Sous Vide and Smoked Brisket - 28-30 Hours

[pianoman9701]

Just popped the brisket, covered with spicy Russian mustard, into the bath for 24 hours at 170F. I'll take it out tomorrow at 11AM and smoke for 4-6 hours. I trimmed off about half the fat and cut the 8 lb brisket in two to fit in the Cambro 18 qt. I'll smoke with hickory in my Weber Tallboy just enough to get the smoke in 1/8". More to come tomorrow!

[Angry Perch]

Can't wait to see this one! I need to get the Anova out soon.

[pianoman9701]

Can't wait to see this one! I need to get the Anova out soon.

I use this thing 3-4 times a week for the last 4-5 years. I keep waiting for it to crap out.

[Angry Perch]

They are a pretty amazing piece of equipment that opened up a new door for the home cook.

[brew]

Looks good P Man...following this

[Angry Perch]

Could you reverse the process, add smoke it first? Curious how that would turn out.

[pianoman9701]

Could you reverse the process, add smoke it first? Curious how that would turn out.

Yes, I found recipes for both ways. I plan to use the rendered fat to baste it while it smokes. Since I'm using a no-tech smoker, I have to tend it at least every hour.

[Angry Perch]

Could you reverse the process, add smoke it first? Curious how that would turn out.

Yes, I found recipes for both ways. I plan to use the rendered fat to baste it while it smokes. Since I'm using a no-tech smoker, I have to tend it at least every hour.

That's what Scotch is for. Who wants a grill/ smoker that you don't have to stand around and watch?

[pianoman9701]

Could you reverse the process, add smoke it first? Curious how that would turn out.

Yes, I found recipes for both ways. I plan to use the rendered fat to baste it while it smokes. Since I'm using a no-tech smoker, I have to tend it at least every hour.

That's what Scotch is for. Who wants a grill/ smoker that you don't have to stand around and watch?

Ummm, bourbon and cigars. It's in the recipe.

[Angry Perch]

Could you reverse the process, add smoke it first? Curious how that would turn out.

Yes, I found recipes for both ways. I plan to use the rendered fat to baste it while it smokes. Since I'm using a no-tech smoker, I have to tend it at least every hour.

That's what Scotch is for. Who wants a grill/ smoker that you don't have to stand around and watch?

Ummm, bourbon and cigars. It's in the recipe.

I did a pig in my backyard once. Started about 5am. By the tile it was done, the rear bumper on my truck looked like a beer can collection. All part of the process!

[JJB11B]

you guys sucK! now I gotta go get something to smoke and some cigars, and a bottle of bourbon

[pianoman9701]

you guys sucK! now I gotta go get something to smoke and some cigars, and a bottle of bourbon

C'mon down to Vancouver tomorrow, 11B, and I'll feed you and give you some cheap bourbon.

[merkaba93]

This should be good! Smart. Going to do a spice rub before it hits the smoker? If so what's your go to mix?

[pianoman9701]

This should be good! Smart. Going to do a spice rub before it hits the smoker? If so what's your go to mix?

Not much - salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

[Fidelk]

I should learn this process......I'm still stuck in charcoal and wood chunks mode.

[LongBomb]

Pman have you done lower temps? I have did a few 36-40 hrs @155 deg, curious what the difference is

[pianoman9701]

Pman have you done lower temps? I have did a few 36-40 hrs @155 deg, curious what the difference is

This is my first time doing a brisket. The recipes I looked at gave me a temp of 150-180F for 24-36 hours. I'm just spitballing it.

[LongBomb]

10-4 I'll wait to hear results

[pianoman9701]

Getting the grill ready. I'll take the brisket out of the bath in 30 minutes. Hickory chunks have been soaking almost an hour.

[pianoman9701]

Brisket just went into the smoke. I did end up lowering the bath temp to 160F before hitting the rack last night. Pulling it out of the ziplocks, it feels like it'll be tender as heck. Who's coming to Pman's house for brisket tonight?

[pianoman9701]

1/2 hour in…

[pianoman9701]

1/2 hour in…

[nwwanderer]

Long drive, fuel prices crazy, what time works for you?

[pianoman9701]

5-ish. We should have fights to watch tonight.

[pianoman9701]

Send me a pm if you need the address.

[pianoman9701]

Brisket got done early. 210F on the fat piece, 220F on the flat. Can't wait to let it rest for 1/2 and hour before cutting into it.

[High Climber]

Looks good so far!

[pianoman9701]

Almost falls apart.

[Dan-o]

I just love brisket .


And that looks incredible!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[pianoman9701]

It's very tasty but a little dry. Not bad. I'd give it a 6 or 7. There's plenty of fat on it and that helps. Got to love that crispy fat.

