Smoked then Sous Vide Boston Butt and Sausage, with Pics!

[travisty]

 

Been watching the youtube channel "SousVideEverything" if you haven't seen it, check it out, they are great! Anyway, they do a pork butt where they smoke it for 3-4 hours, then SV for a few days. Anyway, it got me in the mood to try it, so here you go:

 

So first off, they put theirs in for a couple days after, but I had a really small Butt, and also based on other recipes iv found online, 20 hours at 150-165 is plenty of time, so I ended up doing 20 hours at 155 figuring that it would give me the most consistent texture throughout the different muscles.

 

Smoked the Butt for 3 hours on a mix of Orange and Oak wood, here is the butt after the smoker:

pork after smoke.jpg

• travisty
• Jul 10, 2017

Not as strong of a bark as I would have liked, so I may be more attentive and do some spritzing with juice next time, and possibly go another half hour. Temp was at 125.

 

Put the Butt into a vac bag and into the Souse Vide bath. I use NutriChef Immersion Circulator, I bought it primarily for price, it was on sale for just $80 so I bought it!!! and turns out I REALLY like it. Its got a great clip attached so you can clip it to the side of your bath/container.

SV Bath.jpg

• travisty
• Jul 10, 2017

(I use ping pong balls to help insulate the bath, and also help prevent some evaporation)

 

After 18 hours, I added in some fresh pork sausage from a local farmer here into the bath for the last 2 hours. At 20 hours, I pulled it all out, threw the sausages on a burning hot grill for a couple minutes per side, then also put the Butt into the broiler for a couple minutes per side. Here is what they looked like after that phase:

pork done.jpg

• travisty
• Jul 10, 2017

 

The smells when opening the bags was just amazing, such a nice concentration of flavors! And here for your viewing pleasure is the money shot:

Pork pulled.jpg

• travisty
• Jul 10, 2017

Just WOW! This was probably the best Butt I’ve ever done, and my favorite part is that the texture is consistent, so that the money muscle was the perfect texture to slice while the rest was the perfect texture to shred or pull chunks! Normally you either need to choose pulled for everything or separate the money muscle prior to finishing the rest (or in competition, I just cook two Butts and literally throw away the rest of the butt I used for the money muscle… wasteful I know, but that’s competition in general)

 

Anyway, this thing was amazing, it had a nice smoke ring, a good yet mild smoke flavor (if you want a stronger one, maybe use stronger woods than I did to get more in there during the smoke period, or commit the cardinal sin and add some liquid smoke), and best of all, the SV really concentrates the great natural pork flavor, and makes it Oh so juicy! The money muscle in particular was PERFECTION!

 

 

 

 

[uzikaduzi]

Looks like it came out awesome!!! What's next, a 135* brisket at 25 hours?

 

[travisty]

Looks like it came out awesome!!! What's next, a 135* brisket at 25 hours?

​Possibly! I do want/need to try a brisket, hear the results are amazing!

 

[uzikaduzi]

I watch that guy in YouTube too, but other than him I don't know anything about sous vide... he did do a brisket that he said was amazing

 

[SmokinAl]

The butt looks amazing!

Very nicely done!

Point!

Al

 

[travisty]

Thanks everyone! Thanks for the point Al!

 

[Rings Я Us]

Pretty neat! I'm thinking my slow cooker and a thick Ziploc maybe do that.. ,lol my Quisinart goes 165° with the lid on and will vary about 2° with cycles and filled with liquid. I bet a cracked lid I can get 130 for 24 hours[emoji]128512[/emoji]

 

[Rings Я Us]

Hmm.. better not try that at home kids! That slow cooker will be trying to stay 165 the whole time

 

[uzikaduzi]

If you had an older style slow cooker with the dial to turn it to high/low/off. You could turn it on high and use something like one of those thermostats that plug inline with the device to cycle it... although the devices are only 75 on the low end so it might not be worth MacGyvering

 

[Rings Я Us]

Yeah.. my quisinart can sear meat or steam and saute vegetables.. it can go up to 400 for an hour.. but in the end? It has a built in safety temp to hold your food at 165 if you don't shut it off.. it's a warm setting just below the simmer and low temp.. it holds that warm for up to 12 hours if you don't make it home to reset or turn off.. 165 is high for beef and even if the lid is off ,it will run to keep it 165

 

[travisty]

Yeah, I also think that the circulation is the biggest key to sous vide. That's why I don't get how a lot of those slow cooker looking "sous vide" machines can even call themselves sous vide. Just seems to be that the ambient type of issues you get with an oven vs a convection over would make those a lot less affective and precise. That being said, I know that the "Sous Vide Supreme" is considered a really good Sous Vide machine, and it offers no water circulation either, so perhaps there is something to the whole process I'm not getting. I just don't consider a hot water bath, the same thing as a circulator that keeps the water constantly floating and does not allow for the foods ambient temps to affect the cook time and overall temp loss of the chamber.

