[Modernist Cuisine at Home] Beef short ribs

[Anonymous Modernist 15382]

I cooked beef short ribs according to the 'MC At Home' recipe. 72 hr. 144F. using a Polyscience circulator in a Polyscience plastic tank. Used a Food Saver unit to seal the ribs in a bag. There was a small amount of air in the bag, but not enough to cause it to float. I removed the bones prior to serving the ribs, and as I did so, I noticed an unexpected and slightly alarming odor in the meat that reminded me of a visit I had once made to a slaughterhouse. Not rotten meat, but dead animal. The odor persisted but was suppressed by the smell of the red wine glaze when the food was served. No one seemed to notice this odor, and the unanimous consensus was that the ribs were awesome, but I am curious what caused it with the goal of eliminating it in the future.

[Anonymous Modernist 7039]

I have experienced the same after long duration SV cooking.

This is from MC 2,214:

"Although most sealing problems are merely annoyances, a bad odor coming from a bag when it is opened should be a big concern. Bad odors can be a signal that bacterial growth has occurred during storage or cooking. Because some bacteria generate dangerous toxins, promptly discard any food in bags that smell bad when opened. Similarly, bags puffing up over time while cold may be a symptom of bacterial growth inside."

[Sam Fahey-Burke]

Ribs must have gone off (rancid???) during cooking. This can happen if the meat isn’t fresh or has been handled improperly. If food smells bad coming out of the bag it should be discarded.