Perfection

I think I can prepare a pretty mean steak. I've scoured the internet for a variety of methods to create the best steak indoors, as well as on the grill. I have heated my cast iron pan to scorching temperatures to get the perfect sear resulting in my smoke detectors beeping loudly.

One of the things that I have always had trouble with is getting that perfect medium rare doneness in the middle. Sometimes I reach near perfection, other times I cook it a minute too long. I think the natural progression of my cooking leads to sous vide - cooking in vacuum sealed bag in a perfectly controlled water bath. This would allow my steaks to rich that perfect medium rareness I so desire. The drawback, the cheapest sous vide machine is $450, putting out of my budgetary reach. As a result, one day soon, I am going to have to test the poor man's method of using a beer cooler and heated water. I look forward to posting about it.

In the meantime:

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/03/sous-vide-steaks-recipe.html

http://internetfoodassociation.com/2010/05/16/sous-vide/