Sous Vide Chuck Roast: The Topic

[scubadoo97]

I know you're looking for an experienced answer but why not split the difference and try 145 or play it safe and shoot for low 140s for 24hrs

[FeChef]

I know you're looking for an experienced answer but why not split the difference and try 145 or play it safe and shoot for low 140s for 24hrs

I would have just "wing'd it" a year ago, but for some crazy reason, chuck roast has gone up to $5.99/lb. This cut is no longer a poor mans sous vide prime rib. I can get ribeye for $6.99/lb. Its crazy.

 

If i buy an entire chuck roll i can get it at $3.99/lb so i am thinking of cutting the roll into 3 inch thick roasts and sous vide them for thin slicing on the meat slicer for open faced roast beef sandwiches and hot beef sandwiches..ect..ect.

 

So im just looking for a sure fire sous vide recipe. I mean, isnt that the point of sous vide cooking?

[gfweb]

Something to be said for experimentation.

 

For $12 you can get three lbs of meat and test 1 lb at 135, 140 and 145 F each. Or whatever you choose.

 

Brining may help for higher temps

[FeChef]

Something to be said for experimentation.

 

For $12 you can get three lbs of meat and test 1 lb at 135, 140 and 145 F each. Or whatever you choose.

 

Brining may help for higher temps

From experience, pork shoulder (butt) cooked for 24 hours @145F does not render fat and break down collagen. So i am hesitant at that temp, aleast in ther 24 hour time frame. I am also a bit concerned that parts of the chuck roast would have a saw dust mealy texture for longer then 24 hour cooking times.

[rotuts]

the only thing I can add is Ive had trouble w consistent results > 24 hours w beef chuck 'roast'   some roasts had mealy muscle groups > 24 hours

 

and some did not.  I think the quality and age of the meat in this category is quite variable.   i gave up doing whole chuck roasts SV due to this and went for

 

individual muscle groups, one at a time.

 

this does not answer your question, but I like the idea you are sticking with 24 are your time.

 

personally I like the 'steak' taste better than the 'pull apart' texture.

 

again, Id like to hear about what you end up doing and your review

 

pics if you got 'em are always nice

 

best of luck

[paulraphael]

Wow, $6/lb sounds like poor-man's prime rib to me.

 

In response to Rotus finding the chuck inconsistent from part to the other, it can be helpful to specify the chuck-eye. that way you're mostly getting the prime-ribish muscle and not the other (myriad and assorted) ones.

Edited September 29, 2015 by paulraphael (log)

[rotuts]

true

 

but even chuck-eye seems to vary from counter to counter and case to case

 

one just has to learn to look at the meat in the meat case.  each piece varies from it'd neighbor  

[FeChef]

Wow, $6/lb sounds like poor-man's prime rib to me.

 

In response to Rotus finding the chuck inconsistent from part to the other, it can be helpful to specify the chuck-eye. that way you're mostly getting the prime-ribish muscle and not the other (myriad and assorted) ones.

Not when choice grade ribeye cost $6-$7/lb on sale and goes on sale a lot. Choice grade Chuck roasts rarely goes on sale. Maybe choice grade is beneath you, but not everybody can afford prime grade.

[rotuts]

I don't see this as Beneath nor Above

 

I see this as a target price and then you work with that.

 

I personally do my best to buy by 'sale' simply because it been a long while since I looked in really good CookBook

 

which I owed, and make a specific RX and went to get those ingredients

 

this is not good nor bad.

 

now I get 'whats on sale ' and work with that

 

I can think, just for me, better things to do with that difference of $$

 

and indeed it's just Id rather not support  ConAgra nor AgraCon.  this is not political.

 

I do really believe, if you are into Beef

 

Costco or in my area   BJ's is the way to go

 

BJ's does not seem to have the 'prime' beef Costo has

 

but I can go there ' from time to time'

 

less said about that the better.

