FeChef

The beef back ribs i posted were done as followed: Smoker set to 275F (preheat) Lowered to 200F ribs were sprinkled with coarse kosher salt, coarse black pepper, and turbinado sugar. smoked with alder about 2 hours of subtle blue smoke. pulled out when probed between 150-155F hit it with a quick torch just for good measure (probably wasnt needed but didnt hurt) lightly brushed with thick bbq sauce and bagged and SV 155F for 30ish hours. removed from bag with another quick surface torch and set on cooling rack, foil overtop in oven to keep warm (150F) till served (about 30 min) Some important info: I use an electric smoker with a smoke generator attachment. I use hardwood lump charcoal to smoulder the Alder wood chips. I dont use a water pan, or mist/mop any liquids. You want the surface to dry out as much as possible. This is what gives you Da Bark.

Well somebody has to test these things. Dont get me wrong, I could do bbq traditionally in the smoker, but why worry about watching it all day/night and bringing it to "pull" temps of 190-205F when you can #1 only watch it for a few hours in the smoker. #2 get that same "pull" texture at 155F. And #3 end up with a much more moist inside. For the past few years my only issue with SV i had was losing some of that bark/crust im use having with traditional bbq. You could really tweak this and have every bite being a moist juicy "burnt end"

Crunchy, moist, gelatinous, sticky, sweet, salty, smokey, savory.....drooling yet?

Im thinking the paper towels might not have been needed to preserve the bark/crust. The trick i believe is getting the meat to the final target temp first that you plan to "hold" it at in the SV. I smoked some beef back ribs to 155F the day earlier and put them in the SV @ 155F for 24-30 hours. I even brushed a tiny bit of bbq sauce on them before bagging. The sauce was pretty thick and when i pulled the ribs out there was just a tiny bit of slightly thinner bbq sauce in the bag. So there was a bit of juice loss but the bbq sauce thickened the juice up. This may be a good way to prevent meats from swimming and losing their bark/crust. If bbq sauce isnt something you like on bbq, im sure other thickeners could be used. Although similar, I thought of even tomato paste, that double concentrated stuff in the tubes would work nicely. Anyway pics of the beef back ribs.

Dont confuse collagen with fat. Collagen converts to gelatin. When i make stock i get 3 layers. top layer is fat, second gelatin, 3rd is sediment.

Its in the bag wrapped in 3 layers of paper towels. It took 3 layers till it sealed with the last layer being compleyely dry. The second layer was slightly wet. The very first layer absorbed pretty much all the juices that came out while vacuuming out the air. We will see how much, if any juices are in the bag in 24 hours.

Not only will the paper prevent the brisket from swimming in liquid, it will also prevent the rub from comming off into the liquid. I still dont see how your point you are trying to make is worse then just throwing it in the vacuum bag without the paper. I already been smoking the brisket, so SV first is not an option. If anything, you could convince me to bring the brisket up to 205F in the smoker, but its going to be a long night if i go that route.

But in this case we will be bringing the brisket in the smoker to the same temp it will be in the SV, so basicly holding it at that temp. I dont see much liquid loss. Yes liquid has to pass through the bark/crust but if the paper absorbs most of it, the brisket wont be swimming in it. It should definitely help. Probably better off using bounty paper towels instead of butcher paper/brown bag.

I am doing a really nice Middle point cut brisket today in the smoker and plan to finish it off in my basement SV rig. One of the disadvantages of finishing SV is the loss of "bark/crust". This got me thinking about...."TTC" (the texas crutch). How can we apply this technique as an advantage for SV?...What came to mind is to bring the Brisket to final target temp in the smoker, in my case im going 155F. Now wrap the brisket in butcher paper, or plain ol brown bag and then vacuum bag and finish off in the SV. My thoughts is the paper will absorb any expellled liquid and prevent the bark/crust from getting soggy. If this technique works in the oven or cooler, i see no reason this would not work for SV. Any thoughts?

You were better off buying vinegar powder. Maltodextrin + vinegar isnt very strong in flavor. I find you end up tasting the maltodextrin more then the flavor your trying to impart. Bacon grease + maltodextrin is a perfect example. I had to use so much maltodextrin to make a dry powder that all i tasted was a funky sweet greasy powder.

I dont see why you would have to if its been pastuerized. Im sure alot of worry warts will chime in, but my rule has always been that unless it was left out all night, its safe as long as it goes in the fridge before bed.

I have never tasted Chianti by itself, so honestly i dont know what it "should" taste like. The Bolognese was excellent though. Wine for drinking i prefer sweet pink wines like Catawaba, or sweet red lambrusco. I know there cheap, but its what i like to drink.

