information Helen, now I need to get the pomegranate molasses..thank you..

I bought all Ingrid nets and in sous vide now. You got me so exited lol to try this.. Thank you!

Thanks very much Helen, another enjoyable and educational video. I always learn something new when I watch you.

the emulsion is what makes it get the better color.. that is why people like to use the Mayo sear for more of a crust on steaks... Great video Helen!

Thank you so much. I wish I had you to explain chemistry in school 20 + years ago. I totally got it!

oh wow i recently bought both pomegranate molasses and zaatar blend.. what a coincidence i found this video! will be trying the same thing here shortly :)

Hi Helen, great tips! I suggest also playing around with asafetida powder used in a lot of indian cooking; gives a great char-broiled type umami flavor; a little goes a long way!

As always I greatly enjoyed this video and look forward to using it soon. Thanks for taking the time to produce them.

Helen, I’ve been cooking sous vide for some time now…we use the same machine btw. This presentation was very informative. I really love and appreciate your videos. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.

Thank you Helen

Thank you! My son wants to learn to do sous vide

Thanks Helen, I can't wait to try this.

@Adam Churvis Wow, Adam, I love your explanation. Helen, I had given up using sous vide years ago, I am now inspired to taking my Supreme out of mothball and give it another go.

(My marinade does not separate) The marinade for browning did a terrific job of browning chicken given that most of it was wiped off before the searing stage. My marinade did not separate even after a week of sitting in the refrigerator. That and subsequent batches have some sort of separation anxiety and they are not even pourable - I have to spoon out the marinade. I followed the ingredient amounts exactly (except for garlic and herbs) but I did not whisk the ingredients together. Instead, I gave the ingredients a vigorous shake in a small jar or an OXO salad dressing shaker. I first added the Dijon mustard, pomegranate molasses and soy to the shaker and stirred them together with a chop stick. I added half the amount of oil (quarter cup of sunflower oil), capped the container and shook it for about a minute. I then added the remaining oil (another quarter cup) and gave it another hearty shake. In some batches I used a very dark soy sauce (Pearl River Bridge) and in other batches I used Kikkoman light soy sauce. The only difference was that the marinade made with the light soy was the color of peanut butter while the marinade made with the dark soy was as dark as the soy. But as the marinade is removed before searing, this doesn’t seem to be too important.

Thanks - I'll try it! :)

I am absolutely mesmerized by how this lady talks. I don’t mean the accent, I mean the mannerisms. Okay, maybe the accent a little.

Better to use garlic powder than fresh garlic with sous vide.

Wonderful experience thanks

I watched it again and I'm exhausted!

I love za'atar especially when made with real hyssop - not common oregano and thyme - because I like that light tongue-numbing sensation. And of course the sumac is good for astringency. But the sesame seeds-must confess that they don't always work for looks and texture. So I've tended to like to make my own za'atar mix so that I can toast the sesame seeds a touch more-so a better flavor than most mixes I've found at local stores- and then I mortar/pestle before using if I don't want to see the sesame seeds on the final meat presentation.

2:32 great tip!

Some of these comments remind me of what my parents taught me: If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything. Good advice

I don't do sous vide but I've used the combination of finely ground turkish coffee and brown sugar as a base rub on pork for years, I'd really appreciate it if you could give me your thoughts on the combination. It also works well on both beef and chicken, but it makes the biggest difference on pork chops.

I think Serious Eats conducted some experiments with Peanut Butter and the results were less than satisfying among various tasters... I'm wondering about miso paste- you gte the umami and the saltiness without the sweatness of the peanut butter?

Really love the knowledge you deliver 👍 subbed

Helen, I'm a hopeless cook but I've just started sous vide in an attempt at self-improvement. I came across your channel today. Very good and inspiring! Pomegranate molasses are/is not available locally but I came across the recipe below. Do you think it would be worth trying? If pomegranate molasses is proving hard to find, buy a carton of pomegranate juice; you need four cups in a saucepan with half a cup of sugar and a tablespoon or two of lemon juice. Reduce over a low heat for an hour or until the liquid is thick, dark and syrupy

Thank you...love these mini lessons 💓💞💓

Makes sense my teriyaki glazed steaks came out way better than my bbq marinade looks like I’ll have to make some adjustments.