 

Sooooo

 

it you need reams of TP and other papery stuff

 

and there is  Costco near you

 

That's what Id do

 

why ?  

 

lots of time to think of more interning stuff.

 

BTW  I think Costco and BJ's have gallon drums of Mayo Helman's !

 

no worries

 

I might have more than a gallon on my floor right now

 

single serving size :  One Quart.

 

 

Edited September 29, 2015 by rotuts (log)

[paulraphael]

Not when choice grade ribeye cost $6-$7/lb on sale and goes on sale a lot. Choice grade Chuck roasts rarely goes on sale. Maybe choice grade is beneath you, but not everybody can afford prime grade.

 

Still a lot cheaper than anything I see. Must be a totally different economy. I'd be rather suspicious of anything called prime rib in the developed world being sold for $6/lb, regardless of the nominal grade. 

 

If I saw nice looking chuck for $6/lb, I'd happily sous-vide it. And I'd 100% think of it as poor-man's prime rib. 

 

Another angle on the prime rib: imagine what you'd have to do to raise a steer so cheaply that you could sell the most desirable parts for $7/lb. The thought makes me extremely uncomfortable.

[paulraphael]

To your original question, unfortunately I can't think of anything better than winging it and splitting the difference. I checked the tough-cut texture tables in the MC books, and they don't have anything on chuck.

 

And I'm not sure what kind of flaky or pull-apart texture would work on a meat slicer. I've never used one, but my impression has been that slicers are generally paired with tougher, more cohesive cuts—the final tenderness comes from the thin, across-the-grain cutting. Not sure how well a slicer would do on something that readily flakes apart, either from a slicing or eating perspective. 

[rotuts]

Baldwin's times and temps are :

 

Chuck roast :  medium rare :  130  1 - 2 days

                       medium        :   140  1 - 2 days

 

Chuck 7-bone :   same as above

 

Chuck Eye Steak :  MRare     :  2 - 3 days

                               Medium   :  2 - 3 days

 

chuck-eye steak   vs  roast   is interesting  

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Nice choice chuck is on sale at Shoprite for $2.99 a pound.  I've some in the bath as we speak.  When I dissected the musculature I decided on two packages of cubes plus a whole piece, a single muscle, of a bit over a pound that I chose to leave intact.  Not sure how I will use the latter but a roast is a fine possibility.

 

Chuck is anovaing 58 deg C. for twenty four hours.  Along with an organic sweet potato.

 

Come to think of it, I may head back to Shoprite tomorrow.

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I had the first of this batch of 58 deg C, 24 hour chuck last night, as grilled skewered cubes.  Taste was fine, texture was a bit mealy.  I confess I was rather disappointed, considering my high expectations.  Note that last night's cubes were all from one muscle.

 

I wonder if the other portions of the roast will be any different?

 

[rotuts]

i no longer do ' Chuck ' roasts or hunks SV  as a unit.

 

just for the reason you mention :  some muscle groups can get mealy.   some might have to do how the Cow was slaughtered   ( lactic acid can make the meat 

 

taste ' livery ' in conventional cooking    That's rare but Ive experienced it.  and how the meat was kept and transported 

 

Id not give up . but learn a bit about the muscle groups  and keep track in a note book.

 

Ive moved away from chuck as a whole for this reason.    I do know some muscles that are tender and have mighty fine flavor  i.e.  ' blade roast '

 

I don't eat much beef , not for ' health reasons ' or to be PC  but because in my view what you get easily have little beef flavor or is over priced.

 

if there were a true ' Prime Meat Market ' near me , I might treat my self from time to time there.

 

the meat I look for in the Major Markets is Flat Meat : sirloin tips , but whole.   butchers love it when I ask them about it and they nicely trip a whole

 

'tip' for me and leave it whole at the sale price.  oddly  one MegaloMart in my area has Sirloin tips this week on sale for 3.99.

 

very odd.   Ill discuss this with them on Monday.   WSJ and NYTimes have suggested that Beef prices are falling !

