Sous vide + smoking - How to calculate time and temperature

[AudreyQC]

I tried a sous vide - smoked Char siu baby back recipe this week-end. Was really pleased with the result in terms of taste and tenderness, but I would have liked a little bit more of the smoke flavour.

My planning included 4 hours @ 167F sous vide (ribs and Char siu marinade in the bag) and a 30 minutes @ 225-230F smoke on the weber charcoal grill.

My question is : if I want to increase the amount of time on the charcoal grill to at least one hour, but still keep the range of total cooking time at less than 5 hours (I intend of doing this recipe in an upcoming competition, so my time is limited), how do I calculate the sous vide period required?

I read that 3 hours sous vide is sufficient for ribs, but I wonder if after that, one and a half hour of smoke will give the same tenderness result.

Any advice?

[klflowers]

Try doing them QVQ - a short smoke before putting the ribs in the sous vide will add smoke flavor. Say an hour or two on the Weber at 225 with a couple of fruit wood chunks, then into the SV, then back on the smoker.

Most of the the SV rib recipes I have seen go for more than 4 hours though - the quickest I have seen is 12 hours at 165. Here is one of them: https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/...-food-lab.html

Potkettleblack , Troutman are better sources than me though.

[AudreyQC]

I find your Smoke before SV very interesting, thanks! The 4 hour sous vide is the minimum cooking time I found. Here is the recipe I followed : https://recipes.anovaculinary.com/re...baby-back-ribs
Backed with this cooking chart : https://sousvidesupreme.com/pages/cooking-guides
It it turns out to be more than 5 hours prep time for the competition, I will leave the ribs in the SV longer...

[Potkettleblack]

I would guess that this recipe does not include a shock in ice water between the sous vide and the Q step.

If so, that is one solution. Shock it <40*F out of the sous vide bath. Remove from bag and then onto the grill.

The theory here that smoke likes cold and wet. Gloop in the bag that clings should be adequate wetness. Shocking cold will address the cold aspect. With a hotter fire, it will allow a greater gradient from surface to interior, allowing better bark, if that's the quest. If that's not the end goal, then low and slow to no higher than the SV temp. Or maybe a bit higher.

The 5 hour total cook is not really the spirit of my sous vide cookery. I would drop the temp down to the 140 or 155 range, extend the time out to 8-12 hours, shock and smoke. Make sure the competition rules allow SVQ... many would not.

How much smoke do you want on char siu? My understanding is that smoke flavor should be light, if present at all. It was traditionally a spit roast or skewer roast on a hot fire.

[AudreyQC]

God, I like that idea! Sure I'm gonna test that this coming week-end. Will tell you all about it after.

[Potkettleblack]

Here's Steve-o on the subject:

https://barbecuebible.com/recipe/hay-smoked-steak-with-chipotle-salsa/

That's a steak finish, so direct, but I'd go with the hay, then open the lid when the smoke is dissipated, and maybe add some wood...

[Potkettleblack]

And the washington post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/18/AR2011011802465.html?noredirect=on

[Donw]

My personal preference is to sous vide close to the desired final temperature and then ice bath until the meat is cooled. Cold meat attracts smoke more readily and will spend more time with the smoke as it heats back up to the temperature I want to remove it from the cooker at.

[Troutman]

I've never done ribs SVQ, not my thing, but with roasts and steaks I always react to temperature, not time, during the smoking process. You're not tenderizing during the smoking stage, you're going for searing and as much smoke as you can get without overshooting your SV temp. That's pretty much my standard and it's worked well for me.

[Fire&Water]

I have been doing sous vide que for over 2 years now and have got the process down. BBQ meats are best cooked sous vide 1st, for ribs I do 155 for 24-36 hours, then chill them in an ice bath, remove from bag and season them back up, put on the smoker wet at 250-275 until you get a nice bark.. spritz them once or twice during the smoke.. check out the "Fire and Water Cooking podcast", Clint Cantwell was a past quest and Meathead's episode will air on September 8th..

[AudreyQC]

Thanks for all your comments. I will give it some more try during the next week-end and update you with the results.