Question for you, Helen. If you cook something like pork chops using this glaze, and then you want to sear the pork chops on a grill, would you also use this glaze during the searing process on the grill?

Awesome video! Looking forward to try this!

This is really fascinating and I want to try it out! Thank you!

#realcomment I use a dry rub prior to bagging. Plenty of salt and sugar along with aromatics and heat. Things brown nicely. Will try your glaze, but have had better luck with dry vs liquid.

I am totally sold on sous vide beef. But I don't get sous-vide chicken, seems like it always comes out with a weird texture. There's something about rotisserie chicken fat that can't be duplicated. That said, Great video looking forward to experimenting.

Can anyone offer any alternative recipes that achieve similar results for those of us restricting carbs to

This is a game changer!

Thanks for the tips, Helen! Looking forward to trying it out. Please keep these videos coming and if you ever get a chance, check out some of the sous vide videos we are creating. Would love some feedback.

That’s really good advice! I was actually considering making sous vide Chinese pork belly, with the same ingredients I’d normally use in a slow cooker. The pork fat might make them act as a glaze right? Anyway I now feel confident I should give it a try!

It seems like you should be able to sear your protein on a very hot grill since the juices simply fall through the grating.

Hi Helen, do you have any concern cooking raw garlic sous vide ? I've read that there is a concern for botulism when cooking raw garlic so I've moved to powdered garlic instead and find that the flavor is even better.

Time for the Souvide Everything guys to try it out!

The torch works for me. I do chill it first. That, and liquid smoke before applying dry rub. It's no secret that sugar turns into a crust. Sugar is what I guessed. For me, that's a keto no-no.

Thank you Helen, absolutely my answer for browning my meats. Now where to purchase here in the UK ?? Well done.

Question, not related to browning, but to Sous-Vide. I have made mozzarella cheese at home, the milk also needs to reach and maintain a constant temperature. Do you think this could be done with this method?

Cooking temperature 141F (60.5C) for 1 hour 4:46

I just discovered your channel and boy oh boy am I glad I did!!! I have been cooking sous-vide for several years and had no idea about several of the improvements you discuss. Thank You!!! I wonder if you have any specific recipes or ideas for sous-vide venison (a staple in my kitchen)?

Helen-Your energy and intellect are insane! My mind boggles-what do you do for fun?

Thank you for replying so quick, l will give it a go and let you know how it works 👍😘

fantastic video! only problem, i have to buy everything except soy sauce, lol

My favorite is coating the chicken in oat flour before frying!

Helen, can you use balsamic vinegar (or reduction) instead of the pomegranate molasses? Thanks for this amazing technique!

Is there any benefit of marinading with butter milk or yogurt first? Thank you for the wonderful videos

Looks great. Quick questions: 1. I'd like to try this with turkey breasts (most likely two breasts tied into a roll with string). How much marinade should I use? 2. I don't get a good vacuum seal when I use liquids. Does this marinade freeze well? (Adding an ice cube of marinade doesn't interfere with the vacuum seal.) Thanks!!!

How well will this glaze work as an (unintentional) marinade? If I vacuum bag my proteins with this glaze on the weekend and don't get around to sous vide cooking until later in the week, does it positively or negatively affect the meat? Or does that depend on the type of meat? What if I sous vide cook on the weekend and leave it chilled still in the bag until later in the week to brown later?

#realcomment Do we still need to do real comments? Either way; I usually go like 3-4 cloves of garlic, a ton of pepper, salt, a sprig of rosemary and a bunch of thyme and I precook that all in a pan with butter. I have found that raw garlic sous vide doesn't ever really change flavor and it keeps it's oniony bite. I've also found sous vide really dilutes the flavor of whatever you put in the bag with the meat (except rosemary) so I go very heavy on sauces or herbs. One time I made sous vide pork belly with this bright and delicious beer based sauce that was very strong in flavor. When it was done though it tasted like a porkchop, I'm going to try it again some day but with like 3x the sauce. Of course, none of this addresses the browning issues, but I am a little apprehensive about adding sugar to a steak.

