Xmas Dinner 1 Of 3: Shortloin Roast & All The Trimmings (Pic Heavy)

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tx smoker

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Apr 14, 2013
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Lago Vista, Texas
I thought I was only going to be cooking one Christmas dinner for us and one couple the day after Christmas. Oops!! Tracy changed that in a hurry. Had some really good friends come into town yesterday who were escaping quarantine in NM and Tracy is her overly generous way offered for me took them a nice dinner. Wasn't that sweet of her? Also had another couple that was to join us. She made it but a family drama situation arose with his kids and he couldn't make it. So last weekend as I was breaking down the Shortloin roast I figured I'd cut a chunk is the 3 1/2 pound range, call it a roast, and serve it for the singular dinner I was supposed to do. Oops again!! I missed by a mile and the roast came in at 5 1/2 pounds. Oh well, I'll save it knowing something would be coming up. That "something" turned out to be dinner last night so got it out and defrosted the thing. In all actuality this is nothing but a huge Porterhouse steak, but at that size, I'm calling it a roast :emoji_wink:

The "roast". 5 pounds 7 ounces
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Decided to try a different method of fire management on the Santa Maria. This is a charcoal pan I bought several years ago to use in the Big Green Egg and drilled a bunch of 1/2" holes in it. Got some charcoal on the bottom and mesquite on top
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Roast all seasoned up with my beef rub
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Onto the grill. got some nice mesquite smoke wafting over the meat. Nice!!
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Made the dough for the sour cream potato rolls
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After about 45 minutes it's time to flip. I kept the grate up high so as not to totally torch the meat.
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45 more minutes on the other side then into the house. At this point I try something I've never done before: vac seal and into the sous vide at 129* to finish cooking
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Made a rice, broccoli, and cheddar casserole at Tracy's request. Topped with more cheddar and bread crumbs. Another first. I'm living dangerously today I guess.
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Rolls all done. Found these by accident and they are fantastic!!
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Appetizer plate with duck breast prosciutto, smoked Gouda, club crackers, and a Ranch dip I threw together real quick. Couldn't have an empty space in the bowl. More on the duck breast prosciutto later.
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Tracy got the dining room table all dolled up
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Lori brought some mushrooms stuffed with seasoned cream cheese and crab meat. Here they are right out of the oven. These were VERY rich but really, really good.
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Meat out of the sous vide after about 4 1/2 hours
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This is the loin side cut off...well most of it
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The strip side
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Some sliced and ready to serve. This is one horrid looking mess!! I kept trying to clean up the juice for a nice pic but it kept coming out faster than I could clean it up.
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The whole spread. Lori also brought an amazing salad. Got some juice from the roast out of the vac seal bag after taking it out of the sous vide pot
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Finally...my dinner plated up
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I've read a ton of great posts about folks using the sous vide but this is the first time I'v used it to this magnitude and all I can say is that it works GREAT!!. You don't have to worry about monitoring the IT of the meat. Just set the temp and it'll come out perfectly every time. I'm sold on this technique and see why so many top shelf restaurants, as well as a lot of people here, use it. The duck breast prosciutto was absolutely incredible!! It sold a couple of non-believers on duck. this is one of the fantastic offering that I received in the gift exchange with TNJAKE TNJAKE and I plan to keep this stuff around all the time. I was blown away by it, as were a few other folks. The roast was done to perfection and just melt in your mouth tender. I think I have the sous vide to give a big thanks to for that. So moist and juicy...mmm mmm good. We really enjoyed the rice and broccoli casserole also. Very nice flavors came together to make a really good side dish. the rolls are just to die for, and SO easy to make. Since finding those, we've had them a number of times and will continue to.

This is a long, long way from being one of the better looking threads I've done but the meal came out really well so thought I'd share. Also I know there will be a few hundred Christmas dinner threads coming soon so figured I'd get one out before the rush :emoji_laughing: This one is a wrap. I've used up my monthly allocation of bandwidth on this one so I'll see y'all next time around. Can't wait to see all the great holiday meal threads forthcoming. Have a safe and happy holiday season everybody.

Robert
 
Another killer meal Robert! SV is a very fun addition to the kitchen. Glad you like it!
 
What a magnificent piece of work Robert, a true feast! I'm a big fan of bread crumbs on a casserole, mac and cheese too. I saved the site you gave for those delicious looking sour cream rolls, Jan and I are hot to get those and the pizza dough they offer. Of course I have to wait a little while due to having fifty pounds of flour and no pantry, fridge, or freezer space. Huge Like amigo, I can see a slice or two from that tenderloin side would be all-time eats! RAY
 
Looks amazing Robert. First class meal for sure! Glad you and your guests liked the duck prosciutto. It's definitely some tasty stuff. Grilling one of those 2lb porterhouses that you sent me tonight for our anniversary
 
Another killer meal Robert! SV is a very fun addition to the kitchen. Glad you like it!

