# St Pattys Day sous vide



## hillbillyrkstr (Mar 16, 2017)

St Pattys day is Friday so we're gonna need something to eat to soak up all that beer. Let's begin.













IMG_6819.JPG



__ hillbillyrkstr
__ Mar 16, 2017





9 pound corned beef brisket cut in half to fit in the bags. 













IMG_6821.JPG



__ hillbillyrkstr
__ Mar 16, 2017





In the drink at 430pm Wednesday afternoon. 

Plan is to do a 48 hour cook at 140 degrees. Nice loaf of the bread, and Dearborn brand kraut ready to roll. Store today for some Swiss and Russian dressing. 

Plan on flipping the meat today around 430 since they overlap a bit in the cooler.


----------



## SmokinAl (Mar 16, 2017)

I bet it's gonna be good!

Al


----------



## hillbillyrkstr (Mar 17, 2017)

Briskets were flipped about 24 hours in (4pm) yesterday. No pics because it just wasn't pic worthy. Still plan on pulling today around 4-430. That'll be 48 hours in the sous vide.


----------



## SmokinAl (Mar 17, 2017)

Looking forward to seeing the finish!

Al


----------



## remsr (Mar 17, 2017)

Yum!

Randy,


----------



## dirtsailor2003 (Mar 17, 2017)

Have mine in the bucket right now too. Gonna be good!


----------



## frootboi (Mar 19, 2017)

How'd it turn out? Any pics of the finished product?


----------



## hillbillyrkstr (Mar 20, 2017)

Sorry been busy all weekend.

The corned beef came out great! I pulled them at 50 hours exactly.  I sliced one up to bring to the farm for our st pattys day party, and I put one in the fridge for later. Not sure might try freezing some of it.













IMG_6846.JPG



__ hillbillyrkstr
__ Mar 20, 2017





Fresh out of the bath.













IMG_6848.JPG



__ hillbillyrkstr
__ Mar 20, 2017





Sliced up.













IMG_6849.JPG



__ hillbillyrkstr
__ Mar 20, 2017





Close up.













IMG_6863.JPG



__ hillbillyrkstr
__ Mar 20, 2017





Laying on a bed of kraut.













IMG_6859.JPG



__ hillbillyrkstr
__ Mar 20, 2017





Reuben build.













IMG_6861.JPG



__ hillbillyrkstr
__ Mar 20, 2017





Ready to eat.

Corned beef came out great! Best I've ever had. 100% sold on the sous vide. Gonna try this again soon. Thinking about smoking a brisket to a certain temp and then using the sous vide to finish it real soon as well.


----------



## SmokinAl (Mar 20, 2017)

Boy that is a perfect looking Reuben!

It looks absolutely delicious!

Congrats on making the carousel!

Point!

Al


----------



## hillbillyrkstr (Mar 20, 2017)

Thanks Al! 

It was the best I've ever had. I'm thinking you should try it. Probably a lot of corn beef on sale this week!


----------



## remsr (Mar 20, 2017)

My wife isn't sold on Sous Vide yet. She didn't like the hamburgers and the brussel sprouts didn't turn out. They were extremely bitter and though they were vacuum packed tight air got between them making it hard to keep them under water. That corned beef looks great as did Al's  pastrami a while back, I think I'll give that a shot next. She loves corned beef. What did you find different about Sous Vide cooking it as opposed to boiling it with cabbage? 

Randy,


----------



## hillbillyrkstr (Mar 20, 2017)

Randy,

I did mine at 140 and it was the most tender and juicy corn beef I've ever had. It was gushing while I was cutting it. I heard you can do it at 135 for super juicy or 145 for a little on the dry side so I chose right in the middle. 

If your wife likes corn beef she'll like this for sure. 

Scott


----------



## remsr (Mar 20, 2017)

Thanks Scott I'm sold and she absolutely loves  Rubens This might be the turning point for her dislike for Sous Vide cooking.
 I have two big old cowboy stakes that I think would benifet by Sous Vide cooking. I was thinking a little cold smoking followed by a med rear Sous Vide cook then rerub and sear on a 700 degree grill. What do you think? The only thing I need to find out is how long in the Sous Vide bath to cook a 31/4 pound bone in stake to med rear.

Randy,


----------



## b-one (Mar 20, 2017)

Looks great,the the cooler mod looks perfect to cook some brisky!


----------



## hillbillyrkstr (Mar 20, 2017)

Randy

Your steak is 3 1/4 pounds? That's a frekin roast! Lol! What kind of steak is it? A cowboy steak is a ribeye correct? It's gonna depend on the thickness but as long as it's not to thick a few hours should be fine. 130 degrees for a perfect medium rare. 

A cold smoke, then sous vide, then hot sear sounds great! I'd love to see your results on a post here.


