Cocoa Mole Sous Vide Steak

Instructions

1. Prepping the meat involves trimming all excess fat and cutting the meat into pieces that can fit in the vacuum seal bags. You want the meat to sit flat in a relaxed way - not folded or squeezed into the bag. I usually get a 3lb whole flap steak and cut it down into 3x 1lb pieces, each that gets its own vacuum bag.
2. Place the trimmed meat, dry, in a vacuum bag.
3. Combine the brown sugar, sea salt, cocoa powder, crushed garlic, herbs, and oil in a small bowl. Add some water to dissolve the sugar (⅛ to ¼ cup of water). Microwave the mixture for 1 min (if using frozen herbs) or 30 seconds if all ingredients are room temperature. Once heated, stir all ingredients into a thick brown paste.
4. Add an equal amount of the paste/marinade to each of the vacuum bags. Vacuum seal the bags, then massage the marinade to evenly coat the steak. The final product should be a big flat bag with a thin slab of meat, evenly coated in a deep brown marinade. These are ready for cooking.
5. Fill your water basin with a generous amount of water and set the sous vide machine to 125-130 degrees.
6. Cook the steaks in the sealed vacuum bags in a temperature-controlled water bath for 4-8 hours.
7. They can be stored in the fridge for up to 24 hours before searing, slicing, and serving.
8. Open the bags and drain the marinade and fluids.
9. Get your cast iron skillet (or grill) very hot to the point that it is smoking.
10. Sear the steak for 2 mins per side, caramelizing the sugar, cooking the marinade, and creating a nice outer crust.
11. Slice thinly across the grain and serve warm.
12. These should be some of the best-tasting meaty bites you’ve ever had. If you want to go absolutely nuts, you can mix another 2TB of brown sugar and 1 TB sea salt to use as a finishing sprinkle on top of the meat just before eating.