Kitchen torches, also called culinary torches, are perfect for cooking tasks like browning the top of a crème brûlée and crisping up layers of cheese. It also comes in handy for getting a perfect charred crust on a sous vide steak, adding flavor to perfectly-cooked but unseared meat, and this is how long to keep the flame on the steak.

Cooking a steak sous vide involves vacuum-sealing the meat in plastic and slowly cooking it in warm water for about 60 minutes, a good timeframe for fatty cuts like ribeye. To finish it off, drag the flame of your lit kitchen torch over the top of the steak for about 60 seconds, then turn the meat over and torch it for another 30 seconds.

When using your kitchen torch, keep the nozzle around one finger's length away from the surface of the steak and move slowly to prevent over-searing. A downside of torching is that it’s easy to char some spots more than others, which you can help remedy by combining your torching with pan-searing to ensure an even char.