I should have posted this before, cause it too late now, but Amazon was selling the Anova on Prime day for just $99.00! they say that is the cheapest it has ever been anywhere (and I grabbed one for myself of course). That being said, there are some cheaper and just as effective units out there, for anyone looking to get into it. My current using it a NutriChef one, and it literally works exactly as well as the others, but only runs $65 bucks or so. It doesn't have all the other bells and whistles like Bluetooth and app control, and it is also loud as all get out (sounds like a sink being on at full blast, mixed with like a loud hand mixer).

​Really they all do the same thing, and you can get a good one for in the $50 range if you just want something to start with, so I don't think that's too much of an investment. My Nutrichef in fact was actually 1-2 degrees more accurate than a friends Joule he brought by. We tested them against each other in the same bath and they were 2 degrees off each other, and according to my two Thermapens, and my Javelin IR, the Nutrichef was the one that was correct! And the Joule started in the $300-$400 range. 

 

[Rings Я Us]

Calves liver and onion in butter [emoji]129299[/emoji]

 

[uzikaduzi]

Again I have no personal experience and my very limited knowledge comes from the YouTube guy, sousvideeverything dud a test and it seems like things that seem would be amazing aren't necessarily as good... one example was sous vide with butter... it was actually better not including butter than with

 

[airmec]

I also watched the you tube post on pork butts and got stuck with one on the smoker and  had an emergency causing me  leave for a day. Bagged the butt and into the bath  at 165 for over 30hrs and it was excellent and oh so easy it will be hard to just put one the smoker. But I did miss the crusty ends although the flavor of the juice in the bag got me through and made the sandwiches that much better.  

 

[ososmokeshack]

Wow looks great!

Sous vide is a great tool.

 

[jbuttimer]

Hopefully I can answer some of your ponderings since I'm new to smoking but an old hand at Sous Vide. I've got the Sous Vide Supreme Demi (water oven) and a Gourmia and Joule Immersion Circulators. I'm awaiting the arrival of the latest and greatest Sous Vide Supreme which should happen at the beginning of next year. Got a great deal on their Kickstarter campaign. :D

So, to answer your pondering about water oven vs. IC, the water DOES NOT need to circulate in the waterbath because the water remains the same temperature, +-1 degree throughout the whole bath. Same temp on the top, bottom middle and sides. The food needs to sit a little above the bottom of the oven so that the water is heating it.

The IC has to circulate the water because it is only being heated in the area where the IC is. The entire container must maintain the same temp, so circulation is needed.

There are pluses and minuses to either and I love them both! 

If you don't have an IC and are thinking you might like to try Sous Vide cooking, I suggest you look for the cheapest one you can find on Amazon that has decent reviews and pull the trigger. On a good day you can find one for $80 or less. Once you decide you love it, then invest in a fancy-schmancy one because once you get started you'll want more and more. ;) 

And another thing, you don't really need a vacuum sealer when you're just getting started. Use ZipLoc freezer bags. They're heat rated up to 170 I believe. For long cooks, most people double bag. To use it, slowly push the bag with the meat inside into the water and the pressure will force the air out. I keep the top out and hang it on the side of the vessel with clothes pins. 

Other than meat, good things to SV is eggs, from poached to hard boiled, Ice Cream base, any custard or pudding like creme brulee. Flourless chocolate cake is awesome, some veggies like corn on the cob and carrots are particularly good. I caramelize onions for French Onion Soup or just for burgers and steak. They aren't exactly like doing it the "right" way, but hey, I'm not standing over the stove stirring them for hours!

My very, very favorite thing is a hamburger. Not just any hamburger, but a super thick, loosely hand pattied burger stuffed with some amazing cheese. Put in a freezer bag, do not vacuum pack, then into the drink at 131 for 1.5 hours, then onto a super hot grill to give it a crust.  It will be juicy and delicious with the cheese dripping out of the middle. 

I cannot wait to combine both of these methods of cooking! Smoke first, then finish SV. Pork butt will be the first attempt. Hopefully this weekend.