Smoked...then sous vide...pork butt experiment

[gnatboy911]

 
So I did exactly this (smoke then sous vide) this past weekend. I smoked it for 2 hours at 250 (apple + cherry woods), then put it straight into the sous vide at 165.I ran into one significant issue - about 2 hours into the water, the seal on my bag failed! I happened to notice "too much" of a smell (a good smell, but not one you want from sous vide!) so I checked it, and sure enough, there was juice in the water. I pulled it out (lost all the juice that was in the bag), double-bagged it to be safe (double vacuum sealed), and added extra rub and honey to compensate for the presumed lost flavor from the seal snafu, replaced the water, and put it back in.

I pulled it from the sous vide after 17 total hours, and I was up against a time crunch and I had a brisket on my BGE, so I stuck it under the broiler to get a bark (worked quite well, actually). 

Ultimately, the pork was still extremely juicy, but it wasn't as flavorful as expected, which I attribute to the compromised seal.

All in all, I'd do it again. I used a similar process on the brisket (without the seal issue!) and it was absolutely fantastic. 

Were you using a vacuum seal bag? That would be frustrating.  The couple of long cooks I've done sous vide had me worried about that, but thankfully it hasn't happened yet.  I'm also sure to clip the top of the bag to the side of my container, above the water level.  However, I'm using a vacuum sealer so I guess there is a chance the bottom seal could fail.

 
​It did get a pretty good bark, the smoke flavor was just about perfect. I might drop the temp a little next time, 220-225 so that it has a little more time for the bark but that's about the only thing I would change.

Thanks for the tips.  I'll try that next time.

 

[gtkirk]

 
Were you using a vacuum seal bag? That would be frustrating.  The couple of long cooks I've done sous vide had me worried about that, but thankfully it hasn't happened yet.  I'm also sure to clip the top of the bag to the side of my container, above the water level.  However, I'm using a vacuum sealer so I guess there is a chance the bottom seal could fail.

Yes, vacuum sealed - and I'd had it happen once before on a long cook, so I've always double sealed ever since then. I also clip the top of the bag to the container - it was the bottom seal that failed. 

The seal actually did also fail on the brisket, but not until I pulled it out of the water (pulled it out and was letting the water drip off, when it failed and some of the liquid pored out - no major loss). I'm actually wondering if there's an issue with my vacuum sealer (a Food Saver). Was talking to a friend who's been sous vide'ing a lot longer than I have, and he's never had a seal fail. 

 

[gnatboy911]

 
Yes, vacuum sealed - and I'd had it happen once before on a long cook, so I've always double sealed ever since then. I also clip the top of the bag to the container - it was the bottom seal that failed. 

The seal actually did also fail on the brisket, but not until I pulled it out of the water (pulled it out and was letting the water drip off, when it failed and some of the liquid pored out - no major loss). I'm actually wondering if there's an issue with my vacuum sealer (a Food Saver). Was talking to a friend who's been sous vide'ing a lot longer than I have, and he's never had a seal fail. 

Man thats a bummer.  Yea sounds like it might be a sealer issue.  The sealer I have is one of the, supposably, commercial grade ones from cabela's.  So far it has worked great.  It double seals every time...it has two heat bars right next to each other.

 

[hondabbq]

When you did the Sous vide prior to smoke, did you season it like normal or season it before the smoker?

 

[hiram123]

I put the rub on and then coat it with turbano sugar heavily, smoke at 225 until internal is around 160 or at the stall. Lower temp and the turbano sugar gives it time to develop a bark (usually depending on the size of the butt about 3.5 hrs) then i put ti on a plate in the freezer for about an hour. It never freezes but the juices stiffen up so it's easier to get a good seal.

 

[jeremy1978]

​I seasoned it before the sous vide

 

[gtkirk]

My personal opinion is always (probably with rare exceptions I'm not thinking of) season as early as you can. I can't think of a good reason to not season before sous vide (although I did just watch a youtube video from some respectable chefs that does apply the rub after sous vide - I strongly disagree, but I haven't actually experimented to validate my opinion). T

 

[disco]

Thanks for posting your experiment!

Disco

 

[saltysandman]

this thread was hard to find. I'm feeling as is we're leaning towards sous vide first then smoke. Those of you who have done both ways, want to chime in?

So far, I see recommended method is

1. prepare butt with rub
2. sous vide 155-165 temp Fahrenheit for 20-24 hours
3. smoke for 3-4 hours around 225 Fahrenheit for a decent bark

 

[saltysandman]

tried a smoke then sous vide Butt this weekend. turned out good but i miss that bark. this is how i did it.

1. prepared butt with rub.
2. smoked at 150 fahrenheit for 3 hours. didn't really form a bark. light mahogany color.
3. vacuumed sealed and sous vide at 165 fahrenheit for 24 hours. saved the au jus from bag.
4. torched for some carmelization.
5. pulled butt apart. added back some au jus (maybe a 1/4 cup), salt to taste

came out super moist. had smokey flavor but not a lot. mixed in some BBQ and hot sauce. no complaints whatsoever but like i said, i miss that bark.

Anyone try to sous vide first and then smoke? I'll try this next time.

 

[saltysandman]

Nice looking pulled pork you have there, gnatboy. Nice job.

I've cooked pork shoulder for pulled pork combing sous vide and the smoker several times. As you did, I tried smoking first followed by sous vide, but only once. The meat was great, but not so much the bark. The next time around, I reversed the process starting with sous vide then into the smoker. While each method has it's advantages and disadvantages, I definitely prefer the latter, especially when it comes to the consideration of bark formation.

Starting with sous vide, I cook the shoulder at 165F for 18-20 hours. From there, it's into the smoker set at 250F for 3-4 hours until the IT is 195F-200F, and I get the bark formation that I desire. Very tender, juicy, and smoky meat with the right amount of bark.

ahhhhh, i didn't see this post. i've got to try this way next time

 

[gnatboy911]

I've seen some guys online who have done a smoke for a few hrs, then sous vide, then smoke some more to achieve the bark. I haven't tried that 3 step method yet, but most said it worked well.

 

[saltysandman]

seems like a lot of work. LOL. will just have to try it.