[Modernist Cuisine] Cooking tough vs. tender cuts sous vide

[Anonymous Modernist 10]

yesterday, someone wrote in to us to ask:

I am a little confused by volume 6.

On page 6-68 the table Best Bets for Cooking Tender Meats Sous Vide suggests 58C as the suggested target temperature.

Later though on page 6-86 in the table Best Bets for Cooking Tough Cuts beef hangar steak is listed with a target temperature of 50C. Is this an error or am I just not getting something. I have a hangar steak I butchered and I'd like to see what this cut is like done sous vide with a quick char after. Should I be using 50 or 58C?

For hangar steak, short ribs, and many other cuts of meat, a variety of time/temperature combinations can produce great results, but each will have a unique texture. If you're after a result similar to traditional slow-braised hangar steak, use the lower temperature recommended in the table Best Bets for Tough Cuts, and hold it at that temperature for a couple hours. But if you'd rather have more of a grilled or pan-fried texture to the steak, cook it to the higher temperature given in the Best Bets for Tender Cuts table, and pull the steak out of the bath as soon as the core temperature reaches the target value.