Strip Roast Sous Vide for an early Christmas Dinner

[Old Glory]

Hi just want to double check my plan here so thanks in advance for your advice.

Bought a seven pound prime strip roast. I plan on seasoning it tomorrow with SPG and wrapping in plastic wrap until Friday morning. Joule says SV for 6 hours at 129 then sear.

Does that sound right? I do not want to mess this up.

[Bob K]

2 thoughts:

1. I do not SV under 131 for more than 3 hours. Well, to be clear, if it was for just me and a couple others that weren't concerned, I would push it to 4. But if there's anyone in the group that's older, not feeling great, possibly immune-compromised, etc., I wouldn't. There's a non-zero probability of botulism if below 131 longer than 3 hours. Probably minuscule if you've been good about handling, refrigeration, etc., but non-zero.

2. Reasonable minds differ on this, but I've found that if I SV anything that's been salted (especially if dry-brined) for more than a few hours, I detect a cured, ham-like texture on the outer 1/2" or so. I don't care for that on beef, on pork it can be great. (I've mentioned this before here and others disagree, so take that with a grain of salt, heh.)

if it was me I would reverse sear that at ~225-250 or so until 110* internal, then sear, looking for that 129 finish temp after a 20-30 minute rest and carryover. If I was to SV it, I would go with 129 for 3-3.5 hours, make sure the internal temp was 129 after that, then sear. If you do sear after SV, give it 20 mins to rest/cool before searing so you don't go from 129 to 139 or worse.

good luck!

[Old Glory]

Thanks based on your advice I went very light on the rub.

[GolfGeezer]

Well, I do tri-tip that has been dry brined with kosher salt for 6.5 hours at 131*. Then chilled, put on Santa Maria rub (more salt in that so the dry brining is lighter than usual). Then sear on IR burner. Since that is a beef roast of sorts, I can’t imagine it being much different than your roast.

[Old Glory]

I do Tri Tip all the time 129 for 2-3 hours. Comes out great!

[DaveD]

Last year I separated a prime rib into spinalis, eye, and ribs, and did the eye (it was a large 3-bone roast) via SVQ. Very similar to the piece you have, I'm thinking. It went a little under nine hours at 131F/55C, then I let it cool on the countertop for half an hour or so, then seared the snot out of it. It was absolutely fantastic, melt in mouth tender and I've definitely not experienced what Bob K described, thank goodness!

[Old Glory]

That looks awesome!

[Bob K]

That looks fantastic. Yes, others have said they don't get the hammy/cured texture, but if I SV dry-brined beef for more than 3 hours or so, I can't not notice it. I must be doing something wrong, lol

[freddh]

DaveD, never thought about doing it this way. I've done the closed oven method in the past. But after reading and looking at the results, this year's roast will be a virtual copycat. Thanks!!

[Steve B]

I SV’d a strip loin roast last Christmas for my family and it was overwhelming the best roast we’ve ever had. It was from Creekstone Farms. It was so good that I’m doing exactly the same thing this year.
My method:
Seasoned with fresh rosemary, thyme, basil, garlic and a bit of oregano. No salt and pepper. My sister is very sensitive to salt and pepper. Vac sealed 2 days before Christmas.
I actually ran the Anova at 137*, don’t remember how I came up with that temp, but it was perfectly cooked. SV’d for 7 hours than seared it with my Grill Gun, basically a weed burner, until it had a nice color. Not exactly to the point of a good crust. Some family members don’t like a crust and can be a little fussy.
Anyway that’s how I done it and it was outstanding. Searched for some pics but couldn’t find any. I don’t normally take pics during holiday events.

[Old Glory]

Thanks! I'll keep it in the bath for 4-6 hours then sear it on my sear station.

[Santamarina]

I’ve thought about searing with my weed burner, but have never tried it. You just gave me the confidence to give it a go!

[Steve B]

Santamarina Works like a charm. And it’s easy to control the amount of sear you put on the meat without overcooking even the outer most band. So no graish ring. Pink from edge to edge.

[Old Glory]

Thanks guys. I think I will run it at 130 for 6 hours then sear. I lightly rubbed with Meathead's Red Meat Rub and wrapped in plastic. I am going to see if any herbs are left in the garden but will probably have to pick some up.

[Greygoose]

What about a lil smoke in the Shirley ?
I did one awhile ago and It was superb,,,👍👍👍
A lil over done because I was multi tasking but still everyone love it 😁😁😁

[Old Glory]

Normally yes but I will be working and cooking so no time to tend the fire!

[Troutman]

I would concur with the 130* at 6-8 hours. I do it regularly with big hunks of meat. For pot roasts using chuck I go a lot longer, like 22 hours. But with a loin you don't really need that kind of time to tenderize. A lot has to do with the shape of the roast and the thickness. As we've discussed in this forum, large hunks of beef generally are safe at low temps for extended bath times. The little meanies that we worry about simply reside on the surface and not deep into the body of the meat. I've never killed any family members or guests using this method yet !!

Also, I'm a little confused about the salt brining of beef turning it ham like comment above. I agree with pork that seems to occur but I've never had issues with beef. I suppose each to his own but I regularly salt brine nearly all my whole proteins. With beef overnight, pork a few hours and poultry half to a whole day as well. The benefits, as we've discussed ad nauseum, far out way any perceived odd flavoring that may occur. Again, just my opinion.

[Bob K]

Yup it seems that hammy/cured thing might just be me, and something I need to try and figure out. Had it happen twice, both on very nice roasts and swore never again. Wasn't doing anything crazy, just my typical dry brine, salt only, in normal amounts, but after 4+ hours SV, a noticeable 1/2" or so of "cured" outside layer was definitely there. Not horrible, but not great either. Think I'll grab a picanha or tri-tip and give it a shot again.

[Old Glory]

Thanks for all your advice. I posted pics in SUWYC. Came out great. Could have used more seasoning. Next time more salt.

6.5 Hours at 129 seared on the gasser.

Merry Christmas!

[fzxdoc]

When I SV a nice hunk of meat for over 4 hours at less than 140°, I always check the pasteurization charts and cook it to the recommended pasteurization time. That way I don't have to worry about possibly vulnerable family members or friends eating it, regardless of how small the risk. Recommended Joule app times/temps do not always consider this.

I like the pasteurization chart I bought from the Amazing Food Made Easy site. You can see the numbers on the link (and print them out) for free, but I like having the laminated chart stuck to the door of my extra fridge for quick reference. Plus I like supporting the AFME site. Jason Logsdon, the site owner, does a great job with it. He is quite active in the SV community.

AFME is a great, and quite reliable site on solid and scientific sous vide info. Scroll down on the above link to see pasteurization times for beef, pork, chicken, etc.

FWIW, here is a copy of AFME's chart for beef pasteurization times:



Kathryn

[DaveD]

This is outstanding info, thank you Kathryn! Glad to know I have been operating well within the safety zone for times at 131/55, my go-to beef SV temp.

[STEbbq]

Outstanding info. Bookmarked!

[Old Glory]

Thank you. Great info. Based on the chart I should have gone longer.