Slicing Chuck is a bit of a tricky business because it’s a mess of muscles that don’t all run parallel. I do em as steaks sometimes. Sirloin might work a bit better.
That said, maybe 135x48-72, shock, fridge, debag, paint with beaten egg white, affix rub, smoke up to maybe 160 at most. Alternatively, 155x12-24.
I’ve taken them to 180-ish for slicing, per the recipe here in the free section. I like it better cooked higher as more fat renders and it seems more moist.
Hugh I am sorry for the confusion. I was talking smoked only, I totally missed that we were talking SVQ. I have not tried a chuck roast with my Anova yet.
I do my sous-vide chucks in a manner similar to brisket: chopped. Most sous-vide BBQ meats I do at a lower internal temperature than traditional stuff is chopped: brisket, chuck, and pork shoulder being the big three. I like the texture and chopped/cubed does a good job of getting the surface spices mixed in.
My chopped chuck goes into the water bath around 135ºF for 60-72 hours with nothing but salt. After that I chill it or freeze it. When I smoke it, I smoke it at higher temps (around 300ºF) until the internal gets up to about 120ºF. I'm going to try smoking some starting from a nearly frozen state today actually.
As a result of some comments in past by Potkettleblack I tend to reserve sous-vide for doing things I can't do without it. For instance, if I want "traditional" pulled meats, I just cook them in the traditional manner—the only exception being when I want a small quantity, which is something sous-vide excels at. My sous-vide-que is almost always cooked to internal temperatures I can't get with any other method. Chopped, medium rare brisket has got to be one of my favorite foods at this point.
Like some of the others, I SV chuck roasts at 135 F for about 36-48 hours, then shock cold. Then I cook it like a reverse seared steak. Bring it back up to 135 F with smoke, then sear for a couple of minutes per side. Slice. Beautiful medium rare with texture like a rib-eye.
thank you for your help. In the end it had a good flavor and the wife really liked it so that is a bonus!
I had a couple of unexpected schedule issues which messed with my plans but definitively a decent fist attempt.
process:
-dry brined 24 hours
-SV 135 for 71 hours
-Ice shocked for 30 minutes
-Pat dry
-Added McCormick’s Montreal Steak seasoning
-Smoked at 350 till 150-155ish internal temp
-Seared both sides approximately 1 minute
-Separated/Cut into different parts
-Attempted to cut against the grain
-Served with some Red Wine / Purge reduction
Observations/Miscellaneous:
-Had originally planned on keeping in fridge till Saturday to cook. Scheduling conflict came up.
-It kind of stuck to the SV bag some when trying to get it out so it kind of started to pull apart a little following the main fat lines but ultimately came out in one piece.
-Original plan was to only go to 135 on smoker but accidentally overshot while working on the reduction.
-Used the purge for a red wine reduction. First time ever doing something like that. Wasn’t bad but would love to learn how to better do this.
-Texture was between a medium/well done steak and pulled but wasn’t bad.
-Reduction:
— 1/2 cup of filtered purge
— 1/2 cup red wine
— reduced about 1/2
— added two tbsp butter
— added some McCormick’s Montreal Steak Seasoning.
Question: Does anyone else put their meat on the pellet cooker and then fire it up? I do this because the smoke is intense when starting up.
Definitely want to try this again and as well as some other techniques like burnt ends.
I don’t put the meat on before getting the Grilla up to temp because it gives it a bit of what I call "cigarette flavor." But I might like a lighter smoke than most.
To improve the reduction, reduce it more. If you look at someone who really knows what they are doing, and see them explain it, like Rick Bayless, the key to reduction is really reducing it a lot. Like 75%.
With Bayless, it's usually in the building of salsas and such, but it's a really drastic reduction of an ingredient to get the concentration he's looking for. Modernist Cuisine is very much the same. Kind of depressing to make something like the Red Wine glaze of theirs, given how much stuff goes into it for the yield.
Nice lookin' hunk o' meat. Next time google au jus and pick a recipe that sounds good to you. Use the purge instead of beef broth although you could add some broth if the au jus wasn't beefy enough.
Here's what I would do:
Caramelize some onions, and when they are ready, chop a clove or two of garlic, add and cook for another minute or two.
Add a tbs of Worcestershire sauce, then add an ounce of red wine and your strained purge. Reduce until it tastes right or thickens a bit, (or add a tbs of flour mixed with enough water to make a slurry to thicken a bit). If not beefy enough, add beef broth to taste.
Serve...
I did use the purge. I just found a simple recipe since I was in a hurry... I replaced the broth with the purge like you said... I didn’t have any shallot so I just had to go on the fly.
Meat does look great and I’m glad you were pleased with the result, that’s all that matters. A couple of thoughts;
You SV’d at 135* then smoked to 150*. Typically if you plan to achieve a 150* finish then SV to that temp, it will actually take less time.
Try smoking the meat before the SV bath. That’s the first Q of the QVQ process. Why? If you think about it that’s when the meat is cold and wet and will take on the most smoke and color. Then proceed with the rest of the cook!
Finally, to your question of putting your meat on your pellet at start up, I would advise against it. Generally at start up that big billow of Smoke is the initial ignition within your burn pot and can be acrid, possibly imparting a bad taste. Pellet grills should operate under the same notion as a kettle or stick burner, with clean blue smoke.
I think you did a good job overall and again you were happy so that’s what matters!! Continue to experiment with various times and temps, you’ll be surprised how it changes the results and shows the versatility of the chuck roast.
Still looks good. When I smoke something I do in sous-vide, I generally don't take the middle to anything hotter than about 15-20ºF below the sous-vide temps. You have to deal with carryover and in the case of oddly shaped things like briskets, you have thinner parts. With that said, since you've already broken the meat down, it's still fine.
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