Help with Sous Vide Pork Chops Technique

[Hugh]

fzxdoc - How does this story end? did you ever do your follow on cook with the thick chops SV'd? Which cooking style do you now prefer for thick chops?

I've got 8 x 1.5 inch thick cut loin/chops in my fridge for tomorrow night and I've got to decide how to cook them. I've never done thick cuts before.

Reverse Sear vs SV
Wet brine, dry brine, no brine

What is the consensus out there on thick lean cuts of pork? I was going to SV but after reading this thread I'm leaning towards Meatheads 'Kermit' chops.

[fzxdoc]

Sorry to be so slow in responding, Hugh . Somehow I missed the link to your post. The last pork chops I sous vided, I did at a much lower temperature.

Here's the method I used:

1. Brine for 1 hour in wet brine: 1 qt water, ¼ cup sugar, ¼ cup table salt. (good for 2 chops)
2. Rinse and add to sous vide bag
3. Sous vide at 135 for 2 hours or more.
4. Remove from bag, dry off, coat with oil, add a rub* if desired, and sear quickly.

I did this with butterflied boneless pork chops, about ¾ to 1 inch thick. Worked great! Much better than my previous sous vide attempts with pork chops at higher temperatures.

HTH,
Kathryn

*I like Chef Tim Love's Cocoa and Chile rub on pork chops: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/c...bed-pork-chops

[jecucolo]

After brining you rinse the PC. I guess it is a light rinse? Seems you would rinse the sugar off?

[fzxdoc]

Good point, jecucolo . I routinely rinse the brine off before sous viding, mostly because when I first got my Joule, Chef Steps was against having too much salt in the bag. Now they say it's OK for short cooks. I still do a light rinse. Since I use sugar in the rub, I can't taste a difference, rinsing or not.

Kathryn

[jecucolo]

fzxdoc I used your recipe to cook a small pork loin and received high marks from my wife and mother in law. No leftovers! The rub was a risk knowing the taste but I went for it. Excellent! Thank you.

[T-bone]

SV is our new favorite way to do chops. We use a slightly different method than fzxdoc, but it's based onPotkettleblack's great advice of 135 up to 4 hours.

Instead of brining, I coat the chops in dijon and rub. Next I throw the chops on the smoker at 180 for 30-45 min (this is easy for me since I have a pellet smoker). After getting some smoke, I bag the chops and put them in the bath at 135 for 2-4 hours. A quick sear and dinner is served. Also, the strained purge makes a nice smoky sauce.

The first time I did this, it was such a hit that the fam requested it again later in the week...in the name of science, of course. They wanted to make sure the first time wasn't a fluke.

[EdF]

Of course, how could we have thought differently!

[fzxdoc]

Sounds delicious, T-bone . Potkettleblack did all of us who were sous viding pork chops at temps higher than 135°F a solid.

Kathryn

[vandy]

I am going to have to try some pork chops like this, the 135 cooking temp is probably a game changer. Thanks for all the info!

[EdF]

It really is, in my experience.

[Spinaker]

I am going with 135 F today on some chops. This is my first run at SV'd chops!

[Potkettleblack]

Will be interested to see what you think.

[fzxdoc]

Let us know how it works for you, Spinaker .

Kathryn

[Spinaker]

I just got done eating. I was very impressed with the tenderness and the texture. It was just about perfect. The moisture level was on point as well. However, I felt like it lacked flavor. I added salt and pepper to the surface of the meat before sliding it into the bag.

Then I seared it on my Stargazer pan, which gave it a really nice crust.

I still feel like I need to amp up the flavor. I added some salt at the end of the sear but it still tasted a bit bland.

What are your thoughts? fzxdoc Potkettleblack

[grantgallagher]

I usually season/rub then vac seal and in the fridge for a while. Then SV at 135-137 for 3 hours. Then light sear. Ivw found pretty good flavor that way.

[Potkettleblack]

On advice of Doc Blonder and maybe Huskee, I experimented with wet brine ahead of SV and it’s a winner, baby.

[Spinaker]

I need to try pork chops again. grantgallagher Potkettleblack

[fzxdoc]

I think pork chops are mostly bland anyway, Spinaker . It's one of the pork cuts that really needs some tasty sides. Fried apples for one.

