Sou Vide/Smoker Brisket?

[mhkesler84]

So on Sunday I have a some great friends coming over to the house. I plan on doing a Brisket(Full packer haven't picked it up yet) Sou Vide and then finish in the smoker. I have a few questions for all you helpful people out there on the interwebs.

1. What temp do you think I should set the Sou Vide for and how long? I'm curious if I want to set this to around the stall temp 160° or shoot for a higher temp.

2. Should I then smoke the brisket up to about 203°? I'll be using a PBC.


Any feedback or suggestions would be much appreciated. I'll post some picks next week!

[Stoney]

That's similar to what I did with a pork butt, unfortunately the results were a bit underwhelming. It was tender enough, but the flavor wasn't there. Ended up feeding it to my dogs. No idea how a brisket will react, but I suspect bark formation and the flavor profile may suffer.
If you have never done it like this, I would suggest doing one, if possible, prior to serving folks, unless ya'll are great pals and can enjoy the meal, regardless the outcome.

[EdF]

Here are some notes I've gathered on sous vide brisket:

=== brisket or chuck roast
Another guy did brisket, 4 hours on KBQ at 225, iced and stored, then 4 hours sous-vide at 185, then sear to restore bark. Looked good.

Potkettleblack likes 135-140 for 48-72 hours, then ice, then smoke to desired bark (brisket). Breadhead concurs.

(potkettleblack): So, I know JKLA and ChefSteps like hotter temps and shorter cooks for their Sous-B-Cue, but I'm gonna state a minority opinion. Chuck, do at 130-135 x 48-72, until it passes a pinch test. Brisket, same time, same temp, same test. The pinch test is a key concept for sous vide, just like probe tender for traditional BBQ.

If you are inclined to attempt this again, do a chuck (unless brisket is cheaper where you are... in which case do a brisket flat). Put it in for 135* for 24 hours... pinch the bag. If it's not tender, it's not ready. Give it another 12. Repeat until it's tender under your pinch. When it's tender, shock it cold in an ice bath. Refrigerate overnight. You want this cold on the grill/smoker. Dry it off, rub it, put it on at 225-250* and let it run until it's rethermed. Then, take it off, and heat your sear up to sear temps and sear it until you have the crust you want. That should produce closer to what you're looking for.

Small Brisket pieces - point or flat alone (ChefSteps): 24 at 155, followed by short(?) smoking.

[badf00d]

I asked Dr. Blonder, and he suggested smoking, then chill, then sous vide with convenient scheduling. EdF may be referring to this thread around my experience: https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...et-bad-weather

[EdF]

Yeah, could very well be!

[BBQCentralShow]

OR...just bbq the brisket like normal? :-)

[billg71]

I just can't see where "convenience" comes into play with all you have to do to package and cook a large piece of meat for 24-72 hours then spend the time firing up the cooker and smoking it anyway.

I think it's more like a "I have a new hammer so everything must be a nail" thing.

[Breadhead]

billg71 ... if you Sous Vide your brisket to about 160°, in the ultimate set it and forget cooker, it cuts your time in the smoker by less than half. The same with steaks. SV and sear them on your grill for 2 or 3 minutes. That's very handy when cooking for a large crowd.

[BBQCentralShow]

But if I cook a whole brisket in 10-12hrs (tops) on the cooker, why spend 72hrs in the water? Steak I can get with...but the big bbq meats in the water for that kind of time just doesn't make sense TO ME. I will also maintain that in order to be barbecue, it must start the same way it ends...YMMV.

[MBMorgan]

Here's another approach from Kenji's Food lab: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2...as-recipe.html

In his article, he discusses how to finish in the oven (meh!) or on a grill. Shouldn't be too difficult to adapt his method to finishing in a smoker instead.

[Ernest]

Here's what I did with brisket (and do with pork butt)
Sous Vide at 145 for 48 hours for steak like texture
Sous Vide at 165 for traditional BBQ texture
Chill and refrigerate until feast day.
Smoke to serving temp and preferred color.
If smoked to 203, the advantages of sous vide are negated.

[Ernest]

mhkesler84 I like 145

[mhkesler84]

Ernest Derp I didn't see that you already said that!

[Dr ROK]

Ernest have you tried this with chuck?

[mhkesler84]

Only Packer available 17lbs! Looks like we will have leftovers!

[EdF]

Looks like the best material!

[GadjetGriller]

Somebody on here I confess I dont remember who. Did a hybrid cook like this but they did the smoking 1st! As Stoney pointed out if you smoke 2nd it doesn't take the smoke very well. I'll try to remember who it was and link it.

[mhkesler84]

Dude, I was just looking into that process! Let me know what you find!

[EdF]

I've done it with butt, not brisket. Came out great. But there's a good point to be made about crust, and I'll try it the other way around next time.

[GadjetGriller]

mhkesler84 I havent found that post yet but I did come across this from DouglasBaldwin.com Brisket

• Beef Brisket
• Sugar, Salt and Pepper

Cut slits in the fat cap in a crosshatch patter. Brine the brisket in a 4% salt, 3% sugar solution (40 grams salt and 30 grams sugar per liter of water) in the refrigerator for 2–3 hours. Rinse and dry brisket with paper towels.