----------



## bellaru (Mar 20, 2017)

Looks great! I did one at 145 for 36 hours tender and delicious. I then sautéed a head of cabbage in the bag juice. 
Sorry, no pics too busy [emoji]128530[/emoji]


----------



## hillbillyrkstr (Mar 20, 2017)

B one

The cooler won't fit a monster whole packer but it should fit a smaller one. Think I'm gonna up grade to a larger cooler.


----------



## hillbillyrkstr (Mar 20, 2017)

Bellaru,

That's good to know. Was the meat a little bit dry at 145? Also the cabbage in the bag juice sounds great! I was only planning on Reuben's so no cabbage, just some kraut. 

I sliced some as thin as I could with a knife tonight for a Reuben but I could really use a slicer. then again cleaning a knife is far quicker than cleaning a meat slicer.


----------



## remsr (Mar 21, 2017)

Yep! They are ribeye's 2" thick and 13" long including the bone I posted a picture somewhere, but they don't look as huge in pictures as they really are. 
I get so concentrated on processes when I smoke that I often forget to take pictures of some of the steps,  but I'll do my best when I finally cook them. So far I have tenderized them with a spring loaded gadget that exposes many long stainless steel spikes when you push it into the meat, then I rubed a really good mix of spices in to them, than vacuum packed them and froze them. I do that with all my stakes and ribs and chickens.
I rearly go from fresh to smoker. Unless it's brisket or butts, not that it adds flavor it's just the way I do things. I can buy things on sale that I don't intend to cook right away, wash them, dry them, rub them and vacuum pack them for later on. The only sale items I can't do that with are previously frozen foods, those I have to rub and smoke then vacuum pack and freeze, or eat. Consequently I have a freezer full of cured, brined and rubed meats ready to go on the smoker. I might add that I live in Minnesota where smoking in the winter months are not my idea of fun so I stick pile and wait for nice weather. Right now we are in the 40's and 50's perfect for cold smokes. Going to pick up some pork belly today for bacon, some corned beef or a flat to make my own corned beef. Oh I originally bought the Sous Vide cooker to thaw out frozen cooked foods without recooking them in a microwave or oven drying them out. But It does such a great job on so many things that I want to try it out on everything. Next of course is corned beef. 
I apologize it's morning and I tend to go on and on. 

Randy,


----------



## hillbillyrkstr (Mar 21, 2017)

Randy,

I'm no expert but I'm pretty sure the cooking time goes up when you tenderize the meat with needles. Pushing bacteria from the outside to the inside of the meat is something I don't know enough about so I don't do it. 

Smokin Al would know for sure.


----------



## remsr (Mar 21, 2017)

These spikes just punched small holes in the meat without injecting anything into the meat. The idea was to get a better penetration of the Rub and to break down some of the meat fibers. 
   I picked up a 3 pound corned beef today, also a 11pound pork belly and 3 racks of spair ribs. I'm getting ready to do some smoking and cooking. 

Randy,


----------



## dls1 (Mar 22, 2017)

REMSR said:


> My wife isn't sold on Sous Vide yet. She didn't like the hamburgers and *the brussel sprouts didn't turn out. They were extremely bitter and though they were vacuum packed tight air got between them making it hard to keep them under water.* That corned beef looks great as did Al's pastrami a while back, I think I'll give that a shot next. She loves corned beef. What did you find different about Sous Vide cooking it as opposed to boiling it with cabbage?
> 
> Randy,


Brussel sprouts are notorious "floaters" when cooked sous vide, and your experience with them doing so was normal. They're cruciferous vegetables that contain sulphurous chemicals that expel gases when cooked. As tightly vacuum packed as your bag might have been, those gases will still cause it to rise to the top and float on the surface.

Other vegetables of the same class and behavior include broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, bok choy, etc.

To overcome that happening, you need to secure the bag in some type of rack on the bottom of the container, or add some weights to the bag. A couple of dull butter knives might do, or some marbles or loose change added in a smaller bag could solve the problem. Personally, I use a couple silicone coated magnets for situations like that.

Can't help you with the "bitter" problem. Under the best of circumstances, I've always found those hateful things to be bitter and foul tasting, and avoid them at all costs. Others in my family don't feel the same way so I'm roped into cooking them from time to time.


----------



## remsr (Mar 22, 2017)

Thanks for the information, If I were to try it again so would tie strings around the package and slip somting heavy between the strings.  
  The bitter canbe avoided if I buy frozen sprouts.
Thanks again,

Randy,


----------



## smokeymose (Mar 23, 2017)

Vegetables float. I have some smooth rocks to put in the bag to weigh them down. One website suggested pie weights. It works but you have to fish out those little ceramic marbles. Last resort is a pair of metal tongs to hold them down, which actually works about as good as anything else.


----------



## Bearcarver (Mar 25, 2017)

Sorry I'm so late, but That looks Awesome!! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






  ---
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Reuben Looks Great too!!
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Nice Job
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Bear


----------



## hillbillyrkstr (Mar 25, 2017)

Thanks bear.  I was happy with the results.


----------