[pianoman9701]

The leftovers aren't dry at all. It's extremely tender and moist. I'm eating carnivore. I add some cheese, G. Hughes sugar-free bbq, and a little Frank's Wing Sauce. It's freaking delicious.

[Fidelk]

Not familiar with sous vide......did you get good penetration of smoke into the meat? I see bark on the slices but no smoke ring. Would this process work by smoking the raw meat first and then finishing via sous vide? Again, no knowledge of this process, just curious.

[pianoman9701]

The meat tastes like smoke. It's not heavy. I'm going to reverse the process next time, smoking for 4-6 hours then into the bath for probably 24.

Sous vide (French for under vacuum) is a cooking technique that cooks at specific temperatures for a given time to receive specific results. The meat or fish is put in a ziplock bag or vacuum bag, and then you force out the air by submerging the bag and closing it.

This last one gave up a lot of moisture during the 24 hours in the bath and I think it was because the meat hadn't been seared. I think/hope that smoking first will achieve that sear and hold in the juices.

[Stein]

I know with canning it really magnifies the smoke so I always go way less on smoked fish that I can.  I wonder if it's the same with SV?  It will be sitting in the smoky liquid for 24 hours, you might think about going half on the smoke time.

I think the searing locking in liquid is more of a myth than reality.  You might have gone too long in the second stage last time, I would try going by touch rather than temp, especially if it's less than prime grade.  I use a bamboo skewer to poke through it and you can tell when it's done.

I'm not sure what temp you started the SV, if it was 180, you might try bumping that down to 150-160.  Since you are going so much longer than a traditional cook I think you can get away with a lot less heat.  Google says beef fat renders at 130-140, so 150 might be a better option?

It's an interesting experiment if you can get it to work, save money on pellets or wood fuel if you buy them and no babysitting anything.  You can also set the timing to have it done any time of day.

[Alchase]

Wouldn't you loose the bark if reversed?

[pianoman9701]

All of the liquid came out during the SV cycle and quite early in the process. There was no loss of liquid once I started smoking, other than a little fat dripping. I do think that smoking it first could have a good searing effect and that we'd see less liquid in the bag afterwards. SV does have a good effect on penetrating the flavor no matter what you're cooking. I may consider smoking for a shorter time, like 3-4 hours.

Temp: I started it at 170F and reduced it to 160F after 6 hours or so. The recipe I saw gave a temp range from 150-180F for 24-36 hours. The briskets started to float after the liquid had released. So I had to add a couple of dinner knives to each bag to keep them down under the surface.

[pianoman9701]

Wouldn't you loose the bark if reversed?

Not sure I haven't tried it yet. If there's less liquid released, I don't think the bark would be affected at all other than possibly being easier to cut through and that would be fine. Bark is a combination of being more cooked and smoke. I don't believe it's possible to reverse that process with liquid. We'll see. It might suck!

[Special T]

Looks like it was awesome. I bet you will have the recipe dialed in soon!

[pianoman9701]

Maybe when you come down the next time, we can smoke a brisket and a cigar or two.

[Stein]

Once the bark is set it's pretty much there, I wouldn't be worried.  If you finish wrapped in foil traditional style, it will cook in liquid in the oven for a couple hours and the bark is still there.

The problem you might have is that it takes quite a while to set the bark (6-8 hrs in my experience) which negates the longer SV.  If you only want smoky flavor and some color you could do less, but true bark (brisket is black, outer has hard texture and you can hear it when you scrape a fork across) takes time at normal smoking temps.

You could also experiment with a true sear, like 500-600 degrees or with a torch, followed or preceded with smoking at 220 for flavor and smell.  That might replicate bark pretty well or be a total disaster?

Personally, I don't care much for bark, I could take it or leave it but some people really dig it.

[pianoman9701]

Once the bark is set it's pretty much there, I wouldn't be worried.  If you finish wrapped in foil traditional style, it will cook in liquid in the oven for a couple hours and the bark is still there.

The problem you might have is that it takes quite a while to set the bark (6-8 hrs in my experience) which negates the longer SV.  If you only want smoky flavor and some color you could do less, but true bark (brisket is black, outer has hard texture and you can hear it when you scrape a fork across) takes time at normal smoking temps.

You could also experiment with a true sear, like 500-600 degrees or with a torch, followed or preceded with smoking at 220 for flavor and smell.  That might replicate bark pretty well or be a total disaster?

Personally, I don't care much for bark, I could take it or leave it but some people really dig it.

I was thinking about using the torch before the bath and I didn't. If I seared it really well, that might tackle the moisture-loss problem, as well. I did have a pretty good bark after only 2.5 hours. It barks a lot faster when the meat is already fully cooked. Same with a sous vide steak. You only have to sear it in a pan for a minute on each side when you take it out of the bath.