Should I sear meat which is cooked sous vide before it goes in the bag, or after?
After reading the beer cooler sous vide hack, I'm tempted to try it probably with duck, but maybe with steak.
Should I sear my duck/steak first before I put it in the bag, or afterwards, and why? Or does it not make a difference?
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I sear before and after.
I blow torch the meat before putting it into the bags. The flame is very hot (around 1.500C) and only affects the surface, it does not cook the meat. This kills any bacteria you might have on the surface of your cut before bagging it.
I do my steaks (filet or entrecote) at 50-52C, which is still in the danger zone. 55C and enough time kills most germs, though I tend to find that just a little too medium for my taste. I take the bags out just before serving, pat dry and sear quickly over high heat in a cast iron skillet. Usually 30s per side flipping every 15 seconds in order not to cook the meat much further.
I prefer to sear it after. You get a decent additional taste from the Maillard reaction regardless of whether you do it before or after. However, even though your steak isn't directly in contact with the water, it will shed juices during the cooking process. If you sear first, then the meat sits in it's own juices. This means that the sear isn't crunchy when you're ready to eat. I personally like the texture difference enough to sear only after I've cooked it sous vide.
Searing after will also help your presentation. Meat doesn't always look particularly appetizing when it comes out of the sous vide. Throwing a sear on makes it look much better.
I have seen it done both ways. I prefer mine seared after it has cooked to preserve the crispness of the sear. If you sear first then sous-vide the crispness will be gone from the crust. This is really apparent with steaks.
After a bit of googling, I found this which suggests that searing twice (both before and after) might be preferable.
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