With the current fad about sous vide (hot water) cooking going on, I started to wonder just how using a propane torch would work to sear red meat. I do not have a sous vide cooker but I do have a smoker, so I seasoned a porterhouse steak and threw it on the smoker at 210 until it was up to temp. internally. And of course the meat was gray and VERY unappetizing looking. So I grabbed my trusty propane torch, turned it way up and proceeded to sear both sides and it came out excellent! I thought the surface would go from looking boiled to ashes in an instant but it did not do that- in fact, it was quite easy to dance the flame around and brown it quite evenly. The steak also had a surprising amount of smoke flavor which was a nice side effect. I have tried this before with a Camp Chef sear box but found the meat just cooks too much even with the grill as hot as it can get. The torch really did not cook the meat at all, just browned and seared the surface. Thinking about buying a sous vide machine (the one with the container and the heater / pump). And of course, a much bigger torch such as a Searzall because if a little is good, a lot must be great.
I use my charcoal grill to sear. I suppose the whole cook could be done on the grill but I tend to over cook so sous vide to a temp lower than desired then pop on the charcoal grill is my go to. I would think a torch would work pretty much the same.