 

I SV the whole muscle in sections and use it for a ' Steak ' or a 'Sandwich' after i SV it and then freeze it.

 

sorry you were disappointed.

[kayb]

There are cuts of meat I just prefer in the oven, and chuck roast is one of them. Something about the evaporation of some of the liquid and resulting concentration of the flavors, I guess. 

[Okanagancook]

I agree kayb, some meats need to go in the oven.  I would add a lamb roast and a pork butt roast to that list.  

[Tri2Cook]

10 minutes ago, kayb said:

There are cuts of meat I just prefer in the oven, and chuck roast is one of them. Something about the evaporation of some of the liquid and resulting concentration of the flavors, I guess. 

I won't say I prefer other methods over sous vide for chuck roast because I haven't tried it sous vide yet, but a chuck low and slow in the smoker is a thing of beauty that I have a difficult time imagining would be surpassed in a water bath.

[rotuts]

fair enough   I completely agree.

 

you put the meat in some flavorful liquid , you ' braise ' so some of the meat is above the water and caramelizes , you flip the mat over and

 

get the other side ' caramelized '

 

nice.

 

my other was more of a gardner  self taught  than a Home Cook.  we did every night growing up and a home cooked meal.

 

she made  ' Swiss Steak ' in an enameled oblong pan   probably round of some sort , perhaps on sale

 

there were some onions in there , maybe a bullion cube or so.

 

always with the finest mashed potatoes Ive ever had and the liquid from the Swiss Steak over the meat and the Mashed Potatoes.

 

Heaven it was

 

as with all braise , so much better the next day.

 

so I do understand the Braise.

 

and I do have the pan she used .   and Ive made it countless times the same dish in that pan.

 

with the same mashed potatoes.

 

as tasty as that was now   and back then  :  the meat having gone through a braise was a bit ' dry '

 

better the next day.  very tender  though.

 

I can imagine those same flavors   with a meat that was tender and more rare.

 

however  , the Kitchen and the whole house  , with Modern Methods , would not have had the wonderful 

 

Aroma of a Wonderful Home,

[kayb]

Had to get a chuck roast out of the freezer. Have tiny mixed potatoes (purple, red, gold) and both oyster and cremini mushrooms. A few carrots, a couple of onions, cook most of the day....Yummy!

 

Have to clean out the freezer anyway; new beef will be coming in a week or so. Oddly, I have steaks left over. Go figure. Also, a surfeit of soup bones. Must get the IP out and make bone broth this coming week.

 

The usual 15-20 pounds of ground beef left over, too. The kids will take that off my hands; I may give them some of the steaks as well. Anxious to try this year's beef, as my previous farmer retired and this one provides entirely grass-fed, as opposed to the other guy, who finished his with a combo of grass and grain.

[FeChef]

How do i explain this... I want to slice it thin against the grain (about 1/8) i want it to have a slight pull, but give way. I want most of the connective tissue to break down. What i don't want is for it to fall apart easy. Confirmed unwanted time/temp is 24 hours @ 160F. Still very moist but falls apart very easily.

Also note, this will be chilled before put on the meat slicer too be sliced.

 

Is there a better cut of beef suited for this?

Edited November 12, 2018 by FeChef (log)

[mgaretz]

24 hours at 131f will give you a nice rare prime rib effect.

[FeChef]

6 minutes ago, mgaretz said:

24 hours at 131f will give you a nice rare prime rib effect.

Sorry, i should have noted i am looking for a more of a med/med well.

[rotuts]

140 F / 12 H +++

[FeChef]

21 minutes ago, rotuts said:

140 F / 12 H +++

I am not sure about that temp/time. I tried 150F for 16 hours and a lot of the connective tissue was still "chewy" and had too much pull.

 

I am thinking somewhere below 160F for longer then 24 hours, or 160F for less then 24 hours. I guess i am the only person that ever wanted a slightly still sliceable texture.

Edited November 12, 2018 by FeChef (log)