I wanted to magically transform a couple grassfed Hereford chuck roasts from the in-laws farm into something even more special. I seared them in the big ol' Griswold cast iron skillet with a little powdered beef base to get some extra caramelizing. De-boned to keep from poking the bag, then seasoned with Mt. Evans Butcher's Rub from Savory Spice Shop online (AWESOME stuff, along with their Cantanzaro Herb blend and Bohemian Forest blend). When doing SV for extended periods like this, go EXTREMELY light on, or even forego the salt; it will give your meat an extremely firm "cured" texture. Bagged up and into the sous vide bath for a little over 4 days at 130 degrees. I can't begin to describe how incredibly tender and juicy this meat was. Akin to a very high-end prime rib, with exponentially more flavor. Well worth the wait!

Sliced up, and made a board sauce with the bag juices, EVOO, fresh rosemary and thyme, along with coarse black pepper and Maldon Sea Salt Flakes. Onto some nice rolls with smoked aged cheddar and homemade horseradish mayo. Washed down with a tasty local treat. This didn't suck! Thanks for looking!

Holy cow, that looks amazing!

half of a 7 bone Chuck,,

have not seen one of those for years!!!


looks mighty tasty!!! any leftovers?



no one locally does a bone in chuck anymore, at least commercially ,

hated those things when I was an apprentice and early journeyman meat cutter, but they did give you a good workout when you had them on sale,

That looks delicious!

When you sear prior to putting in the bath does the caramelized surface get really soft?

Have you tried searing after being in the bath?

lyman, there is some left, swing on by! We get a whole steer given to us every fall by the in-laws, and just pay the butcher bill. He's very particular, and old-school, and got a little excited (actually called me a pain in the ass) the first few years when I started calling out particular specialty cuts that I wanted for meat-crafting. Coulotte/picanha, navel, spider steak, whole packer brisket, short plate, hanging tender, etc. He's come around now, and I think he enjoys knowing some of the current trends.


tatortodd, yes, the bark softens considerably in the bath, but in my opinion it's crucial to pre-sear so that the flavor can cook into the meat during the extended cook times. I've pre and post seared whole prime ribs before, and it is worth the effort, especially being served with the fat cap on, since it will re-crisp the fat, which I love. In this case, I knew I'd be slicing and serving as I did, with the board sauce, which I figured would substantially soften the crust anyways, so skipped it.

I'm a little surprised you seared first, then SVed it. I think you'd want to sear after.

But however you did it, it looks good.

quote:

Originally posted by BBMW:
I'm a little surprised you seared first, then SVed it. I think you'd want to sear after.

But however you did it, it looks good.

I prefer both pre and post sear, but the post sear isn't as critical as the pre-sear, for the reasons I gave in post #5, especially for what I intended this meat for. The flavor from the Maillard reaction is still there, just more present throughout the meat.

I think I'd have to try it both ways (pre-sear and not) in order to get on-board. I thought the whole idea of sous vide is to get the whole piece of meat to the desired internal temperature and keep it there, and just quickly sear to carmelize/crisp up the exterior. By double searing, your increasing the done-ness of the meat toward the edge. I thought this was to be avoided.

quote:

Originally posted by Outnumbered:

quote:

Originally posted by BBMW:
I'm a little surprised you seared first, then SVed it. I think you'd want to sear after.

But however you did it, it looks good.

I prefer both pre and post sear, but the post sear isn't as critical as the pre-sear, for the reasons I gave in post #5, especially for what I intended this meat for. The flavor from the Maillard reaction is still there, just more present throughout the meat.

quote:

Originally posted by BBMW:
I'm a little surprised you seared first, then SVed it. I think you'd want to sear after.

But however you did it, it looks good.

It’s not a steak, it’s basically a low, long braising or stewing of the chuck.

Searing first, then SV is correct here.

Think pot roast, not T-bone.

quote:

Originally posted by BBMW:
I think I'd have to try it both ways (pre-sear and not) in order to get on-board. I thought the whole idea of sous vide is to get the whole piece of meat to the desired internal temperature and keep it there, and just quickly sear to carmelize/crisp up the exterior. By double searing, your increasing the done-ness of the meat toward the edge. I thought this was to be avoided.

