Looking for input on the idea of doing a chuck roast in the sous vide for a few hours over night then moving to the smoker for finish and bark. Thoughts, pros, cons, ideas. I don't always have the time to babysit the smoker and thought maybe this would be a good way to get some of the cook time done.

Why not smoke first, then finish in sous vide?

Get the smoke-flavor into the muscle tissue for an hour or, two, then complete the cooking process with a sous vide.

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:
Why not smoke first, then finish in sous vide?

Get the smoke-flavor into the muscle tissue for an hour or, two, then complete the cooking process with a sous vide.

This ^^^

If you smoke your meat after cooking sous vide, cook it at a slightly higher temperature than if you smoked it before sous viding. Since the meat is now cooked, you'll be just adding flavor and not cooking it any further. To get the best out of this method, sous vide your meat for anywhere between 24 and 48 hours. Jan 17, 2023

Link-amundo!

Smoke flavor attaches to protein primarily while the meat is cold during the first part of the smoking. If the smoke flavor is most important I would put it in the smoker first. If the bark is what you are after then smoke it last but you will have a milder flavor.

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:
Why not smoke first, then finish in sous vide?

Get the smoke-flavor into the muscle tissue for an hour or, two, then complete the cooking process with a sous vide.

Because finishing in the sous vide will kill any bark you have. I think almost all meats cooked via sous vide need to be finished on the grill or in a pan or with a torch. Most people don’t want a wet or mushy steak, even if it is cooked to the perfect temp. You want juicy in the inside, not the outside.

If you want smoke flavor then you could smoke on the grill, then sous vide, then finish on the grill at a high temp.

I would definitely smoke first, sous vide to proper temp, dry off and quick sear.

I also have found out that a flame-thrower type of gun will sear it the best without overcooking as in a conventional hot-pan method followed up with a dab of appropriate flavored compound butter.

So I would recommend smoke first for flavor, sous vide for cooking, but a degree or two less than "finished" temp, and then blasting it on a grill or oven or pan sear for the outside.

I do this for pulled pork and it works great (I use a convection over at 500 for 10 minutes and it's just the bomb).

I often sous vide thick steaks then sear in my Kamado Joe.

I am doing this to a 7.5 lb prime rib roast for Christmas.

I’m not sure about that to be honest. That’s a very long time for that meat to be in the temperature danger zone.

Why use two low and slow methods?

Seems if you want smoke flavor and bark, sticking with the smoker would be easier.

Are you trying to avoid the stall?

quote:

Originally posted by honestlou:

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:
Why not smoke first, then finish in sous vide?

Get the smoke-flavor into the muscle tissue for an hour or, two, then complete the cooking process with a sous vide.

Because finishing in the sous vide will kill any bark you have. I think almost all meats cooked via sous vide need to be finished on the grill or in a pan or with a torch. Most people don’t want a wet or mushy steak, even if it is cooked to the perfect temp. You want juicy in the inside, not the outside.

If you want smoke flavor then you could smoke on the grill, then sous vide, then finish on the grill at a high temp.

If bark is very high on the list of priorities, I think smoking-only is the way to go. As you rightly point-out, with sous vide you still need to finish once removed from the bath of its own juices.

As others pointed out, I'd pull the meat out of the bath several degrees below your target temperature, then roast, grill or, torch it to finish and get some outer finish.

I wouldn't do an overnight sous vide on a chuck roast. You're going to pull out a bag of mush.

Sous vide is good for some things up to about 2-3 hours in my experience. After that, you'll break down the tissues too much especially with something like a chuck roast.

Best way to cook a chuck roast IMO is a low and slow smoke with a salt crust. Comes out perfect every time.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
I wouldn't do an overnight sous vide on a chuck roast.
You're going to pull out a bag of mush.
Sous vide is good for some things up to about 2-3 hours

Not necessarily, it depends on the size and cut.
But with more Sous Vide time, it could affect the crust goal in a negative way.

I have made Sous Vide Short ribs from this Guga Recipe over and over again with spectacular results.
It is a 48 hour cook!
However, a firm bark is not the objective of the cook.

48-Hour Cook

I've done a lot of tritips in a similar manner to the way proposed and it works very well and is always a hit.

1. sous vide tritip for 16 hours at 132
2. remove from bag and place in fridge overnight
3. smoke until IT hits a good serving temp... about 126-127.

I season before sous vide and again before smoking. It really is fantastic. It comes out very tender and it always gets compliments.

If I don't have the time to chill over night I'll do a high heat sear, after patting it dry, over direct flames or on a cast iron skillet. They work just fine and this is how I normally cook it for my household. It only lacks the smoke flavor.

I've done a few chuck roasts and rump roasts based on the sous vide start, from as little as 6 hours to a full day, and they turn out well too. 16 hours does seem to be the sweet spot, at least for tritip.

Big big fan of cooking in the bath and finishing in the smoke.

I’ve even put big hunks of leftover cold braised chuck roast in the smoker on low for a while. Came out really well and made great tacos.

Thanks for the input lots of info to process.

As long as your reason is not to sear then before or after is fine aka just for the smoke flavor, but before will infuse more smoke over after (sous vide).