Weekend stuff: Sous Vide Chuck Roast, Smoked Turkey

blind99

Nice cold snowy weekend here, perfect to spend some time cooking (and shoveling). Ever been by the meat counter and saw a piece that you couldn't pass up?  Local grocer had these beautiful pieces of chuck roast for $3/lb.  (They even called them English cut.  How fancy!)  I like to drop these into the sous vide for a day.  They become as tender as filet, cooked at 133.

After a day in the bath, it got patted dry and seasoned.  Could have taken more seasoning but who am I to listen to advice?  Then onto the egg for a sear:

Some got sliced and went onto rolls, broiled with horseradish cheddar and served with au jus, made from the juices from the sous vide bag, with added salt, pepper, and Worcestershire.

Some went to sandwiches, some was saved for future fajitas, and the rest got cubed and I threw together some chili on the egg. No pictures of that because you know what chili looks like.  A big pan of red stuff.

Finally, some turkey breast got apple smoked, and sliced for lunchmeat. 

bgebrent

That my friend looks amazing!  Great cooking going on there!

Grillinois

Wow!  Fantastic job!  I've been on fence regarding sous vide but this just pushed me off the fence and towards buying a machine. 

blind99

@bgebrent thanks buddy - it was a nice way to relax and get some cooking done. Looking forward to chili tonight. 

@grillinois thanks! My wife thought the sous vide was a lark but even she loves it now. Awesome for reheating food, awesome for cook and hold. I've also pasteurized eggs, and made yogurt. 

Judy Mayberry

OK, I'll bite. How do you make yogurt in the sous vide? That sounds wonderful!

YEMTrey

Some good looking cooks there.  Nice execution.  You'll be eating well for a while!

blind99

@yemtrey thanks! chili on the egg is a winner, that was a good dinner tonight.

@Judy Mayberry  first time I've done it and it was super easy: Chef Steps recipe is here: https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/easy-delicious-sous-vide-yogurt  

basically you scald at milk at 180F, then cool it down and add a little yogurt, then divide it up into mason jars.  the whole jar goes into the SV water bath at 109F for minimum of 5 hours.  I let mine go overnight.  I also strained some of it to make it thicker.  I like 2% or whole milk yogurt, plain, which I have a hard time finding in the store.  This turned out really well.  Will definitely do again.

byrne092

Sandwich looks killer! How was the jus?

Judy Mayberry

QUESTION ABOUT THE TIME AND TEMP: ChefStep says 140° for 24 hours. Kenji at Serious Eats says 155° for 36 hours. Yikes! How long did you do it at 133°?

I don't want to screw up my a 3-4 lb. chuck roast. Any advice?

JohnnyTarheel

Brother Blind I am drooling for this at 7:30am!!! Awesome cook!!

blind99

@Judy Mayberry a little over 24 hours. It came out very tender, but not like it was going to fall apart into little shreds. I've never gone higher temp or longer time so I'm not sure how that would be. Also, I didn't put any seasonings in the bag but I am told it can really take a lot. 

@byrne092 very good for taking about 3 minutes to make. I've also added red wine and reduced by half to make a sauce for steaks. I'm too lazy but a pass through a fine strainer would help- there's a little bit of schmutz left over from the bag. 

blind99

@johnnytarheel thanks buddy!