Due to the weather, I cant get new wine for a sauce. Also my area is in a state of emergency so local grocery is closed. I know i should have planned ahead, but I actually thought i had a bottle of marsala and red wine in the cabinet. Turns out all I have is 3/4 of a bottle of Chianti that has been in the fridge for probably a month. I had used a cup of it for a bolognese and put the cap back on and stuck it in the fridge. Would it still work for a wine sauce reduction, if not why? Would it make the sauce sour? Could it be salvaged with sugar? And also, if using the wine is not feasible, does anyone have any other suggestions? I dont have mushrooms, so thats out. I do have golden raisins,pink lady apples,apple cider. But those ingredients i usually use for a sauce for pork. Help

I love black pepper. I put it on just about everything, even some desserts. But i absolutely can not stand the smell of white pepper. My sense of smell is not very good, but i can detect white pepper if its in something.

I know you mentioned a meat sauce but if you want a really easy amazing meatball recipe i found one i really like that uses 2 pounds of ground beef, 1 box of stovetop "savory" stuffing, 1 1/4 cup water, 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, and 1 large egg. You can bake @ 350F till they reach internal temp of 145F. I prefer to freeze 2oz balls and sous vide them @ 145F for 2-4 hours and flash fry them in a pan or deep fryer. Them come out soft and tender inside and slightly crunchy outside. Great contrast in textures.

So its been 16 days that my beef tongue has been curing. I had done a corned beef brisket before SV cooked for 33 hours @145F and it had fell apart. It was good but i am aiming for thin sliced. I went with 24 hours @ 155F. I sliced off a piece after peeling and I have to say this is the best corned beef I ever had in terms of tenderness and taste.

My bad, its in the off topic section. Forgot that section requires registering. I will try and copy paste the info and grab the pics. I have the originals somewhere but it will be a pain to dig up. BTW, what do you think of partially freezing a sirloin tip roast, slicing super thin on a meat slicer, brine the slices overnight and sous vide for 12-24 hours. Think it will be similar to arbys roast beef? Im thinking for brine, 1% MSG, and 5% salt.

I Corned and Sous vide a beef tongue awhile back. Heres a link to my results with pictures. http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,21723.0.html

I have a recipe for Sriracha jerky written on paper somewhere in my spice cabinet. I do not like jerky recipes that call for soy sauce and/or worcestershire. I find their flavors too overpowering to the meat. I mix salt + water to equal the volume of soy sauce in a recipe and caculate the amount of sodium in mg. Worcestershire i will omit all together unless it is a main source of liquid in a recipe, in that case i will sub water, or other liquid used in that recipe.

I think i will try mixing liquid smoke with molasses and brush it on after SV then hit it with a torch to char it up a bit, then brush on bbq sauce and hit with torch again to caramelize and make the sauce sticky. Thanks for the link.

I think cooked meat does not effectively absorb smoke flavor. Its actually the "smoke ring" your thinking of that doesnt occur in meats cooked above 140F. Smoke flavor does still absorb, but not as much. Its actually beneficial to meats that you want that subtle smoke flavor. I usually use a strong flavor wood like pecan or hickory when doing a quick smoke after a long sous vide cook.

I use to cold smoke, or smoke meats at low temps for a few hours (like 4) and then Sous vide. Everytime no matter how many vacuum bags i used (like 3) the smoke smell leached out into the water and (not joking) made the entire house smell of smoke. Its not a big deal when its only a few hours of smoke smell, but after 24 hours in the sous vide it becomes intolerable. I dont know if i am going to get the same smell results using liquid smoke as i did real smoke, or if adding it to the brine and rinsing before sous vide will help, but If it does i will have to keep dumping the water and adding fresh water everytime it starts to smell. I cant stomach it anymore. It gets in my sinuses and i cant sleep and smell stays in sinuses for days.

In the summer I use my smoker every weekend. Its just too damn cold this year.(minus 20 currently) I want to make some baby back ribs for the SB party but im thinking of doing them completely sous vide. My main concern is that i cannot stand the smoke smell that leaches out of the bags into the water and stinks the entire house. To avoid this i always smoke after. In this case I will need to either add liquid smoke to my brine before cooking, or possibly add liquid smoke to im thinking melted butter to brush on before hitting them with the torch after they come out of the sous vide. I want to mention that i do not like smoke flavored bbq sauce. I am guessing adding liquid smoke to bbq sauce would be the same. I need ideas how to impart smoke flavor into the meat without causing my house to smell like an ash tray. Does anyone know if adding liquid smoke to a brine overnight and rinsing before sous vide will cause my house to stink? Should i just try mixing with melted butter anf brushing on post sear before adding bbq sauce? I have only ever used liquid smoke once in a jerky recipe along time ago, and although i dont recall it stinking my house up, i remember not like the jerky..lol.

Im referring to walmarts produce, which is most likely distributed everywhere. Jalapenos just seem to be getting "breed" not bread btw, hotter and hotter over the years, atleast in my area's produce suppliers.(no idea where they come from. I also dont buy from local farmers anymore because of cross breeding. I have gotten jalapeno's as hot as habaneros from local farmers that had them growing too close to each other.

Thats strange. I live in the Northeast and the grocery stores list Pablano as 1000-2500 scoville, where Jalapeno is listed 2500-5000. I used to make a green dipping sauce with only jalapenos but the family and sometimes even myself thought it was way too hot to enjoy so I started making it from 1/2 pablano and 1/2 jalapeno. Now it is much more enjoyable.