very appealing about that sizzling crust you get just as the steak comes off the heat, and I have to restrain myself while letting it rest Cooking a steak sous-vide can help a great deal in this department: because there is no large temperature gradient built up inside, you do not need to wait for temperatures to normalize—they’re normalized to begin with! The only gradient that builds is during the brief searing stage, which only requires a few moments of resting Still, this is enough time for some of that crackling crust to disappear Wouldn’t it be great if there was a single technique that gave us the best of both worlds? Well, fortunately for us, there is The trick is to allow the steak to rest normally, and then, just before serving, reheat its fatty pan drippings until they’re smoking hot and pour them over the steak The steak will sizzle and crisp, while the interior stays perfectly well-rested and juicy Adding some aromatics to those pan drippings is never a bad idea, and re-collecting them after pouring them over the steak and serving them alongside the steak in a little heated pitcher gives you a built-in sauce right there This method will work for any steak or chop, not just those cooked sous-vide I propose that the resters and nonresters of the world now unite over some juicy, crusty, sizzling steaks to celebrate FATS AND AROMATICS A few quick tests proved that aromatics added to the sous-vide bag do indeed flavor the meat as it cooks But would adding a fat like oil or butter to the bag help as well? For this test, the aromatics consisted of sprigs of thyme and a sliced garlic clove I placed just the steak, thyme, and garlic in one bag, and I placed the same ingredients along with 2 tablespoons butter in a second bag My hope was that as the butter melted, it would pick up all the fat-soluble flavor molecules from the garlic and thyme, helping to distribute their ... few quick tests proved that aromatics added to the sous-vide bag do indeed flavor the meat as it cooks But would adding a fat like oil or butter to the bag help as well? For this test, the aromatics consisted of... just the steak, thyme, and garlic in one bag, and I placed the same ingredients along with 2 tablespoons butter in a second bag My hope was that as the butter melted, it would pick up all the. .. butter melted, it would pick up all the fat-soluble flavor molecules from the garlic and thyme, helping to distribute their