Sous vide brisket?

Deceased Texas pitmasters are rolling over in their graves over this thread......

The texture will be more tender, yes. Sous Vide at higher temps (study the temp ranges) will deliver a less tender (more traditional) brisket but will still be far more juicy. Not traditional, yes, but it is a nice balance and I think a winning balance because most guests of mine are not BBQ snobs. Funny, the BBQ snob in the group over-cooks everything and declares it "he worlds best". His ribs are closer to jerky and his shrimp are cooked on skewers for ten minutes.

The great advantage of Sous Vide brisket is the "party day" time savings. I make Sous Vide Brisket for my 19th hole golf outing at my house. I can let it sit cooking whilst I golf. Arrive home, pat it dry, apply rub, put it on the smoker that was pre-set up and smoke it with a more assertive wood wood 2 preferably 3 hours at 250. Because it is tender it makes great sandwiches for the guys. 

Smoke absorption is largely a matter of time and moisture. I guess it is possible that the cooked meat has less chemical reaction (milder smoke ring). The smoke delivered on mine carries through to the greedy guests noses and mouths.

Before Souse Vide I cold smoked mine (using lots of smoldering pellets that deliver little heat) for 4 hours with apple wood. The smoke mixed with the juices that came out and I was surprised at the BBQ smell that remained after Sous Vide. Somewhat it is a smoke-rub marinade. I need to figure out how to use the juice/water that's left behind.

Use a rub with less salt in it when applying Sous Vide. Mine is low salt so that I can apply salt to the meat as needed by the particular meat or style I'm cooking.

Live with a curious open mind. Cheers!

Scoobs

Great thread!  My sous vide circulator arrives tomorrow, which means sous vide/smoking shenanigans this weekend.

I'm really interested in a sous vide corned beef that I can finish on the smoker.

So everything worked out great with the above plan. I made it again the same way but added another 9 hours. Tenderest meat I've ever had, most fats had rendered and plenty of smoke flavor and beautiful bark. Best part is it significantly cuts down on active time.

Collagen starts melting at around 160. Cooking sous vide yields something more like a roast.

andrewc said:

Also, pre sous vide smoking is a bad idea imho. Pre cooking anything sous vide is bad. Sous vide will ruin any exterior texture you establish. Have to finish exterior AFTER sous vide. Cooked meat not absorbing smoke is nonsense imho. I got plenty of smoke flavor and plenty of bark after over a day of sous vide. Just have to add a little rub b/t sous vide and smoker for the bark.

Click to expand...

Agreed. Also pre smoking before "cooking" by any method is much more dangerous regarding food safety.

Well, I hadn't read this thread till I did a brisket myself. I got an 11 lb. Packer applied a basic SPOG rub, wrapped and refrigerated overnight, and smoked at 250 for 4 hours. Then double vacuum sealed and into the Sous Vide for 36 hours at 170 degrees, then back into the smoker at 275. I probed it when it reached 190 and it was very soft like going into butter. It finished much earlier than I expected. I really thought it would be finished closer to 200. I wrapped it in foil and several towels and into a cooler for about 4 hours till guests arrived. It sliced nicely, had great texture and was delicious, everyone loved it. For what it's worth this is the first Brisket I've ever made. After reading this I think I would not pre-smoke and try shortening the time in the SV to 24 hours.

Modified Sous Vide cooler, it never lost any water during the 36 hour cook.
After pre-smoke
After 36 hour 170 degree SV bath.
xe
Before final smoke.
Final product.