Flavor the brisket either by smoking it for 30–60 minutes or by searing the fat cap with a blowtorch. Then vacuum seal the brisket either whole or cut into two to four pieces.

While the famed French Laundry is said to cook their brisket in a 147°F (64°C) water bath for 48 hours, I prefer to cook brisket at 176°F (80°C) for 24–36 hours. Alternatively, some like to cook brisket at 135°F (57°C) for 36–48 hours. Since some of the liquid in the bag will change phase (to gas), the bag will puff and may float to the surface. To prevent uneven cooking, the bags should be held under water using a wire rack or some other restraint. [After cooking, the brisket may be rapidly cooled in ice water (see Table 1.1) and frozen or refrigerated at below 38°F (3.3°C) for up to three to four weeks until needed.]

Remove the brisket from the vacuum sealed pouch and use the liquid from the bag to create a quick sauce (by reducing in a pan over medium-high heat and adding a corn starch slurry to thicken). Slice the meat across grain into long, thin slices and serve with beef glace.

[Breadhead]

I think cooking Sous Vide to 160° is best because that will leave enough time in the smoker to build the bark. Cook to probe tenderness. All will come out well.

[Breadhead]

BBQCentralShow commented
November 17th, 2016, 08:04 PM
But if I cook a whole brisket in 10-12hrs (tops) on the cooker, why spend 72hrs in the water? Steak I can get with...but the big bbq meats in the water for that kind of time just doesn't make sense TO ME. I will also maintain that in order to be barbecue, it must start the same way it ends...YMMV.

BBQCentralShow ... the reason Sous Vide cooking was invented was to make things more efficient in a professional kitchen. The labor involved in SV cooking is minuscule. You can SV 50 steaks all day and then when you get an order you can sear it and have it served in under 10 minutes.

For us home cooks... if you're going to have a group of people over for dinner, you can SV your brisket overnight, instead of staying up all night feeding your smoker logs. Then in the morning after a nice night of sleep you can move the brisket to your smoker to give it flavor and bark.

Not everyone, me included, has a need to classify BBQ as a piece of meat that started and finished on a smoker. My mission is to serve extraordinary tasting food. If I use a combination of techniques to achieve that goal... I'm good with that.

If I SV a brisket overnight to 160% degrees, put it in the fridge for a few hours and then put some beef love on it and add my rub and put it in the smoker for 5 to 6 hours to develop the smoke flavor and the bark... I don't think anyone would know I cheated.

Combining Smoke & Water... is a trend. It's not going away. Some will say it's not BBQ but those that understand both techniques will not listen to the naysayers. They will nod their head and think... they just don't get it.😎

[Huskee]

I think what Greg is getting at, in the context of cooking a brisket at home not steaks in a commercial setting, is that it's all in what you like to do. Some of us like feeding logs and think the electricity and time involved in such lengthy sous vide cooking seems excessive to get a great-either-way meal. Others embrace the new trends and find their personal advantages. It's all good.

[Breadhead]

I agree Huskee ... do your thing! I used to always smoke my meat in the smoker, start to finish and still do sometimes. Then I discovered Sous Vide. My thing now is combining both for convenience and fun. The hands on labor for a 72 hour SV cook is less that 10 minutes.

[EdF]

Huskee, I pretty much agree with Breadhead . Do it the way you love to. But SV+5 hours or so of smoke definitely works too.

[Ernest]

Dr ROK Yep! I did Chuck at 131 degrees for 48 hours.

[EdF]

Guess that about says it all!

[Dr ROK]

Did you smoke after the sous vide or use sear? That stuff looks fantastic!

[Ernest]

Dr ROK slapped on a hot grill.

[BBQCentralShow]

I don't think anyone would know I cheated.

But YOU know you cheated!! Oh the internal struggle that must burn low and slow within you...or maybe its hot and fast...or perhaps that guilt is in a vacuum sealed bag in your internal SV machine slowing coming to temp.

- SARCASM ABOVE

No one knows more than me that there are "different strokes for different folks"...you should see the shit I am catching about using the Arteflame and how it'snot "real grilling"...LOL!!

[BBQCentralShow]

Agreed!

[GadjetGriller]

That Arteflame looks pretty darn kool!! Does it have a grill cover for the hole in the middle so you can get some flame licked heat?? Looks hard to clean though?

[BBQCentralShow]

GadjetGriller - yes, there is a grill cover for the middle. Not so bad to clean.. Shop vac takes care of it pretty quick.

[mhkesler84]

So the brisket turned out to be more than disappointing. My sou vide malfunctioned about 4 hours into the soak, but I bought a new one at Target. Set the new Sou Vide up went to bed Saturday night, only to wake Saturday to the new sou vide having switched over to Celsius and completely different temps( I was soaking at 160, wake up temp was 125). So then I just proceeded as normal and put it in the smoker and let it come up to about 160, and put it in the cambro. The brisket didn't turn out as bad as I originally thought it would, but no where near my standards for brisket. In the future, I will just stick to smoking in the PBC, that being said, I still love my sou vide!