? SVQ Brisket in the original cryopac?

[Dr. Pepper]

Does anyone SV in the original cryopac? That would mean the SV would be without any salt, seasoning. In a SVQ, the meat would have to be seasoned after the SV, before the Q. I could see this saving a lot of time and labor, but would make the trimming more difficult I suspect.

Thanks for everyone's opinions. Daniel

[Jerod Broussard]

Me thinks the variation in the sometimes copious amounts of fat on brisket would make for a crappy cook. Also, not sure the bags are rated for that, and would expect leakage at some point (get it? point).

[bbqLuv]

One step rendering fat into tallow and adding to the brisket. After all, adding tallow to brisket is the latest rage in BBQ. What could go wrong with that?

[willxfmr]

I agree with Jarod. There is some risk with no up side.

[Dr. Pepper]

The upside would be for the lazy. Buy the brisket, put it in the bathtub. But, I appreciate the feedback.

[FireMan]

Hey new, quit bein lazy, yer in the Pit. Ya wanna be lazy, order pizza!

[Dr. Pepper]

willxfmr Jerod Broussard OK, now a hypothetical: If you first trimmed the brisket, and sealed it in an appropriate bag, what are the ramifications of doing the SV with no salt, no seasoning. Waiting for the Q part for the salt and spices? I ask because I recently took a frozen Costco American Waygu NY strip and SV in its frozen FoodSaver bag, no seasoning. Then dried it, S&P before the sear.

[Potkettleblack]

1- They are right, do not use the cryovac bag it comes in. JB noted the whys.
2- That plan should work fine. Give the S&P a few minutes to adhere to the steak before searing. I'd add a shock in ice water to get the temp down, but your mileage may vary.

[Dr. Pepper]

Potkettleblack I dried the steaks, salted them, and put them on a rack and into the refrigerator for about 45 minutes. It worked great.

[Jerod Broussard]

If you SV too soon after salting you just end up with salty juice. To SV without salt shouldn't be terrible. Not sure how well the salt uptake after SV is.

[willxfmr]

I have recently been doing the sous vide step with naked meat. No dry brine, no rub, just meat in a bag. I'm pretty sure I picked up the idea from someone here in The Pit that most of the rub you put on prior to bagging and bathing just ends up flavoring the juice and not the meat. Dry brining might be a different story because the salt gets much deeper into the meat. The last thing I tried this on was a chuck roast, and I didn't notice any difference in the end product. For me it just comes down to convenience. Most of the time whatever is going into the bath is already vac sealed and in the freezer. It is mighty nice to just get the water going, and toss the still frozen meat in. YMMV

[Troutman]

I dry brine all my beef, pork and lamb before all my cooks including sous vide. I agree there is no appreciable difference as long as you allow the salt to penetrate. Salt brining improves the meat proteins ability to retain moisture. SV doesn’t change that. Topical application will.

[Dewesq55]

I would not do that, but don't have a solid explanation for why not.

[Murdy]

I can't really see how the bag itself would be a problem. Aren't commercial cryovac bags just heavier duty versions of the bags we use with our home vacuum sealers. If anything, I'd think they'd be less prone to leakage.

However, I would not do it because it wouldn't be trimmed or dry brined.

[Potkettleblack]

The seals may not work so great in the bath...
I've learned this one a long time ago before anyone was around to tell folks about it.
Also, the plastic might not be rated for temperature, so there might be a leeching issue... While I think I'm already about 10% plastic, no reason to tempt fate with more.