Tomorrow's cook: Tri Tip (first SV) and wings

Simcan · August 2015

I have been intrigued by some of the discussion about sous vide so I picked up an Anova. Going to break it in tomorrow with a 2.5 pound grass-fed antibiotic free tri trip. Plan is to SV for five hours at 130 degrees, seasoned simply with a beef rub only, while I am making my new favourite wings (400 raised indirect for about an hour with Raging River, glazed at the end with tamarind chutney). Then I will pull the wings and keep them warm in the oven while I jack the Egg to 650 direct, sear of the meat for a minute or so a side, and serve everything at once with sides being oven-roasted/charred cauliflower with lemon and garlic and olive oil and parmesan, and fresh corn on the cob.

stemc33 · August 2015

Can't wait to see the pics. Do you mean grass-finished?

Simcan · August 2015

stemc33 said:

Can't wait to see the pics. Do you mean grass-finished?

Nope, grass fed. Will be interesting to see how it is...I got a grass-fed brisket from this place and it was nothing short of perfect. This is the place: http://rowefarms.ca/grass-fed-beef.php

Raymont · August 2015

I would go longer on the SV cook to more fully tenderize if your time frame allows. I'd go 12-18 hours. Just my 2 cents.

Simcan · August 2015

Thanks @raymont. As I say, I am a complete novice when it comes to SV so I appreciate the input. Actually, a longer SV would be very helpful to me, scheduling-wise, but I was going by the Anova website. Are you confident that it would not turn to mush? The ideal period for me would be 10 hours, but I can easily get any period done with some planning.

allsid · August 2015

Tri tip and sous vide are a match made in heaven. You really need to experiment with it but the beef is quite forgiving. I often do 128F for 24-30 hours then directly into an ice bath for an hour before refrigerating. When I sear, I have brought the temp up as low as 90F internal before service as you are basically re-heating the meat and it was swear worthy! Sometimes I will SV 2-3 at a time and then freeze them. Pulling out a day or 2 before I want to serve. Then all I need to do is smoke/hard sear. Its an amazing cut of meat for a long, raised direct reverse sear too-

Simcan · August 2015

Thanks, @allsid. Looks like I will be experimenting...I have seen everything from 2 hours to 30 hours now! I think I will likely SV for 10-12 hours, let it rest a bit and then do a hard sear for colour/flavour. Looking forward to it!

Simcan · August 2015

Sorry, did not get pics last night but let me tell you, it was amazing. I ended up doing the trip-tip at 130 for 10 hours then searing at 650 for a minute or so on each side, and it was perfectly, perfectly medium rare. I am definitely a convert to sous vide in terms of control over doneness, though I think I prefer the smoky taste you get from a reverse sear. No sure there is a perfect compromise.

Raymont · August 2015

So glad to hear it worked out well for you. It takes some faith to SV for extended periods but for tougher cuts it makes them taste so good! By the way, you could smoke for a while prior and even after putting into the SV, but you will definitely lose a lot of the smoke flavor in the SV. I've turned out some really good tender brisket flats this way, but I agree they don't have quite the same flavor.. but they are also not dried out and the results are consistent.

Simcan · August 2015

@Raymont something else that occurred in terms of flavor would be to marinade the meat with some liquid smoke while cooking. Though I feel like this would tricky to control.

Vicki · August 2015

Raymont said:

I would go longer on the SV cook to more fully tenderize if your time frame allows. I'd go 12-18 hours. Just my 2 cents.

New at this.... what is SV cook?

Vicki · August 2015

New at all this.... What does SV cook mean? Never mind I looked it up!

Skiddymarker · August 2015

Vicki said:

Raymont said:

I would go longer on the SV cook to more fully tenderize if your time frame allows. I'd go 12-18 hours. Just my 2 cents.

New at this.... what is SV cook?

@Vicki - Hot tub with very precise control - google sous vide or in this case ANOVA.

Skiddymarker · August 2015

Interesting on the times with free range cuts. I've found that as little as 4 hours at 135ºF works very well, have gone as long as 8 hours, but the texture seems off to me. Keep the salt out of or very low in the bath to retain moisture.

NDG · August 2015

Sounds Great . . . but no pics? WTF MATE ?

NDG · August 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZMwKPmsbWE

Simcan · August 2015

@Skiddymarker lots of factors, I am sure, including that this was free-range grass-fed, but for this cook, at 10 hours at 130 the texture and doneness were un-improvable for tenderness (not at all mushy) medium rare tri tip.

Raymont · August 2015

@simcan: I've never tried adding liquid smoke to SV. Are your above comments on "smoke flavor" possibly referencing the grill taste or char you get when egging (which we love).. When you SV, you don't get that same outer edge "crunch" as a full cook on egg provides, but this is also because it is not as well done around edges and you retain more moisture (water which dilutes flavor) . Certainly SV does provide a different/non-traditional texture. For the brisket flats, I've done flats where I go low and slow (mild to moderate hickory/oak) to around IT 160, then SV for 18 hours. The bark does soften as it cooks SV. Next time I'm going to try finishing on egg to re-introduce more "crispy bark" results. Hey.. I just love trying to be a better cook and to produce consistent results. Using tools like the egg and SV I certainly have fun!

Simcan · August 2015

@Raymont. No, I actually found the crust/char identical to a reverse sear. When I do a reverse sear I do it at about 250 indirect anyway so all the caramelization happens in the sear, just like with the SV. But even though I don't add chunks or chips in the first part of a reverse sear, I find the lump adds that wonderful charcoal flavor that distinguishes the steak from what you get using a gasser, and with SV that is what I am missing.

Skiddymarker · August 2015

@Raymont - i've tossed a little liquid smoke in but found it did not seem to make much of a difference. The best results I've found are to do the sear over very hot coals, flip often and baste with compound or clarified butter. The baste goes on the side that just came away from direct heat - builds the crust with some added lump smoke flavour.

@Simcan - is that a Saint in your avatar? We have an 8 year old female.

Simcan · August 2015

@Raymont No, that is my old English bulldog, Chunk-Style. He has since died. He was huge though. 100 pounds. We have a new one closing in on a year.

Tomorrow's cook: Tri Tip (first SV) and wings

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