Denver Steak

[freddh]

Donw I think you’re on to something here. I had the meat cutter give me the whole piece. Without knowing what I was doing, I used previous techniques for Top Sirloin (Picana) and Tri Tip. Eg knowing how the grain went. Now that you’ve posted, I now know that I was on the right track. With your instruction, future Denver steaks will be a breeze. The other comments were still useful as well. That’s why I’ve belonged to this site for so long. Another tip was the meat cutter at the commissary: they sell the boneless short rib (Denver steak) for the same price as the chuck itself. So there’s no incentive beyond a pretty piece of meat regardless of grain and using the entire muscle.

[EdF]

I like edible mistakes too!

[Donw]

It may have been the way it was cut. The muscle should be butchered out and then cut into two sections due to grain. This creates two triangular pieces of meat. The points then need to be cut off for proper portioning of steaks. However because weight is money to the butcher some places leave the muscle whole and just cut steaks from the whole muscle which leads to several steaks being tougher to chew because the grain has changed direction.

[freddh]

You're reading my mind randy56. Gonna cook one tomorrow or Tuesday. I have a few and I’ll alternate SV and lump charcoal. With all the above information, I’ll be grubbing in Denver steak 🥩 for awhile, until I get it right.

[randy56]

After reading all these idea's, I think a guy should cook at least one steak every week to practice.

[grantgallagher]

Affordable mistakes, while still disappointing, are the best kind. Nothing like learning something that doesnt cost you an arm and a leg.

[freddh]

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.

[Potkettleblack]

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:

https://kosherdosher3.blogspot.com/2017/08/the-ultimate-sous-vide-tri-tip.html

Note, it's like 1% of weight. And 72 hours for the dry brine, because the fish salt works slower.

[fracmeister]

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.

[freddh]

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.

[Spinaker]

I love the Denver cut. I skipped cooking them SV, I just grilled them hot and fast. They are a great piece of beef.

[Potkettleblack]

Standard dry brine? might be a bit too much salt for SV use... but I'm with the herd here... bad cow.

[freddh]

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.

[Hulagn1971]

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.

[Murdy]

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.