Are Sous vide steaks fatty ?

When i see pictures of sous vide steaks it always looks to me as if the marbling has not broken down and is still solid form fat. Is that the case in reality ?

That has not been my experience. We just did two Flannery NY steaks last night. The interior was amazingly tender as always. I cook them at 128 F, then sear. The exterior fat is a bit soft after sous vide, but definitely benefits from searing. Of course because I sear for a few minutes it could be that the sous vide does not break down the interior fat, but I doubt that is the case.

The opposite from my experience, very fatty steaks can become almost gelatinous. It’s an odd texture which the warden does not like. I like “under cooked” sous vide and then really bang the outside with an extremely hot sear.

Alan, you should sous vide at 225 degrees for 12 hours in smoky water to really get the connective tissue to reach full tenderness and fat breakdown.

But only your finest Wagyu or similar

This is pretty much what I do – and the result is delicious!

Personally I don’t like sous vide for prime (or better) steaks. I do like it for less marbled cuts.

Edited to add: I should clarify that I don’t dislike it but prefer the results from either a reverse sear or a sear followed by time in a low oven.

Also my method. I sous vide to a little under 120, dry off, and then put in a 500 degree oven until internal temp hits 125.