A torch straight onto the surface, or a torch plus the pan, gets you a crust with almost no heat penetration at all. Faff to set up, and there is a knack to avoiding a fuel taste by keeping the flame moving and not lingering, but it is the most controllable option I have tried.
Bram Lindqvist
@torque_spec
Appliance repair. Washers, dryers, dishwashers, and the drain pump full of hair that explains everything.
Just keep grinding finer until it hits 30 seconds, sour always means under extracted.
On the safety side, since people worry about 145F chicken, the pasteurisation tables are based on time at temperature rather than a single number, and an inch and a half breast held at 145F is well past what those tables ask for. Look up a proper reference table rather than trusting a forum comment though, including mine, and if you are cooking for someone with a compromised immune system take the conservative route.
Try u = sin(x) as a substitution instead, parts is overkill for this.
If the bag is genuinely inflating rather than floating on trapped air, that is worth a second look. A pinhole from a bone edge or a poorly sealed corner lets water in slowly, and the tell is that the bag feels heavy and the water looks cloudy. Double bagging anything with a bone or a sharp trimmed edge takes ten seconds.
Grinding from frozen sounds wrong but I have read that a few times now. Might try with the second half of this bag.
Day two explains everything then. I will stop touching it until the weekend.
If the grey appearance bothers you even before the pan, seasoning the steak and leaving it uncovered in the fridge overnight beforehand helps. It comes out of the bag looking a bit less washed out and crusts faster.