Thanks for the video. I have pretty much saved my life by adopting a keto diet. Is there a variation on your marinade and process that will give most of the positive results without the sugar?

#realcomment Will give this a try Helen for my next sous-vide chicken! Looking forward to it having used your glaze successfully before with BBQ chicken!

Have you experimented with baking soda? Higher pH lowers the activation temperature of the Maillard reaction.

Pomegranate molasses alternative?

Thanks for the videos Helen! I wait patiently for each new release. Keep them coming. The glazed chicken breasts browned very well in the skillet. Did you test it on the grill?

congrats on 100k

Can’t wait to try that! My diet of only chicken breasts and salad might just stand a chance this week haha

Great video Helen. I wonder if regular molasses would work the same.

Hi Helen! Would you say marinating the chicken before would produce much better results? Also, would it be also good using normal molasses? Thank you and I love your channel!

What are your recommendation about Sous Vide Beef Steaks? Same as chicken?

Freeze before you broil it? Did anybody ever try it?

Could you list your browning sauce somewhere. I keep watching the video every time I make it

So you add the glaze to the sous vide bag and cook, then when it is done let it rest for 10 minutes to stop oozing and pat dry. Then brown in oil or more glaze?

Isn't there this thing with making the surface more alkaline in order to speed up the Maillard reaction? So, perhaps using baking soda in the bag might help as well ...

Helen - Must you use sous vide, or marinate your meat in this sauce for some period of time, for this to work? Or can you just take a piece of meat, and either dip it in this sauce, or just brush this sauce on, say, a hamburger patty, and then grill/fry it? And will it work with just about any type of meat?

What if you season the chicken breast without Sous Vide and just brown and put in the oven or vice versa?

Will this work with steaks?

Not cheating - cooking!

Great video. Zaatar is its own plant, it is not a mix of other stuff, if you have real zaatar that is.

Any way to get gravy when cooking meat Sous vide?

Hello. I'm new to cooking. Can I substitute plain molasses for the pomegranate ? My local store did not have any.

I used on lamb rack and it browns very well however, it feels like it took some of the lamb flavor away. I read that you should use oil in sous vide because it leeches flavor from the meat. Any other alternative I can use for the oil? Can I just water to dilute a little?

Can we sear it before putting it in a bag?

Hi Helen, I've made your grilling sauce and I love it. However ... when I put it into the fridge, the oil solidifies (as good oils do). I use avocado oil as my all-purpose oil for health and flavor (none!) reasons, but should I be using something different in this sauce? Or do I just have to remember to take it out early so it warms to room temperature before I use it? Thanks!

Would searing the chicken before SV make a difference in flavor?

2:43 Glaze

Any ideas of a substitution for pomegranate molasses? Not available in my country...

XO Sauce

First, everybody forget everything ever about what you have learned about smell and taste because it's 100% wrong, even if you are a scientist! My GF and some other in her family do not have any sense of smell, not the slightest hint of smell! My GF can't tell you if she is standing in the middle of a bakery or in a pile of manure, she has no idea if you have brewed coffee or de-calking with vinegar. BUT she has an amazing sense of taste, she is a bit of an expert when it's about food, no chance of tricking her with any apple, seasoning or anything she should not be able to taste! She has even better ability to distinguish well-made food from amateur than anyone else I know. So no, a person can taste things that everybody "knows" we can't taste. So when you make food, please do as if everything can be tasted! :-)

I watch your videos just to hear your voice.

I am confused that you are claiming acid aids Browning...it has lo g been held that raising the On enhancers browning.

Hi Helen, could l substitute the pomegranate molasses for natural date syrup :))

soy sauce give u that grilled flavor when caramelized.

Is this method Guga proved? 🤔🤣

Browning sugar is not the Same as mallard reaction

"Soy sauce gives us sugar" Huh? Since when? No -ose ingredients in soy sauce. Ever. 🤔