SV - Brisket, Smokes First, Issues

[chrismeats]

I have been having some issues getting a Sous Vide brisket to come out well!
Reading through this guide:

Sous Vide Smoked Brisket Recipe

Here's how to get a moist and tender brisket without a smoker, using sous vide cooking.

www.seriouseats.com

I decided to follow the below plan.
My over all plan has been to smoke for a few hours, then Sous Vide for 34ish hours.
The first one I did sous vide at 150, it was still pretty tough, so I upped the temp on the next one to 155. Still not as tender as I would expect but flavor was on point.
On the last one I had some left overs, so I sliced and reheated in the microwave with some of the left over juices. Surprisingly the microwaved reheated brisket was fantastic! Very tender and juicy! Much better than the fresh brisket.

Has anyone had luck with a similar process? Any tips on how I can perfect this?

I was thinking possibly trying to run the sous vide at a higher temp for an hour or 2 at either the beginning or end of the sous vide process, like maybe 180-190, then lower back down to 155 for the remainder? not sure if this is a good idea or not?

These were grass fed briskets from butcher box. Could that make a difference? eventually I want to do this with a prime brisket from the store but wanted to test/perfect the process with smaller briskets first.

Thank you for any input!

 

[SmokinAl]

I do these all the time.
Smoke to an IT of 150 degrees, then SV at 155 for 24 hours.
I’ll see if I can find a thread I did!
Al

 

[dirtsailor2003]

I have found that a higher temp and shorter cook time works best. 180°-188°. 10-12 hours.

 

[dr k]

From: Douglas Baldwin a practical guide to Sous Vide

 

[chopsaw]

Smoke to an IT of 150 degrees, then SV at 155 for 24 hours.
I’ll see if I can find a thread I did!

I did this exactly with a flat cured for pastrami . Tender and fantastic .

 

[chrismeats]

I do these all the time.
Smoke to an IT of 150 degrees, then SV at 155 for 24 hours.
I’ll see if I can find a thread I did!
Al

This is very similar to what I did. I may not have hit 150 on the smoker but I dont think that should matter with an extended time in the water bath?

 

[chrismeats]

I have found that a higher temp and shorter cook time works best. 180°-188°. 10-12 hours.

I will have to give this a try!. I like this timeframe much better because I can start it early morning and eat it for dinner which prevents having to run it overnight. What temp do you usually go for?

 

[rbnice1]

I use the same method that goldies in Texas does but I use a sous vide instead of a warmer. I smoke till 185 - 190. I pull when the bark looks great and top fat is rendered then into a bag and sous vide over night 12 - 20 hours at 150f. Amazing results.


And yes. I have tried grass fed beef brisket. I will just grind it from now on. I want big, fat, grain fed beef for my briskets. I dont even bother getting the briskets on my side of beef we get processed. They grain finish and while most the cuts and grind are great the brisket just isnt.

 

[G8trwood]

My last couple I have done the 150, 155 method.

On my next, I am thinking of trying either the 185, 155 method
or trying the hotter 172 water bath.

I know they keep saying sous vide has to be greater than initial temp, but does it?

As an aside (not sides :) ) have a top round the the bath at 133 now. Smoked until 125

 

[dirtsailor2003]

So I’ve cooked a lot of large cut pieces of beef in the sous vide as well as smaller cuts.

If you’re going for pulled or even sliced cut on a larger hunk of meat you’re better off going with a higher temp and and shorter cook time. This applies to the the not so lean cuts like brisket.

180-183, 10-12 hours

The only time I do brisket in the Sous vide is for corned beef.

Dirtsailor's Mega Mother of all Cooking links index

Well it took me a while to compile all the information, but I finally completed my Links List. Have fun reading, and if you try any of my smokes let me know! Please note that these are not "Step by Step" instructions. What you will find though, usually in the first post, sometimes a few posts...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[JIMSMOKES]

I use the same method that goldies in Texas does but I use a sous vide instead of a warmer. I smoke till 185 - 190. I pull when the bark looks great and top fat is rendered then into a bag and sous vide over night 12 - 20 hours at 150f. Amazing results.


And yes. I have tried grass fed beef brisket. I will just grind it from now on. I want big, fat, grain fed beef for my briskets. I dont even bother getting the briskets on my side of beef we get processed. They grain finish and while most the cuts and grind are great the brisket just isnt.

This is how I do brisket most of the time. Safest way for me to do a long hold.

 

[chrismeats]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I decided to try following the below on my last brisket. This was a smaller grass-fed/finished brisket.
Smoked 2-3 hours at around 200
Then into sous vide at 180 for about 12 hours

Results were fantastic! I love this method because it is mostly hands off and I can get everything setup in the early AM and its ready for dinner!

As a side note, I have done several poor mans briskets (check Roast) following my original method of smoke for 2 hours and then sous vide at 150-155 for 36ish hours and all of those have turned out GREAT! I am hesitant to try something different on those, but I like the timing of a 12 hour sous vide so much better I will probably give the 180 for 12 hour method a try on my next ones.

Thanks again for all the suggestions!

 

[mike243]

Tried to reheat some pulled pork at 180, bag came ungled so I don’t trust my sealed bags unless I double sealed, haven’t tried to reheat that hot since

 

[rbnice1]

Tried to reheat some pulled pork at 180, bag came ungled so I don’t trust my sealed bags unless I double sealed, haven’t tried to reheat that hot since

All my bags are always doubled sealed.. I bought a sealer that does double seals. :P I do quad seals a lot of time if its wet.

 

[PulledPorkSandwich]

I'd like to try SV for my next brisket. A full packer brisket is a big piece of meat. What type of container do you use to hold the water? Or do you trim the brisket into smaller pieces, then smoke and SV?

 

[SmokinEdge]

I'd like to try SV for my next brisket. A full packer brisket is a big piece of meat. What type of container do you use to hold the water? Or do you trim the brisket into smaller pieces, then smoke and SV?

An old cooler works great and doesn’t cost anything.

 

[Cody_Mack]

I do these all the time.
Smoke to an IT of 150 degrees, then SV at 155 for 24 hours.
I’ll see if I can find a thread I did!
Al

That magic number, the SV temp...how did that come to be? I assume this method also breaks down all that nasty that turns into moistness and flavor, as does keeping the temp higher and going to 203F, etc., but quicker.

I considered doing this with one of my Easter briskets, but the thought was a half-day late. Better stick to what I know, cause Company's coming!