Generally speaking, you're correct. With a steak, too much searing will give an undesirable temperature gradient. Also, a steak usually isn't in the bath long enough to benefit from a pre-sear; it doesn't get much flavor from what's in the bag for only an hour or three.

With a hunk of meat like this or a prime rib, there's much more thickness and mass working in your favor. Overall percentage of 130 degree meat vs the darker exterior, etc. Plus, the reason I seared it outside on the 150k BTU burner was to get a killer sear EXTREMELY fast, thus greatly reducing a temp gradient zone. I can afford to sear twice this way, with very little gradient.

The upside, especially on a cook like this, is that the meat gets to bathe in that caramelized flavor for 4+ days, instead of just a quick sear at the end. And actually, I didn't double sear this anyways. I opted for the flavor delivery of a pre-bath sear vs the end texture of a post sear, since it was to be sliced in a board dressing anyways.

quote:

Originally posted by Outnumbered:
lyman, there is some left, swing on by! We get a whole steer given to us every fall by the in-laws, and just pay the butcher bill. He's very particular, and old-school, and got a little excited (actually called me a pain in the ass) the first few years when I started calling out particular specialty cuts that I wanted for meat-crafting. Coulotte/picanha, navel, spider steak, whole packer brisket, short plate, hanging tender, etc. He's come around now, and I think he enjoys knowing some of the current trends.

I know how he feels,

I cut meat/managed a meat dept 19 yrs, been out of it about 15

there are 2 kinds of meat people, the butchers, and the chefs/cooks,
their vocabulary is not always the same, even tho the industry went thru a voluntary standardization of names of cuts around 2000

good times when a TV chef does something 'special' and you get a handful of folks wanting whatever the TC Chef called it,, (they are often wrong!!)

quote:

Originally posted by Outnumbered:

quote:

Originally posted by BBMW:
I think I'd have to try it both ways (pre-sear and not) in order to get on-board. I thought the whole idea of sous vide is to get the whole piece of meat to the desired internal temperature and keep it there, and just quickly sear to carmelize/crisp up the exterior. By double searing, your increasing the done-ness of the meat toward the edge. I thought this was to be avoided.

Generally speaking, you're correct. With a steak, too much searing will give an undesirable temperature gradient. Also, a steak usually isn't in the bath long enough to benefit from a pre-sear; it doesn't get much flavor from what's in the bag for only an hour or three.

With a hunk of meat like this or a prime rib, there's much more thickness and mass working in your favor. Overall percentage of 130 degree meat vs the darker exterior, etc. Plus, the reason I seared it outside on the 150k BTU burner was to get a killer sear EXTREMELY fast, thus greatly reducing a temp gradient zone. I can afford to sear twice this way, with very little gradient.

The upside, especially on a cook like this, is that the meat gets to bathe in that caramelized flavor for 4+ days, instead of just a quick sear at the end. And actually, I didn't double sear this anyways. I opted for the flavor delivery of a pre-bath sear vs the end texture of a post sear, since it was to be sliced in a board dressing anyways.

Looks delicious, I'd still probably sear on front and back end personally, but I've never done a Chuck in this manner before, you obviously have. Do you think there's a negative to it, or do you just think its not worth the additional effort?

Jesse, I do think it's worth it when serving the meat directly on the plate, to be eaten with knife and fork, as the re-crisping gives a great texture/mouthfeel.

The difficulty with post-sear, especially with large cuts served medium rare is that surface browning doesn't take place when the exterior is wet. You can vigorously pat it dry before searing, which helps, but a medium rare hunk o' beef has a LOT of moisture, and rehydrates its own surface quickly. In the meanwhile, you're steaming and possibly overcooking your meat into the interior, as BBMW was pointing out.

The trick is to have an extremely hot pan or fire to post-sear on (my huge outdoor burner), pat the meat dry, and move quick. Sometimes, I'll also cheat with a little bit of extra-light tasting olive oil, or clarified butter added to the surface to aid in the re-browning process.

I have a Bernzomatic TS8000, I can sear top and bottom at the same time or just do it on a rack and get only the outside. Want to try this weekend. Has anyone tried cooking torch, repurposed tool, or searzall before? I imagine it would be great for high moisture content meats.

