Sous Vide whole beef tenderloin?

jasonjax

jasonjax

Babbling Farker
Joined
Dec 20, 2007
Location
Ponte...
Name or Nickame
Jason
I was planning on doing steaks for my maiden voyage today, but now we have 6 other adults coming over so it would be more convenient to cook the whole roast.

It is a peeled whole tenderloin. Can I butcher string it and cook it whole no problem making it as uniform as possible?

Any suggestion how long and what temp to cook at?

I've seen a lot of different info out there! 130, 140, 1 hour, 2 hours yadda yadda.

I plan to sear at the end and not mess with a pre-sear before cooking unless someone tells me that's sacrilege. I'll sear on my FPG-500 so this barely belongs in Q-talk.

Maybe we need another forum for "Other Cooking Techniques" :popcorn:
 
jasonjax said:
I was planning on doing steaks for my maiden voyage today, but now we have 6 other adults coming over so it would be more convenient to cook the whole roast.

It is a peeled whole tenderloin. Can I butcher string it and cook it whole no problem making it as uniform as possible?

Any suggestion how long and what temp to cook at?

I've seen a lot of different info out there! 130, 140, 1 hour, 2 hours yadda yadda.

I plan to sear at the end and not mess with a pre-sear before cooking unless someone tells me that's sacrilege. I'll sear on my FPG-500 so this barely belongs in Q-talk.

Maybe we need another forum for "Other Cooking Techniques" :popcorn:
Click to expand...

Definitely sear afterwards, don't let anyone change your mind on that. Why? Some liquid escapes from the meat during the SV process and it will mess up your crust.

Other than that, read the the following - all things ChefSteps are reliable: https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/perfect-every-time-center-cut-tenderloin-roast

EDITED TO ADD: ChefSteps sears before and after. Ok, I guess? You can sear before, but you have to sear after too? Never seen that before, but so long as you sear off at the end you should be good to go!
 
Last edited:
I'd go 120-125 for an hour or two, whatever fits your timetable best. A little kosher and garlic powder (whole fresh garlic can get a metallic taste in the bag) on the meat in the bag. Slice to desired thickness, gently blot dry with paper towel, paint with clarified butter (helps fake a good char crust) SPOG, and quick sear. Anyone who wants it cooked to a higher temp gets to live with the temp gradient from a longer sear IMO. I read my heart out several times on pre-sear, and was unconvinced at best. Haven't tried it though...
 
131 deg is the usual recommended temp for dead mammal, medium rare. I use that for beef and 140 deg for a little more well done pork.

@MisterChrister's temps are for more rare meat or they assume that you'l sear long enough to bring the center up to 131deg. I do the latter on thin 1/4# hamburger patties; sous vide at 125, good hot sear in an iron skillet, and I'm right where I want to be. Sear maybe 1 or 1.5 minute on a side.

Time not a big deal as you are not trying to tenderize. An hour, maybe? All you need is long enough that you're sure that your meat has reached the sous vide temperature throughout.

To do a tenderloin in my usual sv pot I would have to cut it in half. Regardless of your pot you might want to do that just for ease in handling/searing. With two pieces you could also make one a little more well-done if you have folks who prefer that.
 
I have read that, too re: 130/131 min, but thought that applied to extended holds. Aren't you ok at rare as long as you are frig to fork in less than 4 hours?
 
MisterChrister said:
I have read that, too re: 130/131 min, but thought that applied to extended holds. Aren't you ok at rare as long as you are frig to fork in less than 4 hours?
Click to expand...
Oh, I didn't mean to imply that 131deg was a minimum. It's just how I like my beef.

The cooler you cook the longer you have to hold the temperature in order to be sure you pasteurize. There are tables of this on the internet.

Personally, I don't lose a lot of sleep over the details of those time/temp rules. Sure, they are probably analytically correct but how many people do you know who don't have a clue about this and how many of them have ever gotten sick from spoiled food? In my case the answers are "many" and "none."

How many people do you know who have gotten sick from sushi, sashimi, carpaccio, or ceviche? In my case again, none.

That's not to say that I leave warm meat around unnecessarily, but I think a little common sense is adequate. Not thermometers and stop watches.

Probably a bigger source of risk is unwashed hands, unwashed cutting boards, etc. transferring e. coli and other nasties onto food as it is prepared. Just my guess.
 
Keep in mind the whole notion is uniform cooking to begin with sous vide so unless you're worried about the sear there's no need to break out the string.

I'd do 128-131 degrees for 1.5-3 hours as is most convenient for you and your preference for doneness.
 
Season, pre-sear if you like, vacuum pack with two pads of butter. I prefer a 130-134 bath for 2-3 hours, then an immediate ice bath for a few minutes. Sear. Perfect. Save the juice to make an au jus... It will get you sex afterwards...:mrgreen:
 
The cook has begun! I love new toys. Holy cow that picture is huge. Trying to figure out how to make it smaller on onedrive and share it.


y3mQL0XEdZBWUFTAfywFqndxpPTsGl7mWRIjQ45d5jHtZ7eYViYX9BlaOi726jLR42EMoMiVSzrVpby1LgqP8BwrTs0pRFS31sevz2C2UlMnXc0jk9iLzJ5Q5oS9UPHjIaIR6-08E6ELP8tqkNVMSRy-gZjVzQBAFlJ6SrDplSQStI
 
Last edited:
Ugh ... ain't got three hours. Wonder if I should up the temp a bit on the Anova or just sear/rest a little longer.

I was planning for 2 hours.
 
jasonjax said:
Ugh ... ain't got three hours. Wonder if I should up the temp a bit on the Anova or just sear/rest a little longer.

I was planning for 2 hours.
Click to expand...
Move one of them to a Ziploc bag so you can stick it with an instant read thermometer. That will tell you when the center is up to temperature. I don't think you'll need three hours.

Don't turn up the heat! The effect of that will be to cook the outside to medium as the center is reaching medium rare. That defeats the whole purpose of the sous vide, which is to cook the whole piece of meat to a uniform done-ness. Same-o problem using the sear to finish. Outside will be more done than the center.

The idea of resting is for the meat to transfer heat from the hotter outside to the center, evening out the temperature and finishing cooking the center. In sous vide, there theoretically is no temperature differential so IMO no need to rest.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Speeed
Smoked Whole Beef Tenderloin...How Long?
Replies
4
Views
430
Speeed
Speeed
A
Sous vide machine
Replies
12
Views
2K
PitRow
PitRow
jasonjax
Whole Beef Tenderloin Process
Replies
6
Views
695
Big George's BBQ
Big George's BBQ
Happy Hapgood
Sous Vide Explained for the Masses Thanks to KenInk and Ink Bird. A review...
2 3
Replies
55
Views
5K
Happy Hapgood
Happy Hapgood
E
Sous Vide Tenderloin help
Replies
7
Views
294
Cook
C
Back
Top