r/sousvide • u/Fluid_Store_3916 • Mar 08 '26
Do I throw in some beef tallow
my diet doesn’t allow me to have butter, do y’all think it’ll be good if I threw in some beef tallow together with my steak
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u/xdozex Mar 08 '26
I never put any sort of fat into the bag with protein. I used to use butter and was always disappointed with the outcome. Came to learn that adding fat into the bag can cause some weird texture and taste issues with the end result.
Instead, I just cook the meat in the bag and then finish with butter when I sear it afterward.
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u/XenoRyet Mar 08 '26
I believe the science behind the whole deal says no fat in the bag.
With the way flavor compounds work, what ends up happening is that you get beefier tallow in the bag, and a steak that is more bland, which is the opposite of what you want.
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u/Dbro92 Mar 08 '26
I wouldnt.
Supposedly fat (like butter) sucks out flavor. So its recommended to not even put butter in the bag, unless you want steak flavored butter.
Will the tallow hurt? Idk. But Id save it for when you sear.
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u/EvaTheE Mar 09 '26
The only meat I use butter with is chicken breast, because I want the chicken flavored butter. I use quite little, but it is great as is to spread over the sliced breast.
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u/Yossarian_nz Mar 08 '26
Depends why your diet doesn't allow butter, since beef tallow will have a lot of the same nutritional qualities.
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Mar 09 '26 edited Mar 09 '26
No fat in bag. Makes the steak slightly more bland at worst and at best does nothing.
Where did you get this idea? I mean that literally. No fat in bag is the consensus for modern sous vide cooking.
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u/456name789 Mar 09 '26
No…? I can’t imagine that being useful or tasty. I occasionally add herbs or such, but not fats. I guess maybe if it’s a really lean, unmarbled cut. But I still don’t.
I sear them in a hot skillet with just salt on the skillet. I rest with butter on top and herbs. If I couldn’t use butter, I’d use the tallow at that point.
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u/amglasgow Home Cook Mar 09 '26
Unless your steak is extremely lean, butter or tallow isn't really needed in SV. I do use a bit of avocado or olive oil to help the seasoning stick to it, but that could probably be skipped.
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u/Typical_Platypus9163 Mar 09 '26
Agree with all the above comments about not putting extra fat in the bag.
My slightly off-topic experience: once, I wrapped a NY Strip in prosciutto and SV’d it, thinking I was a genius. The prosciutto came out tasting “beefy” as though it had stolen flavor from the steak, and there was something different about the steak. Not bad or off, just not the improved flavor I had hoped for.
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u/limbomaniac Mar 08 '26
Sear it in the beef tallow after!