Looks delicious but I don’t see myself ever dedicating over 100 hours into a chuck roast. I just did a American Wagyu cap of rib eye in just over a hour a short time ago. I’d put that cut of beef up against anything. But as I said it looks delicious and no doubt very tasty!

quote:

Originally posted by lastmanstanding:
Looks delicious but I don’t see myself ever dedicating over 100 hours into a chuck roast. I just did a American Wagyu cap of rib eye in just over a hour a short time ago. I’d put that cut of beef up against anything. But as I said it looks delicious and no doubt very tasty!

I saw that thread, your steak was gorgeous! Since I can't afford meat like that, I do voodoo on cheaper meat! What went into the bath was 2 chuck roasts; what came out was something otherworldly. Besides,
it was the SV setup that spent all that time working, not me!

Okay, that makes sense. Like I said it looks like it tastes good. I'd happily eat it.

quote:

Originally posted by Outnumbered:

quote:

Originally posted by BBMW:
I think I'd have to try it both ways (pre-sear and not) in order to get on-board. I thought the whole idea of sous vide is to get the whole piece of meat to the desired internal temperature and keep it there, and just quickly sear to carmelize/crisp up the exterior. By double searing, your increasing the done-ness of the meat toward the edge. I thought this was to be avoided.

Generally speaking, you're correct. With a steak, too much searing will give an undesirable temperature gradient. Also, a steak usually isn't in the bath long enough to benefit from a pre-sear; it doesn't get much flavor from what's in the bag for only an hour or three.

With a hunk of meat like this or a prime rib, there's much more thickness and mass working in your favor. Overall percentage of 130 degree meat vs the darker exterior, etc. Plus, the reason I seared it outside on the 150k BTU burner was to get a killer sear EXTREMELY fast, thus greatly reducing a temp gradient zone. I can afford to sear twice this way, with very little gradient.

The upside, especially on a cook like this, is that the meat gets to bathe in that caramelized flavor for 4+ days, instead of just a quick sear at the end. And actually, I didn't double sear this anyways. I opted for the flavor delivery of a pre-bath sear vs the end texture of a post sear, since it was to be sliced in a board dressing anyways.

quote:

Originally posted by Outnumbered:
tatortodd, yes, the bark softens considerably in the bath, but in my opinion it's crucial to pre-sear so that the flavor can cook into the meat during the extended cook times. I've pre and post seared whole prime ribs before, and it is worth the effort, especially being served with the fat cap on, since it will re-crisp the fat, which I love. In this case, I knew I'd be slicing and serving as I did, with the board sauce, which I figured would substantially soften the crust anyways, so skipped it.

Thanks for the explanation. It makes sense and sounds delicious.

quote:

Originally posted by Outnumbered:

quote:

Originally posted by BBMW:
I think I'd have to try it both ways (pre-sear and not) in order to get on-board. I thought the whole idea of sous vide is to get the whole piece of meat to the desired internal temperature and keep it there, and just quickly sear to carmelize/crisp up the exterior. By double searing, your increasing the done-ness of the meat toward the edge. I thought this was to be avoided.

Generally speaking, you're correct. With a steak, too much searing will give an undesirable temperature gradient. Also, a steak usually isn't in the bath long enough to benefit from a pre-sear; it doesn't get much flavor from what's in the bag for only an hour or three.

With a hunk of meat like this or a prime rib, there's much more thickness and mass working in your favor. Overall percentage of 130 degree meat vs the darker exterior, etc. Plus, the reason I seared it outside on the 150k BTU burner was to get a killer sear EXTREMELY fast, thus greatly reducing a temp gradient zone. I can afford to sear twice this way, with very little gradient.

The upside, especially on a cook like this, is that the meat gets to bathe in that caramelized flavor for 4+ days, instead of just a quick sear at the end. And actually, I didn't double sear this anyways. I opted for the flavor delivery of a pre-bath sear vs the end texture of a post sear, since it was to be sliced in a board dressing anyways.

Nice description. I think I will try this.

Outnumbered,

I thought I heard a chuck wagon dinner bell...but did not get the invite.

Looks outstanding and delicious.