Sous Vide Vs. Reverse Sear: Which Method Yields The Better Steak?

[Snazzylass]

Frank Ostini's "Magic Dust" available at the Hitching Post in Buellton, CA is the steak seasoning for me.

Naw, LOL! Though I am a fan of smoked flavoring if that's what it's called

 

[Snazzylass]

If you go to any of the best-of lists of the top steakhouses in America, you can find one I used to work at. (I've worked at several.) One of them didn't bother with vacuum sealing and tossed all their beef for the evening in immersion circulators filled with butter. The others did the herbs/butter and seasoning vacuum sealing trick.
Either is better than just salt. And it must be done early in the process because anything added just before searing is just going to turn to carbon.

I've been in the kitchen at Ruth's Chris. Recall seeing the Aged beef but not much else.

 

[ScoopKona]

I've been in the kitchen at Ruth's Chris. Recall seeing the Aged beef but not much else.

Ruth's Chris puts out quality dishes. But their top end is just about where the places I worked on the Strip started. The last steak house started out at $85 for their least expensive cut of beef and went up from there. And that didn't include any side dishes. Any extras cost basically what other steakhouses charge for a full meal.

Throwing away the places which pile on a mountain of foie gras and truffles to boast "the most expensive steak in Las Vegas," the high end tops out at about $250 for a single steak. And yes, it's worth it. Just like there's a big difference between a $20 bottle of wine and a $200 bottle. You'll always get the people who demand "it's just protein" or "it's just alcohol" -- so why spend any more?

All chains suffer from the same problem compared to the independents -- they want the dish to taste exactly the same, everywhere in the country. The independents want the best possible quality, who cares how they do it in Topeka?

That operational philosophy makes a big difference. In both the quality of the meal, and the total of the check at the end.