Sous-vide Q

[irishboy209]

I've been using sous vide for quite a while and I've never been impressed with doing the more popular times and temperatures like 24 hours at 36 hours at 155 degrees for brisket and all the other ones it just seemed like a long time and not nearly as good of a payoff as I got from the smoker. This was just my opinion certain things it was cool for like if you want to have a tender medium rare brisket or have a juicy chicken breast and a few other applications.


I don't really have any pictures but I've been experimenting with smoking the proteins as normal and instead of wrapping in foil or butcher paper I've been throwing it in the sous vide at 200° and letting it finish that way until the temperature probe comes to my desired temperature which is usually around 195

Everything has been perfectly rendered super juicy and phenomenal a lot less keeping an eye on anything because it won't overcook as long as you don't leave it on for too long so if you go an extra hour or so it's no big deal then I've been letting it rest in the sous vide bath I just keep it in the water and set it to 145° and let it naturally fall in the insulated water and it will hold there at 145 for as long as I need


I'll post some more pictures the more testing I do but those of you that have sous vide and want to experiment I highly recommend you create those temperatures up in the water bath and finish it like you normally would. I don't vacuum seal the bag I just leave the top open out of the water and I run a temperature probe inside of it and once that internal temperature of the meat hits 195 to 200 degrees it's done and it is perfect.

If you want to reset your bark just throw it in the oven or back in the smoker for a few minutes and it firms right up but the flavor has been very intensified by doing it this way.

I still love to finish start to finish on my smoker by just a different way of creating a fusion with amazing results some of the best food I've turned out has been this way recently

 

[HogGrog]

Thanks for the post. I have not ventured into sous vide cooking but I’m getting closer with posts like yours.

 

[irishboy209]

Thanks for the post. I have not ventured into sous vide cooking but I’m getting closer with posts like yours.

I've done some sliced pork butt that turned out amazing

Some country style ribs that were the best I've ever done and I just did corned beef

The country style ribs and pork butt I pulled off at 193 It really is pretty convenient cuz I don't have to keep probing and trying to catch that window on the smoker for perfect time to pull

You could literally finish it at any temperature is just the lower the temperature the longer but if you give up a few hours and you take something to 175 180 the fat will render and it will be really really juicy or you could just do it like I've been experimenting with bringing it up to the sub 200° range and it works out fantastic and very flexible with your schedule I've even smoked something the day before put it in the vacuum bag ice bath it to get it at a safe temperature then threw it in the sous vide the next day for dinner and let it rise up to internal temperature of around 200° or a little less just depending on what I'm cooking and had it done perfectly for dinner. The main point of the post is don't always get into the popular ultra-long sous vide cook times that people do for 72 hours and all this which is fine I've done it not really for me changes the texture too much but you could treat it just as if you were rapping have it done super fast and efficient flavorful and very very moist and perfectly rendered and never overcooked because there's no carryover or anything

One thing that I would like to know and a word of advice is you do not want to leave it at these temperatures for a really long time because the fat will render out and break down too much so something like 10 hours would be very very excessive I'm usually home and catch mine and I lower the temperature to resting once it hits my desired internal temperature plus my sous vide and my thermometers run off of Wi-Fi so I can literally adjust it if I was at the store or whatever and have it holding for dinner

we know even from this site that ultra long holding is a very good technique and one of the proven things from Aaron Franklin and you could do the same thing with your sous vide Head out worry about food safety

 

[irishboy209]

Slow smoked country style ribs @200f until 140f then hit with high heat finish internal temperature was 160
Throw in sous vide bath at 195f until internal temperature reaches that doneness

 

[ssv3]

Very interesting. Sort of like reverse sous vide. You're post got me thinking so thank you.

 

[thirdeye]

I haven't used sous vide on a fresh brisket, or a pork butt, but I did an experiment where I grilled a thick ribeye to 90°, then sous vide for 12 hours followed by an end sear. The problem is the timing for a meal, in the real world who wants to get up a 5am to get your evening meal underway?

https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=289513&highlight=vide

 

[irishboy209]

Very interesting. Sort of like reverse sous vide. You're post got me thinking so thank you.

I use it as a wrapping method as I would with foil or butcher paper I do it all different ways this way allows me to really chill out and not worry about it and pretty much be on autopilot with 100% humidity so it never dries out

I haven't used sous vide on a fresh brisket, or a pork butt, but I did an experiment where I grilled a thick ribeye to 90°, then sous vide for 12 hours followed by an end sear. The problem is the timing for a meal, in the real world who wants to get up a 5am to get your evening meal underway?

https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=289513&highlight=vide

Honestly I'm not a fan of sous-vide for tinder cuts like ribeye One I think it changes the texture to 12 hours is a very very long time The most I've done ribeye was maybe 3 hours and that was still kind of long I much prefer the reverse sear. Or if you wanted to do a brisket medium rare or a chuck roast medium rare but have a very tender then that's an option

As far as quick cuts the only one I see it being a benefit is chicken because you could cook it at a lower internal temperature to have a more juicy product and be completely pasteurized.

