Welcome!


This is a membership forum. Guests can view 5 pages for free. To participate, please join.

[ Pitmaster Club Information | Join Now | Login | Contact Us ]

Only 4 free page views remaining.

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

SV Idea #2 - Who You Callin’ CHUB???

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    SV Idea #2 - Who You Callin’ CHUB???

    So I bought this new sous vide rig and have been having a lot of fun (and a good amount of successes) following recipes! As normally happens when I find a new toy to play with, once I master some basics, mad scientist mode takes over.

    Ever since I saw one in the store for the first time, I’ve been obsessed with chubs of ground beef. 😊 If you aren’t familiar with the term, I’m talking about those big ol’ (3, 4, 5, in Costco’s case TEN pound!) tubes of hamburger meat. I’ve always wanted to try to cook one whole to create a MEAT LOG (LOL), but my beloved girlfriend has always been the voice of reason… how the hell would I keep it together during the cook? 💁‍♂️ Discretion being the better part of valor, I’ve never taken my shot.

    Then I discovered sous vide! 😈

    So here’s what I’m thinking… freeze it solid, then take the the wrapping off and vacuum seal it. Allow it to thaw, then into the sous vide bath it goes! To sear, rip snorting hot grill and VOILA - a cut your own patty to your liking HAMBURGER LOG!!! 😃🙌

    After doing a Google search, it turns out I might just be the only moron who’s ever wondered this wonder. LOL! Not too often one can stump the Google machine, but I’ve managed to do it.

    So what say you fellow mad scientists? Crazy GOOD idea, or just a crazy idea that will crash & burn? Time / temp recommendations? Other thoughts or ideas to contribute?

    Look forward to any and all responses - this one might be fun! 😊

    #2
    Heck. Give it a go! Then we’ll all know. At the least you’ll end up with meat for chili or the like.

    Comment


    • gdsim1
      gdsim1 commented
      Editing a comment
      Chili IS the patron saint of botched meat cooks, isn’t it? 🤣🤣🤣 This is DEFINITELY happening, so I’ll make sure to report back win, lose or draw. 👍

    #3
    That should work.

    But here's my problem with this. An essential part of a burger is the seared outside. If ya cook a chub whole and sear it whole and slice it after searing, you wind up with the edge being the only part seared. It might be OK, but I prefer a whole lot more seared meat. Of course, you could slice after the bath and sear it normally

    Comment


    • gdsim1
      gdsim1 commented
      Editing a comment
      Mmm hmm… I had also considered that Mr. Malliard was going to be a problem after slicing. ☹️ Will probably do exactly as you said and sear again after slicing, but that kind of defeats the purpose a bit I suppose. 🤣🤣🤣 Oh well, "It’s the journey not the destination" and all that, right? 🤷‍♂️

    #4
    My mind goes more towards a fatty. Stuff it with some goodness before hand and wrap it in bacon...

    Comment


    • Potkettleblack
      Potkettleblack commented
      Editing a comment
      The problem with SV fatties is that the fat doesn't render quite as thoroughly as it would on a traditional cook, which produces a very fatty fatty. I did one once, and will likely not do it again.

    • Troutman
      Troutman commented
      Editing a comment
      Potkettleblack So you did a fatty fatty and it turned out fatty so it's unlikely you'd ever do a fatty fatty due to the fatty fat ever again?

    • RonB
      RonB commented
      Editing a comment
      Troutman - Whaaaat??

    #5
    If you have a good vacuum seal, there’s no need to let it thaw. Just drop it in the SV frozen and allow an extra hour or so. I’d use a calculator to ensure it is in the SV long enough to be safe (pasteurized), unless maybe if it’s irradiated beef.

    I would probably want to slice and sear each patty to get more crust, as mentioned above, but you could try without.

    Comment


    • gdsim1
      gdsim1 commented
      Editing a comment
      All good ideas. 👍 I’m going to HAVE to try a slice without the extra sear, just to know - and I’ll make sure to report back. 😇

    #6
    I really like the way you think. Let us know how it cooks. I would to do this. Maybe even inject some spice in it.

    Comment


    • gdsim1
      gdsim1 commented
      Editing a comment
      Now you got me thinking… injecting with some French onion soup put through a strainer? Ohhhhh BABY! 😃🙌

    #7
    I think I like this idea. Since those cubs generally come from the slaughterhouse/packing plant where contamination risk (especially E. coli) is quite a bit higher than store ground beef, your suggestion is a way to safely consume at least medium rare burgers. I imagine I would want to slice them a bit on the thicker side so you don't completely eliminate this with the sear

    Comment


      #8
      Well, you could mix in some egg, onion, bread or crackers, seasoning... meat loaf SVQ. I would cook it then at 210F... and use a very lean chub. And a big sear after!

