Sous Vide Long Cook Roast Beef

[Andy M.]

MAYBE WE SHOULD HAVE A SOUS VIDE FORUM

I was watching an episode of the new Good Eats on the subject of sous vide and AB did a segment on cooking tougher cuts of beef as oven roasts. Longer cooking times for a tougher cut will break down the connective tissues and yield a more tender roast.

He chose a roast from the round section of the steer. It typically has little marbling and consequently is a bit on the chewy side. The roast was seasoned and put in a SV bath for 10 hours. He chose to sear the roast before the SV process rather than after.

I thought that was an experiment worth doing so purchased a 2-3 pound top round roast (at $2.99/Lb) to give it a try.

Subsequent research on other sites revealed cooking times varied from 10 hours to "1-2 days".

I think I'll go with 24 hours as that seems to be to be the most frequently recurring number as well as the time suggested by the two top SV circulator makers, Anova and Joule.

I'll start it tonight around dinnertime and we should be all set for a nice Sunday dinner of tender roast beef with baked potatoes and some veggie or other.

I'll follow up tomorrow.

[Kayelle]

Originally Posted by Andy M.

MAYBE WE SHOULD HAVE A SOUS VIDE FORUM

I was watching an episode of the new Good Eats on the subject of sous vide and AB did a segment on cooking tougher cuts of beef as oven roasts. Longer cooking times for a tougher cut will break down the connective tissues and yield a more tender roast.

He chose a roast from the round section of the steer. It typically has little marbling and consequently is a bit on the chewy side. The roast was seasoned and put in a SV bath for 10 hours. He chose to sear the roast before the SV process rather than after.

I thought that was an experiment worth doing so purchased a 2-3 pound top round roast (at $2.99/Lb) to give it a try.

Subsequent research on other sites revealed cooking times varied from 10 hours to "1-2 days".

I think I'll go with 24 hours as that seems to be to be the most frequently recurring number as well as the time suggested by the two top SV circulator makers, Anova and Joule.

I'll start it tonight around dinnertime and we should be all set for a nice Sunday dinner of tender roast beef with baked potatoes and some veggie or other.

I'll follow up tomorrow.

I agree Andy, that maybe we should have a SOUS VIDE FORUM.
I'll sure be interested in hearing how your roast turns out!
I know for sure I'll never do another Tri Tip without my Sous Vide, although we like ours rare (125 degrees) for three to four hours, which is another thing.
What temp will you set for your roast?

[Andy M.]

Originally Posted by Kayelle

...What temp will you set for your roast?

Probably in the low 130s. SO likes it more medium and I like more medium rare so I try to compromise.

[Kayelle]

Andy, I just remembered I have another chuck pot roast in the freezer, and since I recently rediscovered we do not like "pot roast" I'll give it a shot with the Sous Vide method. Thanks for the light bulb moment.

[Andy M.]

Kayelle, which circulator do you have? I have the Anova Nano and use the Anova app on my phone to control it.

[Kayelle]

I also have the Anova Nano Andy, but have no need to control it with my phone.

[caseydog]

I saw that episode of good eats listed on iTunes (I don't have cable/satellite). That's a pretty lean roast, and not know for tenderness.

I have done a chuck roast, but as a combination smoke and sous vide. It wasn't bad, but not great, either. I need to try one sous vide and sear.

I think your choice of time is good.

BTW, I have the standard Anova. I don't use the app -- I have too many apps, already.

CD

[Andy M.]

I use the Anova app for instruction more than to control the circulator. The app has specific directions for many types of foods. I also have the Joule app. I use that for cooking instructions as well.

[TATTRAT]

At 130 is about as low as I would go to ensure a tender roast.

I think the idea of a SV forum is great, Andy. It's certainly caught on in home kitchens, and the possibilities are almost endless.

For those that read this and may wonder about the low temps and long periods of time, pasteurization does still occur.

[Andy M.]

Originally Posted by TATTRAT

...I think the idea of a SV forum is great, Andy. It's certainly caught on in home kitchens, and the possibilities are almost endless...

The best chicken breasts I've ever eaten came out of sous vide. Also have tried poached eggs. Came out fine but not practical unless you need a lot of poached eggs at once.

[Andy M.]

Here are the steps and results:


Prepping the top round with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powders.


Vacuum sealed and ready for its bath.


In the water bath @ 133ºF.


25 hours later, pan seared and ready to carve.


Carved and ready to eat.


Gotta go, time for dinner.

Final verdict: Cooked as I expected (SO likes it medium). Super tender and tasty. I did have a texture issue one area of the roast. It was too tender. Almost like a paste-like consistency. Not sure if that's the right descriptive but I can't think of anything else to describe it right now.

[Silversage]

Andy, too much 'tenderness' usually means too much time. I watch folks on a few sous vide groups talk about 48 and 72 hour cook times, and they get mush.

[Andy M.]

Originally Posted by Silversage

Andy, too much 'tenderness' usually means too much time. I watch folks on a few sous vide groups talk about 48 and 72 hour cook times, and they get mush.

Yeah, I figured that but it was only in one small part of the roast. Maybe a separate muscle that reacted differently.

[caseydog]

Originally Posted by Silversage

Andy, too much 'tenderness' usually means too much time. I watch folks on a few sous vide groups talk about 48 and 72 hour cook times, and they get mush.

Yeah. Andy, your description of "paste-like" meant something to me, because I've experienced it. At least it was isolated to one area of the roast.

If you do the same roast again, just knock a few hours off.

CD

[Andy M.]

Originally Posted by caseydog

Yeah. Andy, your description of "paste-like" meant something to me, because I've experienced it. At least it was isolated to one area of the roast.



If you do the same roast again, just knock a few hours off.



CD

If I do this again, I think I’ll go with a chuck roast. This one was too lean.

[caseydog]

Here is a good video on sous vide chuck roast. I am probably going to use this kind of technique for my next chuck...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRR5sfs0gFQ

CD

[caseydog]

A cool thing about sous vide is that it is easy to share information, since all circulators do the same thing, no matter what brand or style.

CD

[Kayelle]

I followed Andy's lead by using the Sous Vide to do a long cook with a small chuck roast. Put it on to cook before going to bed last night and it was ready at dinner time after an 18 hr. cook at 128 degrees. It turned out really well, and nearly as tender as a 4 hr. Tri Tip. The texture wasn't the least bit mushy and very flavorful. Since I don't have a vacuum sealer machine, I used a heavy duty zip bag, and it worked just fine. Wilma, the searing burner finished it. We had delicious French Dip sandwiches with plenty of leftovers.

[Andy M.]

Kayelle that looks delicious.

[Cheryl J]

Looks delish, Kay!