FeChef

Just the wife and I, my son might eat a few bites but will probably ask for a hot dog or chicken fingers...lol

Rotuts, I have had it before at a steakhouse either applebee's or TGI fridays or something. It was good, but nothing to brag about. I honestly always considered to be equal to a sirloin steak but ever since i started useing sous vide I kept reading people raving about how good flat iron steak is sous vide so I figured i would give it a try now that i came across a good deal since there was a $3 off coupon sticker which brought it down to $5.50/lb which is still kinda high in my area since i can get lower grade choice NY strip for $3.97/lb maybe two times a month they always go on sale.

Rotuts heres a pic of the package. I peeled some of the sticker off to get a better look at the middle. Its hard to tell if theres a tendon, if there is, its very small or it was removed and theres a tiny bit still in there. My guess is it was and should have been removed to be labeled as a steak. Atleast thats what i was told years ago.

Heres the thing...I have sous vide many different cuts of beef and in my opinion/taste the only cut i liked after 24 hours was chuck roast. Top round was in my opinion/taste best at 12 hours. Rib roast at 10 hours. And any tender steak between 2-6 hours depending on how thick they are. That said, Ive cooked short ribs twice, once at 48 hours and again at 24 hours and i thought they were disgusting in texture. They were about 1 1/2 inch thick.

I havent opened the cryovac package yet. It should have the tendon removed since it is labeled as a steak. I can tell you that looking from the top of the package, i see no tendon running down it. If its still in there for some reason i will cut it out and just sprinkle some TG in the cut before rolling it up.

Interesting...I was thinking of chilling overnight then slicing right before adding to the water oven. My main concern is the log would be more then 3 inches in girth, maybe more and 4 hours would not be long enough to get the center up to 132F.

Ok so I got this 2lb flat iron steak 4 inches wide 11 inches long and 1 inch thick. Im going to use transglutaminase to glue it together into more of a filet. The question is should i cut into 1 1/2 inch strips and glue them together into a more square shape, or roll it up into a thick round log and slice into 2 round filets? Im thinking it might resemble bacon pinwheels. Which brings up another question if i should wrap with some applewood smoked bacon, or keep it all beef? Would like to hear some experiences with meat glueing steaks. Also im thinking sous vide for no more then 4 hours @ 132F. Thoughts on that aswell.

Shirataki rice?

I had a weber genisis gold with the SS top that lasted 10 years before i upgraded and gave it to my uncle. Great grill, I used it almost daily even in the winter. Only part that ever went on it was the temp gauge. I probably would still be using it had the gauge not went. But I wanted a grill with a searing burner so it was a good excuse to use on the wifey.

"kneaded together by hand" Somehow I find that hard to believe unless they are talking about after they grind the meat which they probably grind into a paste. As i said, had I used a larger food processor I probably could have got a tighter texture but with a standing mixer and a paddle, no way. I said this before, and i will say this again. I ended up with almost no moisture loss. (1/4 -1/3 cup ) which is not bad for over 4lb of ground meat (80/20). I am almost certain the TG was the main reason for such a low moisture loss.

Without the TG i dont think I would have been able to slice this thin and fold it like this. I could have sliced paper thin aswell but i prefer 1/8" slices.

In my case it probably needed the TG because i think using the mixer vs the food processor didnt work as good in getting that super fine texture. I just didnt want to risk letting the TG set if i had done it in batches with the food processor. I do believe that the TG also helped in retaining moisture, so I will use TG next time aswell. But i will definitely invest in a larger food processor. As far as frying the slices, the reason i had made a 2" slab was to develop a crust around the entire slices. The rotisserie just adds a flavor you cant get any other way. After i portion and freeze the slices, I will retherm in the water oven and hit with blow torch to crisp up.

I added 2 tsp of MSG along with 4 tsp kosher salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 2 TBSP marjoram, 2 TBSP rosemary, 2 TBSP minced garlic, and 1 large onion into a blender before adding into the mixer with the meat. Texture was very close to what i remember when growing up in philly eating gyro's. Only problem i had was my food processor not being large enough so i had to use my 7 quart mixer. I think if i had used the food processor in batches i may have had an almost exact replication. Flavor was spot on, if not better.

No idea why all the pics did not go in order i attached them? Anyway.. Toppings: fresh diced cucumber thinly sliced onions fresh diced tomato Sauce: 5oz greek yogurt 2oz mayo 2 TBSP fresh parsley 1 TBSP minced garlic

more...

For the longest time I have always wanted to make Gyro's like you find in mostly greek run establishments. One thing that always puzzled me was how they were able to slice what is basicly formed ground lamb/beef. Up until i learned about Transglutaminase (meat glue). What i did was used Alton Browns popular recipe as a base. I had to double his recipe since i was using 4lb of ground meat. I added 20g of meat glue to what ended up being 2000g total weight during the mixing process. I then formed the meat paste (75% beef 25% lamb ) into a 2" square slab and let set in the fridge overnight. After the overnight set time i cooked the Slab in my water oven for 4 hours @ 145F to allow the slab to firm up before going into my showtime rottiserie basket for about an hour to develop a nice crust and reach an internal temp of 160F. Surprisingly during this entire process the slab had lost less then 1/2 cup liquid/fat. Results were fantastic, and frankly better then any gyro ive ever had. Here are the pics of the entire process. Enjoy.

This is false. I par cook brisket,butts,ribs all the time and smaoke afterwards and after a few hours of smoke there is plenty of smoke flavor.

Ok but you do realize the dangerous carcinogens in smoking meats almost makes buying organic meats a moot point. Just saying. If you want to pay almost 6x the cost to each their own.

LMAO $1.29/lb all day everyday at Wegmans. Thats nuts to pay $6/lb

Would that not be safe to consume? Most vinegar's are 5%. Although if you blend it with olive oil and matodextrin it would probablymake a good oil & vinegar powder. What color is it?

Use ziplock bags. Dollar tree sells a brand that works very well. I have not had one leak yet and comes 16 in a box for a dollar.

In my opinion i think a thick filet only benifits SV when you are looking for a steak that is extremely tender and finished off with with a torch just to add some color not a crust. Then served in with a wine reduction sauce. If you want a filet done like in a steak house its best done on a searing grill for a few minutes then finished off on low or with indirect heat till it reaches 130F then wrapped in foil and rested for 5 minutes. During those 5 minutes the juices will surface and you will have a perfectly medium rare done steak with no grey outer ring. The filet will have a more meaty taste and texture this way aswell.

Ive experienced what you described and it all came down to using low grade meat. The way i figured it out was i had cooked two top round roasts medium rare for pit beef sammies. They were both cooked at the same time and were relatively the same size. One i had bought the same day, and the other the day before. One was choice grade and the other was on sale at a different store and was probably lower grade select. Needless to say one turned out nice and deep pink, tender and juicy and the other came out light pink almost white. And was a bit tough and dry.

Its basicly how i do my smoked briskets aside from not being corned and a different rub altogether. But the temp and timing SV works great, and the temp you smoke @ doesnt dry it out. But I use a cold smoke generator and an electric smoker to keep a low temp/smoke flow. Works great for smoking beef jerky @ 140-150F

CB pastrami is one of the times you really need to soak overnight with a few fresh water changes. I wouldnt smoke or use liquid smoke pre SV though. Your house will stick to high hell. I would SV @ 135F for 16 hours and smoke in a smoker for 4-6 hours @ 175F till it reaches 155F. Chill overnight and slice thin for some damn good ruebens.