I got a SV wand for X-Mas, so have been doing alot of that this month.
I did a flank steak today, which I cut into 3 parts, 3 bags, and did at 52 Deg C for 4 hours. I then Ice Bath'd all three pieces, and 2 went in the freezer, and one went in the fridge.
For dinner, I pulled the fridge version, and warmed up at 48 Deg C for 30 minutes while preparing Lomo Saltado fixins.
When I was slicing the steak, against the muscle grain, I ran into 2 or 3 small blood spots (bright red pockets in the meat – maybe 1" across and spread across 1" worth of slices. I took them out, but was wondering if anyone knows what they are, and what that means? I've cooked many steaks in my 30+ yeas on this earth, and had never seen that.
Second, follow on question: if I want the other 2 steaks more well done, can I pull from the freezer 90 minutes before another meal, and SV at 54 Deg C, or does "twice cooking" them introduce new problems?
Thanks in advance for your feedback!!!
Best Answer
I would think the red pockets are liquefied fat and/or water with red dye in them (and some myoglobin, which is what makes red meat red, but often dye is the bigger reason).
If it's steak from a supermarket, it's probably thoroughly dyed, so maybe some of the dye (or a lot of it!) stuck with the fat. Blood wouldn't be bright red, it would be oxidized and a nice brown/gray (if it were even in the steak - almost no blood remains in a steak, it's not why they're red). If you're used to grilling or similar methods, those would allow the fat (and water) to drip off, while SV won't: you're packing it in a bag and keeping the water and fat inside (that being the point of sous-vide cooking, after all).