I almost always use a rub before searing. I like Chef Tim Love's Cocoa and Chile rub a lot: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/c...bed-pork-chops . Sorry, I should have added that to my steps in that earlier post. I'll go back and correct it.

Kathryn

[Potkettleblack]

Spinaker Modern commercial pork is near flavorless to start with. I find the ones from the grocery need a bit of help, in the form of a marinade, a rub, a sauce, something. I like MMD, Midyett rub, SPG+, whatever for it. Processing purge with some white wine or sherry, and some herbs is good. Steve raichlen's Only Marinade You'll Ever Need, minus the salt, is a winner as well. As is an hour in a half salt blonder brine prior to sous vide.

I mostly do those heritage chops I posted about last year, and they don't need a ton of help, as they are wonderfully porky on their own.

[Spinaker]

So do you see an advantage to adding marinade to the SV bag? Or is it better to marinade a hours or a day before the SV step? Thanks

[Potkettleblack]

Short marinade ahead of SV. Marinade in the bag only flavors the purge, which you may or may not desire. If you reduce the purge, as I often recommend, a lot of things added will overpower the pork flavor of the purge.

[Troutman]

Wet brining has always produced good results for me. You might also try smoking prior to SV and sear. Gives you a smokey profile that can add great flavor.

[dirtman]

I am researching ideas for whole Pork Loin. I’ve googled, searched here and not much out there on whole loin. Is there enough to be gained by Sous vide. I’m Cooking about five 1/2 loins this weekend and want to try with combo Sous vide bbq. I have a charity event that I’m cooking for in September and want at least one trial run.

I am considering the below options and need input. I like Aldi’s Pork Loin as it comes brined and is tasty.

1. Smoke normal 1.5 hours at 170 degrees boost to 240 until internal 145.
2. Sous vide 137 3 hours, ice bath, smoker at 225 until internal 125.
3. Smoke at 170 degrees 1.5 hours, Sous vide at 137 for 3 hours, ice bath, smoke at 225 until 120 internal.

[Potkettleblack]

137 is north of where I’d do it, but not too much.

It depends on what you want at the end. I would not smoke for time on the first smoke. I would smoke to temp/max time. And on either SV, I’d do the post smoke to at least 130 if not 135.

[dirtman]

Potkettleblack Assuming I smoke first what internal temperature would you smoke and pull the meat?

I’m glad you are still here!

[Potkettleblack]

You want the pre smoke to be below the sous vide temp. So 125 to 130. 135 would be my cap.

[Skip]

I too have been disappointed with SV Boneless Pork Loin Chops--------UNTIL I read this post and followed the advice of Potkettleblack and fzxdoc . I started with the suggested wet brine for 1 Hour--then a SV @135 for 2 Hours-- I then gave them a VERY Quick and Light sear on the Gasser with Grill Grates until they hit 140*. Thanks Potkettleblack and fzxdoc for your help!!!

[Potkettleblack]

Welcome to the revolution.

[steina81]

I had our butcher cut 2 inch boneless chops. I am bracketing making the best chops ever. When I cooked these guys, I had no clue how much pork is in a 2 inch boneless pork chop So I SV'd all four of them but served one of them. My thoughts were pulling out of the freezer, tossing them on the grill and serving. By the time I got the internal temp back up to the proximity of 135 degrees they were pretty much dried out. I have since settled into 1 1/2 inch chops as the standard. But has anyone had success in taking a 1 1/2 inch chop, SVing to 135 then freezing to finish and serve later?

[EdF]

Maybe try SVing them again to a lower temp than the cook temp - say to 125 for an hour, then toss them on the heat to sear quickly?

This is similar to the method where you cook the chops in the oven on low to 130 or so, then sear very hot on the stove top (or grill).

[Potkettleblack]

1- don’t freeze. Just keep sealed in the fridge after a pasteurization.
2- dont reheat with Sous Vide. Treat as raw when reheating from fridge.
3- dont reheat to SV temp and then directly sear beyond SV temp. Heat to below SV temp and sear to SV temp at most.