I know a lot of sous vide people like to do extreme long times like 72 hours 48 hours or all these different times which I've done it and it's okay but my new method is treating it just as foil but just having it very controlled temperature then I could rest it for as long as I want and not worry about it falling below this food safety threshold. Just a different tool I use and I've been experimenting with more lately creating this fusion. It's pretty nice to also get the collagen and fats to render at much lower temperatures and keep more moisture in if wanted

In some cases the benefit would be you could make it fit around your schedule like for instance I did a corned beef pastrami I smoked it the other day then shocked it to a safe temperature I knew on Saint Patrick's Day I was going to be working overtime in late and the only option I would have had was to use the pressure cooker and it would have been about an hour and it would have been good but instead I just threw it in my sous vide before work when I got home It was ready to serve waiting so it works out in certain circumstances if you wanted to do longer cooks The hard part is figuring out the different temperatures because I have from my experience found out all the fat will render out if too high of a temperature or too long

 

[CivilTrojan]

Using sous vide for holding brisket instead of a cooler, oven, turkey roaster, or expensive humidity controlled cabinet it pretty smart. Using sous vide to finish brisket is brilliant! Now I have to look into getting one...

Questions: How long does it usually take to finish a brisket that way? Also, do you prob for tender or go strictly by temp?

 

[irishboy209]

Using sous vide for holding brisket instead of a cooler, oven, turkey roaster, or expensive humidity controlled cabinet it pretty smart. Using sous vide to finish brisket is brilliant! Now I have to look into getting one...

Questions: How long does it usually take to finish a brisket that way? Also, do you prob for tender or go strictly by temp?

The time really depends on the thickness but what I have found depending on your situation if you can monitor things is set to sous-vide at a higher temperature so say 205° and once you start getting maybe 10° from your desired temperature lower it to your desired temperature maybe one or two degrees above and it will hit perfectly and never overshoot.

You could go off of probe tenderness or what you really learn is to squeeze the bag and feel the tenderness that way kind of like how Aaron Franklin does but if you wanted to probe it then you just wouldn't vacuum seal it. I have personally found through my test on chuck roast and brisket I prefer a finish internal temperature of 195 and it is perfect for me I do not like fall apart I want a tad bit of tug maybe the brisket will stretch a quarter inch before it breaks. I know a lot of people go off for probe tenderness and I did too but I've come to realize that every piece of protein has a finish internal temperature just as much as every steak has a finish internal temperatureAnd I've had a lot more better results going this way to get my desired results

now obviously there's a lot of variables especially if you're just running full smoker internal temperature is affected by cooking temperature usually the hotter the higher finish internal temperature the sous vide is very gentle so you can finish at a lower internal but 190 to 195 has not let me down been perfect every way

Another thing I do is if I'm going to run a smoker for a long time like yesterday I did a bunch of country style ribs loaded up my smoker then as they all got the color I liked I started pulling them off and letting them rest threw them in the vacuum seal bag rendered down the tallow or fat I don't know if that's the same for pork and threw it in the bag and sealed them up so now they're sitting in my fridge and I have them throughout the week I can start them on the sous vide. And if I'm running low on time right before work I'll just throw them in and when I get home I'll have perfectly cooked smoked meats and I've noticed the flavor has been stronger smoking before of course the bark is going to go soft but a few minutes in the air fryer you're good

 

[JAKs Q & brew]

There are some things that I really like with sous vide, and I agree that some things are kind of blah.
Don't give.up on reverse seared ribeyes done sous vide. Seal with bacon fat, about 90 minutes at whatever temp.you want then sear with the hottest thing you have. Probably not better than regular reverse sear, but you can do 20 at a time and have them perfect.

I am thinking of doing basically the exact same temps you are talking about but with a Combi steam oven. The Anova is $700 and runs on 120v, but not sure if that is my next step in the long hold journey, but it will be in the lineup eventually to give it a shot.

 

[irishboy209]

There are some things that I really like with sous vide, and I agree that some things are kind of blah.
Don't give.up on reverse seared ribeyes done sous vide. Seal with bacon fat, about 90 minutes at whatever temp.you want then sear with the hottest thing you have. Probably not better than regular reverse sear, but you can do 20 at a time and have them perfect.

I am thinking of doing basically the exact same temps you are talking about but with a Combi steam oven. The Anova is $700 and runs on 120v, but not sure if that is my next step in the long hold journey, but it will be in the lineup eventually to give it a shot.

I've seen the method I was talking about done in the oven with great results it's also nice too because you have that thermometer that you could stick in.

Steaks aren't bad in the sous vide sometimes I will hit them with a hot cast iron or my torch but as far as flavor hard to beat a slow smoked steak then hit hot and fast I pretty much always hit everything with the torch now hard to beat for the convenience and outcome

I do like the bacon fat idea I'm going to have to try that

 

[Happy Hapgood]

I too am very checked out on sous vide. Your approach is excellent. I will be experimenting with your findings.


Thanks.

 

[irishboy209]

I too am very checked out on sous vide. Your approach is excellent. I will be experimenting with your findings.


Thanks.

Please report back on this thread if possible so we could all put our data together, I have a feeling I'm just scratching the surface and there's some really good possibilities to come out from this method. Not really a need for ultra long hours and we could turn out very good smoked foods with precision and speed

 

[irishboy209]

Did some experimenting with a cheap store-bought corned beef that I smoked low and slow around 200° until internal temperature of 140 150. I vacuum sealed and brought down to a safe temperature and put in the fridge for a few days today I put it in a sous vide bath at 197° for 2 hours then I let the temperature fall naturally to 143f degrees where I held it there for around 6 hours

The fat rendered really nice and you can see the connective tissue turned to gelatin compared to the one I did the other day at 140° for 24 hours It definitely had a better gelatin mouth feel from the rendering The moisture was a little bit on the dryer side compared to the 140° but only took 2 hours I think if I would have lowered it to around 190° it would have been perfect in every way regardless this was still a very good method compared to the 100% smoker foiled ones I've done and very low maintenance with great flavor I literally said it and forget it and go about my day at work or whatever not worry about it The resting is definitely very nice compared to using the cooler or empty oven