Sous Vide Chuck Roast: The Topic

[FeChef]

Sandwich...

 

 

 

Edited March 12, 2024 by FeChef (log)

[TdeV]

@rotuts @gfweb @btbyrd

 

Getting ready to use a 3 lb beef chuck roast in the Anova steam oven (combi).

 

This Anova recipe for sous vide beef chuck roast says 135ºF for 27 hours, but online notes say that roast can get dried out on the outside top of roast. There are suggestions to flip the roast or cover it with a bowl.

 

However, prior research about sous vide pork roast using this starting recipe found gfweb's recommendation of 150ºF for 48 hours to be perfect (without being too dried out). In this latter pork recipe, there is a rub smeared on the meat before it starts to cook.

 

Is the roast saved by that rub?

 

It seems tedious to me doing all that action to keep the beef chuck roast from drying out.

 

Can I just put a dry rub on the chuck roast? Also, what would you use for a dry rub?

[rotuts]

@TdeV

 

please take some pics before and after !

 

as I see the Rx , the AOven is @ 100 %  humidity ?

 

wont dry out if this is the case.  I have not used my AO just yet , so do not know its peculiarities .

 

id make sure the water reservoir does not dry out.

 

the rub has nothing to do w dryness .  it's for flavor.  

 

and easy rub would be salt / freshly ground black pepper , then maybe granulated garlic and granulated onion

 

or powder for the last two.

 

N.B. have you used the AO @ 100 % humidity for this long ?

 

thinking both the reservoir and drainage .

 

best of luck !

 

Pics always appreciated , the more the better.

 

bon appetite !

 

[TdeV]

@rotuts,

 

The comments were on an Anova Culinary recipe and the Anova staff person wrote about how to circumvent the top of the roast drying out. It is postulated that it's a result of the air circulation of the convection oven (which is why flipping over the roast half-way might solve the problem). But I would drop the roast. ☹️

 

Doing sous vide in the Anova often uses 100% steam, and the excess steam streams out into one's kitchen.

Reheating crispy fried food uses 25% steam and a quite hot oven.

I reheat ordinary leftovers with 10-15% steam.

 

What I'm not understanding is why the Drying Out is not a problem for sous vided pork roast and is a problem for sous vided chuck roast, at least if the internet is to be believed.

[rotuts]

@TdeV

 

I have no answer to you question .

 

nothing should dry out @ 100 % steam.  

 

one thing Id consider :  how are you placing the meat in the AO ?

 

on a plate ?  on a rack on a plate ?    how does the heat circulate on the bottom of the meat ?

 

where do the Jus from the meat ( as it contracts ) go ?

 

I looked rather down that thread , and the meat sliced by some did look very good.

[TdeV]

@rotuts,

 

I haven't done the beef chuck roast yet.

 

The pork was sitting on a rack in a deep pyrex dish. But since it went 48 hours @ 100% steam, the liquid probably touched the bottom of the roast.

 

 

What I don't understand is why Anova said in the comments to their own recipe that 100% steam was going to dry out the top surface of the meat beef!

 

I guess I should ask . . . bada bump

 

Tomorrow I'm going to start the beef chuck roast. Will post photos.

 

 

Edited July 13 by TdeV
Clarity (log)

[rotuts]

@TdeV

 

no idea.

 

well , I do have an idea  .  just one that doesn't make Anova look good.

 

Proof will be on your plate.

 

thank you for the pics .

[gfweb]

@TdeV I wonder if "dried out" actually means overcooked rather than actually dry.  I only do SV in a water bath and I've never run across the problem.

 

I can imagine that a convection oven is capable of over-cooking at 100% steam esp at longer cook times which are needed for tough cuts like chuck.  I wonder if 24 hours is long enough to tenderize chuck as it isn't enough for brisket.

 

I confess that "SV" without a water bath is a concept I can't quite deal with.

[TdeV]

12 hours ago, gfweb said:

@TdeV I wonder if "dried out" actually means overcooked rather than actually dry.  I only do SV in a water bath and I've never run across the problem.

 

I can imagine that a convection oven is capable of over-cooking at 100% steam esp at longer cook times which are needed for tough cuts like chuck.  I wonder if 24 hours is long enough to tenderize chuck as it isn't enough for brisket.

 

I confess that "SV" without a water bath is a concept I can't quite deal with.

 

Well, I'll find out today-ish. I did write to Anova support, though I don't have any idea whether they usually field cooking questions.

