Anyone sv a Denver steak? I tried cooking @132 for 4 hrs. Tasted great but was a little more chewy than anticipated. I dry brined overnight. Any suggestions?
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I usually do exactly that then a hard sear. Always found it excellent. One of my fave steaks.
i know thats not much help but i really cant pinpoint the potential issue.Last edited by grantgallagher; March 3, 2020, 05:37 AM. -
Sous vide is never likely to make any cut of meat tougher than it would have been cooked with another method. If anything, what you need to watch out for with SV is cooking for too long and turning the meat mushy. I'd be willing to bet that had you had 2 Denver steaks cut from the same primal and cooked one SV and one in a more traditional method, they likely would have come out the same, or the more traditionally cooked one may have been even tougher. Meat, being organic can very widely in taste and tenderness.Comment
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Sometimes you just get a cut of beef from a tough cow. Grade of beef is important. Was it prime, choice, select? If it didn't SAY prime or choice, then it was select, the lowest grade of consumer beef, and usually the toughest, with the least marbling.Comment
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I have only had one Denver steak but don't remember it being tough. Definitely not tenderloin tender but nothing I would consider tough. Like others have said, maybe just a bad piece of meat?Comment
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Could be a bit of personal preference here. Is this the first time you've SV'd a Denver Steak? Do you typically like your steaks more toward a tenderloin? If so, maybe let it go in the SV a little longer next time.Comment
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I'm with others thinking it was just that piece of beef. I sous vide denver steaks quite often and they come out nice and tender. I set my temp at 130 and go for a couple hours then sear. I'm not recommending this temp as a rule of thumb seems to be 131 degrees but I've never had any issues. Heck, I've done them at 129 degrees as well. All your preference.
When I select my steaks, I look for the most marbling possible. Not all denver steaks are the same.Comment
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Thanks to everyone, agreed the most likely is the meat itself. I usually order my meat online and not from the commissary on base. I’ll order from Porter Road, SRF and Flannery Beef and check it out. Sources I always get great results from. I’d heard so much about Denver Steak and the price was right, even choice and good marbling. I’ll probably grind the rest. Again, thanks for your responses.Comment
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Standard dry brine? might be a bit too much salt for SV use... but I'm with the herd here... bad cow.Comment
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I love the Denver cut. I skipped cooking them SV, I just grilled them hot and fast. They are a great piece of beef.Comment
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Additional comments opened my eyes further and again, I thank you for that. I used a new salt, (Red Boat) and the meat was tasty but too salty. That may have been the biggest problem. Now I think that I’ll not brine overnight and cook two pieces, one on a hot grill, the other SV again, then grill. Not giving up just yet and grinding the rest into hamburger. Thanks again.Comment
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Red Boat is the super umami fish salt... think of the crusty bits of fish sauce that crystalize around the opening. It's potent stuff for fake dry aging. You might check out my man Kosher Dosher for some tips on using it. You absolutely CANNOT use it like normal salt.
Here's KD talking about TriTip and Redboat:
Note, it's like 1% of weight. And 72 hours for the dry brine, because the fish salt works slower.Last edited by Potkettleblack; March 6, 2020, 03:01 PM.
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I don't think you need to dry brine steaks overnight when you plan to sous vide. Frankly I think salting them just before you bag them is my favorite... a couple hours and some acceleration of the penetration with increased temps... that does it fine for me.
The Denver steak is tricky, being the only part of the chuck that isn't so tough it needs to be a roast or a burger. Most butchers cut them whatever way they can (not uniform w respect to grain direction because of the shape of the meat) ... they are tricky and this leads to a tougher feel. Nice flavor. Try again.Comment
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Again, more info and well appreciated. Potkettleblack: I learned a lot from KD’s post. I use Red Boat Fish Sauce in my cooking, but new to their salt. If I had known what I learned after the fact, that steak might’ve turned out great. I’m going to give it another shot following KD’s post. Also I brine steaks overnight if I cook on the grills. Otherwise I don’t dry brine prior to SV. I should’ve thought along that line with this cook. Oh well, at $3.28lb, I can afford to make a mistake.Comment
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After reading all these idea's, I think a guy should cook at least one steak every week to practice.Comment
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