Thanks Dave!! I've used the SV before but never in this capacity. It sure is a great tool and will be used far more often now.

What a magnificent piece of work Robert, a true feast

Thank you so much for all the kind words my friend. I thought since I was only doing a few of the items it'd be a quick and easy meal to do. Boy was I mistaken :emoji_wink:

Looks darn good

Very much appreciate it Jim!! I still think your food chain avatar is upside down. The beef should be at the top :emoji_laughing:

Robert
 
  • Haha
Reactions: JLeonard
Dang that looks good Robert ! I was wondering how You were going to tackle that big one! S.V. was the perfect application for that! Very nice indeed!
 
Nailed it buddy. That looks delicious. I would love a giant plate of that. Perfect 10 in my book.

Well come on down buddy and bring the family. Rumor has it that you've got some nasty weather headed your way. Sunny, light breeze, and 80 degrees here. Not a bad day for sitting on the patio having a cold one and chowing down on a steak :emoji_wink: Now where did I leave that red carpet.....?

Robert
 
Looks amazing Robert. First class meal for sure! Glad you and your guests liked the duck prosciutto. It's definitely some tasty stuff. Grilling one of those 2lb porterhouses that you sent me tonight for our anniversary

Thanks so much for the kind words Jake. I'm honored to be even a small part of your anniversary. Congrats to you and Emily. You tow have a great evening and I cannot wait to see the dinner you put together for this one.

Robert
 
Dang that looks good Robert ! I was wondering how You were going to tackle that big one! S.V. was the perfect application for that! Very nice indee

Thanks Travis. Although somewhat unsightly, it was really good. Thoroughly enjoyed it. My biggest question was do I feed 5 or 6 people with that monster steak or do I make a sandwich with it :emoji_astonished: Tracy won this one so I fed the group...darn it.

Robert
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Sowsage
Wow those mushrooms and the amazing salad sure top off the day :) stuffed shrooms are a favorite.

Thanks so much Peachy. I'd considered doing sauteed mushrooms but Lori offered to make these. Although I can't take any credit for them, I'm 100% in agreement with you. they made a fantastic addition to the meal. I could have almost done away with the steak and made a meal out of the mushrooms...and probably gained about 20 pounds in the process :emoji_anguished:

Robert
 
Looks Great Robert !!
Nice Job, again!!!
I'd use 131° in the SV, but only because that's what the book says.
Like.

Bear
 
Looks Great Robert !!
Nice Job, again!!!
I'd use 131° in the SV, but only because that's what the book says.

Thanks so much Bear. The book that came with mine said 129 but I agree with you. Already figured the next one was gonna be done exactly as you said...131. There were parts of the roast that were just a tad on the rare side for my dearly beloved.

Robert
 
Thanks so much Bear. The book that came with mine said 129 but I agree with you. Already figured the next one was gonna be done exactly as you said...131. There were parts of the roast that were just a tad on the rare side for my dearly beloved.

Robert


This is one of the many places that told me that:
From a safety standpoint, food cooking at temperatures below 130°F (54.4°C) isn't cooking at all, it's just being warmed. The bacteria we are trying to remove from cooking thrive from around 40°F (4.4°C) to 126°F (52.2°C), and they stop growing but don't start dying quickly until around 130°F (54.4°C). That range is known as the "danger zone" (cue Top Gun music) and it's often referred to in food safety circles.

Note that sometimes the danger zone is even considered to be up to 140°F (60°C) but that is based on building in a margin of error for restaurants, not the actual growth and death of the pathogens.

Cooking a piece of meat below 130°F (54.4°C) is the equivalent to letting it sit on your counter. It's fine for a few hours but it's not something you'll want to do all day. A generally accepted safe overall time in the danger zone, from leaving the fridge through cooking and eating is generally considered 3 to 4 hours.

Any piece of food that needs cooked longer than a few hours should be cooked at a minimum temperature of 130°F (54.4°C). If there is only one thing to remember about cooking in general, and sous vide cooking specifically, it's to not have your food between 40°F (4.4°C) and 130°F (54.4°C) for more than a few hours.

Source: https://www.amazingfoodmadeeasy.com.../more/is-sous-vide-safe-key-safety-guidelines

Bear
 
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