Sous vide packer brisket in its Cryovac?

[oldsmokey]

A friend of mine told me how he sous vided an entire packer-cut brisket in the Cryovac bag in which it came from the store. He said it took it to about 190F for 72 hours in the water, then opened it and let it sit on a rack in the fridge overnight, then seasoned and smoked it to 140 the next day, which took about six hours.

I am itching to try this, but I see that it runs counter to the advice I see elsewhere, which calls for using only the seasoned point or flat and holding it at 135 or 155 for a shorter time. I am not eager to open the Cryovac and then vacuum-seal it after seasoning -- I'm not sure my roll of bags is wide enough, and I am afraid of leaks.

Has anyone been around this block before? Is there any reason, especially for safety, that I shouldn't do it this way? And if I do try this, should I be aiming for a lower temperature and a shorter bath?

I'd appreciate your advice!

[RonB]

I don't know, but I do wonder if the bag is heat safe and will it leach any chemicals at higher temps.

[jfmorris]

Yeah, the cryovac is meant for cold temps, not hot temps near boiling...

[hoovarmin]

No way. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Cryovac doesn't hold up in the sous vide bath.

[bmillin]

I had a brisket turn black from sous-vide in a cryofac.

[Mosca]

I wouldn’t do it just because there is so much crap than I think needs to be trimmed before cooking; not so much the fat cap (but yeah, the fat cap), but all that brown stuff on the edges, the thin stuff that overcooks, etc.. I don’t doubt that it comes out good, but I’d rather trim that stuff when it’s cold than after it cooks.

[jfmorris]

Yeah - I for one want to rinse the crap liquid that is in the cryovac off the brisket, as it is often slimy, AND season it. Not to mention trimming excess fat.

[Spinaker]

I think you are way better off just separating the flat and point, vac sealing and cooking it that way. So much fat will be rendered out if you just throw it in the bath with the cryo-vac on. Plus, it is better to smoke, SV, then smoke again. IMHO.

[jfmorris]

I am with the others who say not to do it. I just don't think I would trust the cyrovac to not start leaking under heat. Break it down into chunks you think your vacuum sealer can handle.

Also - 190F for 72 hours? I feel that seems way too many hours. I use 195F for 4 hours as a SV finish to my pastrami, which I smoke to 170, then vacuum seal and refrigerate or freeze until the day I want to serve. I then SV it for 4 hours at 195, as opposed to steaming it as is traditional with pastrami. My flats and points come out perfect every time in those 4 hours.

I can find no reputable article on the internet that suggests going 72 hours at such a high temp. Here's one that I read:

https://www.seriouseats.com/sous-vide-barbecue-smoked-bbq-brisket-texas-recipe#toc-what-temperature-and-timing-should-i-use

If you trust the guys over there, their experiments at 135, 145 and 155 seem to indicate that if you go 195 for 72 hours, it will likely be dried completely out. After all, the reason for going to 195 is to know our brisket is tender, which if smoking happens right when the IT hits 195 to 205 - somewhere in that range. We don't have to hold it there long, unless you count a faux cambro hold for a few hours.

I feel that if you go 195F, you don't need to hold the brisket much longer than a few hours to get it to that temp all the way through. Maybe 8-10 if I had to guess. In the Serious Eats article, they found 36 hours at 155 was great, and so was 72 hours at 135, with 145 being the oddball temp in their test.

All this said, sous vide cooking of a brisket without smoking first and developing some bark and having a flavorful rub, some salt, etc, seems like a recipe for a big blob of tasteless pasty looking meat...

[STEbbq]

+1 to all of this!

[bbqLuv]

Thank for link

[bbqLuv]

I like to trim a full-packer-brisket before cooking. It seems to me you may want to trim and season before SV.
Cryovac and heat--read above.

[realdocBBQ]

Sous vide with no salt????


No thanks.

[MsTwiggy]

I once tried to sous vide a brisket and it was truly, horribly, terribly, awfully, bad. . . I mean it was practically inedible. I did very little research and I’m sure my technique was wrong but I won’t sous vide a brisket evah again!! Now that I think about it I haven’t sous vided anything since then 😂🥹 maybe someday. . . Maybe 🤔 . . . Nah!! 🔥🔥🐿️

[Donw]

I sous vide brisket but not in the original packing. Always split, trimmed and repackaged. I do it at 155 for about 36 hours and it turns out great. Here is a link you should check: https://www.seriouseats.com/sous-vid...t-texas-recipe Also look for Troutman ‘s posts on sous vide’d brisket.

[oldsmokey]

Thank you all! I think I have seen the light, and it's not through Cryovac!