 

I'm was planning to start the chuck today and finish up tomorrow, but the centre is quite frozen. Using a water bath, I would go ahead. Now I don't know.

 

I'm planning on using @rotuts's dry rub (mentioned a few posts back).

 

Do either of you see anything wrong with this scenario?

[rotuts]

@TdeV

 

if you are using steam as your heat transfer medium , Id let the CR thaw in the refrigerator first.

 

heat transfer w steam @ those temps is much less efficient over water ( vac-bagged ) as a heat transfer medium.

 

and the times // temps you mentioned earlier for AO steam SV  might get you a roast that has some chew left in it

 

which might be fine , sliced thinly.

 

good luck

Edited July 14 by rotuts (log)

[gfweb]

7 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@TdeV

 

if you are using steam as your heat transfer medium , Id let the CR thaw in the refrigerator first.

 

heat transfer w steam @ those temps is much less efficient over water ( vac-bagged ) as a heat transfer medium.

 

and the times // temps you mentioned earlier for AO steam SV  might get you a roast that has some chew left in it

 

chich might be fine , sliced thinnly.

 

good luck

 

I agree.

The rub might add flavor but wont affect cooking  results unless you use so much salt that it is, in effect, brining the whole roast.

 

(If brining was the intent it would take days to penetrate all the way through..about a cm/day IIRC.)

[rotuts]

@TdeV

 

do you SV , w a vac-bag and circulator ?

 

if you do both , are you using the oven due to the size of the meat ?

 

very interested to learn what an oven ' SV ' for a large roast does .

 

after all , My A.O. v 1 is still in the box !

Edited July 14 by rotuts (log)

[TdeV]

From Anova Culinary:

 

Thanks so much for reaching out, and we really appreciate you sharing your cooking journey with us! It’s awesome to hear how well your modified pork roast turned out. That’s exactly the kind of experimentation we love to see.
 
You brought up a great question about what we mean by a “long cook.” In the Anova Precision Oven, we generally start to consider anything over 12 to 18 hours a long cook, especially when using sous vide mode. That’s because, unlike a water bath where food is completely submerged and protected, the Oven uses steam and a fan to circulate heat and over time, that circulating air can start to dry out the surface of the food.
 
As for why a pork shoulder can go for 48 hours and still be delicious, while we suggest a bit more caution with a 27-hour chuck roast—that mostly comes down to differences in fat and structure. Pork shoulder is incredibly forgiving, with lots of intramuscular fat and connective tissue that keeps it moist during long cooks. Chuck roast is also tough and collagen-rich, but it tends to be leaner and can dry out more easily, especially when exposed to fan-driven air in the Oven.
 
If you’re going for a long cook like that in the Oven, especially with a leaner cut like chuck, it’s a good idea to either flip it halfway through or loosely cover it with foil or an oven-safe bowl. That helps shield it from the airflow and keeps the surface from drying out. Just make sure to dry it well before searing at the end, as a covered cook can leave the surface pretty wet.
 
For more reading, I’d definitely recommend checking out the guides from Serious Eats, Douglas Baldwin, and our own help articles. They go into great detail on time, temp, and texture if you’re looking to dive deeper.
 
https://douglasbaldwin.com/sous-vide.html
https://www.seriouseats.com/sous-vide-guides-5118018
 
Let us know how your chuck roast turns out. 

 

\[end]

--------------------------------

 

P.S. @gfweb how did you do your sous vide pork roast 150ºF for 48 hours? In a bag in water?

 

-------------------------------

 

I'm thinking of covering (very loosely) with tin foil.

Just a small piece for the top of the roast? @rotuts ?

[rotuts]

@TdeV

 

interesting reply.  

 

I think cove loosely , after you assess the cooking .

[TdeV]

@rotuts, I have 1 lb 12 oz left after removing fat and gristle. In about 5 or 6 pieces.

(I was entranced by this ChefSteps video posted by @btbyrd )

 

Should I tie this up into a roll? Or cook in some other way?

 

Edited to add that I plan to tie up the parts but don't otherwide plan to pre-cook the roast.

Edited July 15 by TdeV
Clarity (log)

[gfweb]

@TdeV Yes, in a bag in water

[rotuts]

@TdeV

 

tie it up evenly.

 

you might add seasonings

 

then into the A.O.

 

turn it 1/2 way , its only 1 lb 12 oz

[TdeV]

I took some ideas from ChefSteps video referenced 3 posts up.

