So there you are. You’ve followed all of the directions in your favorite Sous Vide recipe. Your protein has been in the bath for something between 4 and 72 hours. You pinched it. You pulled it. You shocked it. You’re ready to finish it and serve it to your hungry guests. But, you’re missing one thing. That wonderful brown-black crust that has those amazing flavors and is a perfect counterpoint to the tenderness provided by the Sous Vide process.
Start by drying your meat off to remove any remaining specks of albumen and debris that were purged during processing, yielding a very dry surface. But, the answer is in the question. We know that, during processing, albumen moves from the meat to the liquid in the Sous Vide bag. Eggwhite is mostly albumen, and the little grey flecks do look like over scrambled egg whites. And that’s what made the raw meat sticky in the first place. So, here’s what you do:
As dry as the surface is, flour is so fine it will stick to it quite well. Dust and shake–don’t let clumps remain, but cover the entire surface with a very fine, thin layer. Then, dip, or paint, with scrambled egg white. (NO YOLKS, this will yield an entirely different result.) This will create a moist and very sticky surface.
Clean your hands well, they are probably breaded by now too. Dry them well, and then apply your rub, whether it be salt and pepper, or something much more complex. You will need less than usual, because it REALLY sticks now–if you’re not careful, you will end up with a salty result, so go easy. Allow to dry for a little while, to let the surface treatment really attach itself. At this point, you can BBQ, Smoke, Roast, Pan Fry, even DEEP fry, and that stuff WILL NOT COME OFF.
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