      Comment


        #9
        Always begin a sous vide project with an end goal in mind. It will guide the start.

        If you just want to make a log of burger, safe at med rare, this is the way. I think you could freeze it, reseal it (maybe using saran wrap to make a torchon), soak it at 135x4, shock it cold, and then either apply a reverse sear or a smoke and sear. Then slice and serve. But it wouldn't have as much browning as a burger patty, so maybe needs a sauce or something... You could also slice it before searing, and then sear off burgers as thick as you like...

        Comment


        • gdsim1
          gdsim1 commented
          Editing a comment
          Thank you for the guidance sir! 👍 I was hoping you’d see the post and comment since you’re our resident Sensei of SV! 🙏

        #10
        Just be sure you get that chub nice and pasteurized. Ecoli most likely runs through and through it. As Polarbear777 says, check pasteurization charts for the size and shape of the chub.

        FWIW, here's what Kenji Lopez-Alt says about burger pasturization:
        With sous-vide methods, you have a bit more leeway as beef can be safely pasteurized at temperatures as low as 130°F if held for long enough. At 130°F, it takes 2 hours to safely pasteurize beef, while at 140°F, it takes only 12 minutes. Remember—these timeframes begin once the center of the burger reaches pasteurization temperature, so it's a good idea to add an extra half hour to those times for any burger you plan on pasteurizing.

        This is from his article on Sous Vide Burgers.

        Kathryn

        Comment


        • gdsim1
          gdsim1 commented
          Editing a comment
          Thanks and will do ma’am! Shouldn’t be a problem - my girlfriend likes her burgers well done (she’s a commie lol), so I’ll be making sure to get that IT up and all the way through. 👍

        #11
        Have fun but I see zero upside to this. How hard is it to cut you some burgers and grill 'em? It's like the easiest thing to do in barbecue. But hey, what do I know.

        Comment


        • gdsim1
          gdsim1 commented
          Editing a comment
          The vision quest to this has never been about making the world’s finest hamburger… it’s been about the challenge of how one would go about cooking an entire chub of ground beef while retaining its shape. 💁‍♂️ That’s 101 of the project.

          202 will be "Now that we know that can be accomplished, what can we do with it?"

          If I DO wind up stumbling onto something worthwhile, I’ve done something nobody else has thought of - and that’s the fun in it. 👍

        • Troutman
          Troutman commented
          Editing a comment
          Like I said, good luck and have fun !! If you discover the Holy Grail please be sure to share it with us !!!

        • Polarbear777
          Polarbear777 commented
          Editing a comment
          For really thick burgers (~8 oz) I like SV because I can easily make them safe at medium rare and then blast to get a good crust. Cutting them from a pre cooked chub and then searing might be convenient in some situations, since you don’t have to form the patties.

          That said I like crust and make smashburgers instead 95% of the time.
          Last edited by Polarbear777; July 10, 2021, 12:03 PM.

        #12
        I hate to say this, but what you are describing is not a "burger log" but rather a spiceless meat loaf in my opinion. Slices of that would be like a bland, spiceless meatloaf.

        To me the crust on a burger and seasoning on the flat sides (not the perimeter edge) is what makes it taste good. Have I had a good meatloaf sandwich? Sure. But its not a burger... and good meat loaf has a lot of mix-ins and spices that give it flavor, and is usually coated with a tomato sauce based sauce on the outside.

        SV is cool for some things, but I don't think this will be one of them. And if you are going to sear off both sides of the sliced off burger log, I don't see the point of SV in a log shape in the first place.

        BTW - I used to buy the big chubs of beef as well - the 10 pounders - for all my cookouts, and slice it into patties. Worked well, but I no longer buy chubs as I've switched to almost only doing smash burgers, ands its easier to buy the trays of store ground beef versus the compressed factory chubs.
        Last edited by jfmorris; July 9, 2021, 08:51 AM.

        Comment


          #13
          Ground beef chubs are dangerous. Avoid them. Most outbreaks of pathogenic bacteria are traced back to batch processed commercial beef.

          Comment


          • jfmorris
            jfmorris commented
            Editing a comment
            Agreed. I wanted to say this in my post, but couldn't find a good source to quote on it.

        Announcement

        Collapse
        No announcement yet.
        Working...
        X
        false
        0
        Guest
        Guest
        500
        ["pitmaster-my-membership","login","join-pitmaster","lostpw","reset-password","special-offers","help","nojs","meat-ups","gifts","authaau-alpha","ebooklogin-start","alpha","start"]
        false
        false
        {"count":0,"link":"/forum/announcements/","debug":""}
        Yes
        ["\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1157845-paid-members-download-your-6-deep-dive-guide-ebooks-for-free-here","\/forum\/the-pitcast","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2019-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2020-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2021-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2022-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2023-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2024-issues","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here"]
        /forum/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here