Brisket Sous Vide Style

50 hours at 135°, then three hours in the smoker. Rubbed with Black Ops. Something different. It’s got 29 1/2 hours to go.







All controlled by my phone -



This is my second Sous Vide cook. A few days ago we did three cheap sirloins at 133° for two hours and then seared them with a map torch. They were excellent. I’m betting this will be too.

I’m watching. Looks promising

interesting ... I will be curious to see if the connective tissue breaks down with it only being 135° ... 3 hours of smoke doesn't sound like much smoke (but I like heavy smoke) on an already 135° brisket. Keep us posted on how things progress. My initial thought is it will be very tough and/or chewy but I could be wrong.

Think bone broth. A long simmer renders the fat and turns the tough stuff into collagen. It should be very tender. I hear doing a chuck roast gets you pretty close to prime rib.

The old way ain’t broke...

I've done numerous things with my sous vide, steaks come out badass, as well as the many ribeye roasts.
I tried doing ribs, following the instructions. Tenderness was great, but the taste was not very good at all. Not sure what happened but the taste was just off putting.
Probably won't do a brisket like this, but did you have to buy special wide bags, and if so, how did you vacuum seal it?
Love my Anova, but just have a hard time trusting something to be running for 3 days.

I used a 12” bag. It’s only half of the flat. I’ve got two more bags seasoned and ready in the freezer.

Ok got ya. I've seen a 16# brisket done on a YouTube channel called sous vide everything. I just doubt the smokiness of it since it's only smoke for 3 hours. I'm on a sous vide FB page, and many swear by smoking before sous vide, and then after as well. I have no dog in that fight since I've never done a sous vide brisket.
Good luck.

I have also worried about how much smoke flavor a brisket would take on after it's be sous vide. I am very interested to see how this all turns out.

Having a steak cooked perfectly every time is overrated.

As long as you cook it yourself and pay attention. Many don’t know how to do that.
Sorry that some people can’t cook and others are lazy.

The brisket can only take smoke for about 3 hours anyway. Once the surface temp hits about 160°F smoke can't penetrate any further into the meat. You can throw it into the oven at that point and the smoke level will be the same. Although, It will cook differently in the oven, mostly due to the humidity differences in an oven vs. a smoker.

I sous vide a lot, but have never had the "want to" for a brisket. That's a long time and takes way to much planning ahead for me. If I were to do it, I would smoke for 3 hours, sous vide it, then smoke again long enough to dry the surface and "crisp" it back up. I'm excited to see how it turns out. The best way to become a great cook is not sticking to the old ways and trying to learn new stuff.

I'm interisted to see how it turns out. Sous vide is the only way I do stakes now a days

It’s almost done.



From here it goes in ice to stop it cooking immediately, then ine fridge overnight. I’ll smoke it in the morning. It’s whiskey time now.

What in tarnation.....

Good food.

Dang this isn't finished yet?

New idea for the worlds longest cook... someone get a brisket and dry age it for 40 days then sos vide it for 30 hours then chill it for a day or three then smoke it for 12 hours lol

Seriously Im interested to see how this turns out, but I don't think I will ever have the time or patients to devote to this.

For sure not a brisket, I hope it will be worth the trouble.

I went out on the back porch to fire up the smoker and turned around and came back in. Too cold, wet and windy. I’ll smoke it tomorrow.

It sure ain’t pretty now, but the smoker will probably fix that. It reminds me of pastrami..:

SUCCESS!

I couldn’t stand it, so I put it in smoke between rainstorms. It’s extremely tender, it’s tasty, and it’s the only way I’ll do brisket from now on. The slices with fat in them are the best.

I saw some comments about all the trouble. It’s actually much less trouble than a normal 14 - 16 hour smoke. And yeah, it’s got plenty of smoke in it. I started it on hickory and finished it on mesquite in the MES. Two hours at 135°, last hour at 150°.

Sorry, but that does not look appetizing at all. Where is the bark?

what was the internal temp of the brisket when it finished on the smoker?

It really looks like pastrami.

Yep, it’s a little different. Closer to a really tender steak.

I didn’t check it. It’s fully cooked in the Sous vide.

Looks pretty good, I've done prime rib and steaks in the sous vide, but never a brisket. I may have to give this a try at some point.

Looks good.