 

Removed most of the fat and gristle which made 6 pieces which were laid out on this

 

as follows

 

 

Granulated garlic from Penzeys, salt, and 8 pepper blend from SpiceTrekkers added

 

 

Placed in cooking vessel

 

 

Then, per @rotuts, covered with a strip of aluminum foil, but . . .

 

 

should the foil be closer to the top of the meat?

 

 

 

Please advise if I should stick the foil closer to the meat inside the vessel.

 

Also rotuts said to flip halfway, but that will be in the middle of the night; so, roast went in at 2:30 pm and I plan to flip at 9 pm,  then next whenever I get up (5:30 ish). Then I could flip again at 11:30 ish?

 

 

 

Edited July 15 by TdeV
Punctuation (log)

[rotuts]

Foil looks fine , just keep it loose.

 

you might not have to flip it so many times

 

you can tell by how the top looks.

 

thank you for the pics.

 

its going to be very tasty and tender.

[btbyrd]

There are many paths to deliciousness, and I have no doubt that @TdeV's roast is going to be delicious. Those photos look *TASTY.*

 

I realize I'm late to the party and the roast is already in the oven, but my informed a priori thought would be to do a pre-sear (if you can) and then wrap the whole shabangalang in foil, then put the foil on the grate in the cooking vessel and cook it in the APO. Using foil is sort of like doing the "Texas crutch" in BBQ-land; seal the meat up so there's no evaporation and cook it slow and low until tender. The "wrap it in foil" APO suggestion comes from Dave Arnold's comments about  doing extended cooks in the APO.... you'll want to have a barrier between the food and the steamy environment because if there's any sort of water soluble flavor on the outside of the meat, it will drip out when the steam condenses on it and drips down. I might use a cooling rack set over a brownie dish or something. If you do it that way, there should be enough convection around the foil package that you shouldn't need to worry about flipping it. Once the roast comes out, I'd let it rest, pat it dry, oil it up with some salt and pepper, and then throw it in the APO cranked up all the way in air fry mode. At least if I was going for a conventional roasty exterior.

 

Since I linked to the ChefSteps chuck roast video, I just wanted to add that I've never had much luck making pan sauces with bag juices the way that they show in the video. That might just be a skill issue on my part, but cooking the junk in the bag has never yielded good eats for me. For jus, I just take beef stock and season it with Minor's beef base and it tastes "restaurant-y".  Chefsteps's egg white herb crust finishing technique is a nice way to put some herbs on the meat and have them stay in place. But in the summer time, I'd probably be blasting this with chimichurri and wasabi rather than using woody herbs like rosemary and thyme.

[TdeV]

Thanks, @btbyrd.

 

The roast is on a cooling rack inside the pyrex cooking vessel, with about 3/8" condensed vapour with, it seems to me, ALL my seasoning spices. Grrr.

 

It'll come out of the oven late this afternoon, whereupon I will dry it, put it in a bag and ice it. Refrigerate.

 

On Saturday I will need to reheat and finish the roast. Here's my theory: Take out of fridge and rest for 1/2 hour. Reheat in the bag via sous vide for about 1 hour. Open the bag and dry the roast. Maybe skip the gravy. 

 

Then make the egg white herb crust with some herbs from the garden. Anova's top temp is 482ºF.  90 seconds on each of 3 sides?

 

Thoughts?

[TdeV]

@btbyrd, Chimichurri seems to include 1/2 cup olive oil (which seems it might not work well with egg white froth). Or do you have a different chimichurri recipe?

[rotuts]

@TdeV

 

Id do a dry crust ,   pan sear .

 

dont toss out the Jus until you taste it .

 

if its salty , but flavorful  , dilute w low to no salt stock

 

Ive always been able to use the Jus , but i SV and IDS w low to no salt on the rub

 

and add 'saltiness ' later.

 

and dont forget :  left over beef , sliced thin the net days makes for a might fine sandwich.

[btbyrd]

Re: Chimichurri, I just meant that I'd probably finish it naked and then drown it in spicy vinegar herb sauce once it hit the plate. But that egg white herb crust is real nice!

[TdeV]

1 hour ago, btbyrd said:

Re: Chimichurri, I just meant that I'd probably finish it naked and then drown it in spicy vinegar herb sauce once it hit the plate. But that egg white herb crust is real nice!

 

I do want to try that egg white crust, for sure.