Cast woke up one day and said "what can I cook for the next 73 hours of my life"

Looks good dude. I'd hit that. Def looks more like pastrami and would probably make a killer "texas dip" with the au ju

We just had tacos from it. Pretty awesome stuff. I’ll do it again for sure.

Looks good, bet it tasted great

Curious why it stayed pink in the middle... no funny business now.

All jokes aside im sure its tasty.

It’s pink because it’s cooked only to 135° in the sous vide. That’s the topside of rare beef. When held at that temp for 50 hours it gets really tender and the seasoning gets all the way through it. It’s a smoked steak now, and a good one.

Brisket is normally cooked to 197-205(ish) on a smoker. It's barely getting started at 135. Doesn't sound like you wanted a full BBQ smoked brisket. If it tastes good, then eat it!

I've been trying to talk some of my friends into trying sous vide so I could taste it before I get one. I like the concept of it, but don't think I'd cook a brisket in it.

Whereas brisket is closely associated with BBQ brisket, it is really just another cut of meat. Low and slow smoking is the way that 99% of brisket is prepared. Sous vide is just another way to prepare it.

Low and slow smoking dries out the meat a little, building the bark that we love while we watch the internal temp.

Sous vide traps the moisture and holds the meat at a specific temp until the meat is tender and the fat rendered, but the meat remains rare. Silver skin and gristle will render into collagen as well, like a stew or bone broth. There will be no bark. The brisket is at your chosen temp and color on the surface and throughout the meat. It’s perfectly cooked but still looks kinda raw. I used Black Ops rub on this one to get some color on the surface. Then I smoked it adding more color and great taste.

In short, I started with a brisket but ended up with a beautiful smoked steak. I could have just used SPG on it and seared it to make it look like a steak. Maybe next time. So, when I say ‘Brisket Sous Vide Style’ I’m not expecting to see a 407 brisket, I’m expecting a super tender cut of beef.

And that is exactly what we had for lunch today.

I believe my next one will start with a chuck roast, and end with something akin to prime rib roast.

The sous vide is worth it for sure when it comes to steaks and certain wild game cuts. Also doing a lobster tail in it is amazing.

While I still hate the idea of what you did to the brisket, I’d be very interested in you doing another and smoking for 2 hours prior to putting it in the bath tub.
People that hate this idea are the same ones who hate an oven cooked brisket(myself included)

I don’t think it would’ve make a bit of difference. It got plenty of smoke in it the way I did it.

I wonder if this could be reversed to get more smoke ... like putting it on a pit for 3-6 hours to get the smoke, then vacuum sealing and sous vide ... then maybe tossing back on the pit to firm up the bark ... hmmm, interesting concept either way.

Guys, it really doesn’t need more smoke. We were surprised that it was so loaded with smoke actually. Somebody needs to come over here and get a sample.

If folks have been getting too little smoke using my method it may be that they heated it above 135°.

I didn't think the meat would take on much, if any, smoke flavor once it was already cooked???? Kinda like a steak that is seared to a medium rare then put in the smoker doesn't have near the smoke flavor as the reverse sear method

I’ve always thought that keeping the brisket surface below 200° lets it continue to catch and hold smoke. It is definitely true that a 135° max temp will catch and hold smoke. I took it out of the fridge for lunch and when I unwrapped it, the kitchen smelled like smoke. Makes your mouth water.

gotcha ... I thought the temperature was much lower than 200°, more like 150-160°, so I can see your point about it taking on smoke now that I think about it if it was 135°. Makes sense

I definitely want a sample.

I just put a chuck roast in this morning. Salt, pepper, and fresh garlic and thyme. Planning on cooking it at 135 until dinner time tomorrow. I'll be sure to let you know how it turned out.

I did a chuck roast and it was pretty good, I think I cooked mine for 27 hours. It was really hard to tell it was a chuck roast.

Definitely interested in how it turns out.

MMMM boiled meat.

It took you long enough...

You spent 53 hours cooking a brisket and call me slow?

It does look good though.

Would.

The chuck roast turned out great. Definitely give it a shot.

https://texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/7765912/sous-vide-chuck-roast#Post7765912

I may have to buy me a cheap brisket to throw in the sous vide. But will smoke it first, as I've seen a few vids on this. But a whole brisket, 8-10# one. I just kinda worry about leaving it unattended during the day while at work.
Did a venison backstrap sous vide, low smoked first, then sous vide, then a HIGH HEAT sear, that was the best strap I've ever had.