# My First SV Chuck Roast



## gary s (Oct 8, 2017)

*Well --------------  My Chuck Roast Results ????*


All the talk about cooking with the Sous Vide, I had to get one.

First thing I did was chicken, turned out OK, not exceptional but tender, juicy and OK. The next thing I did was CSR’s. I was all excited, looked and smelled fantastic after a short grilling for some color, But they were not tender at all, Disappointed. So my next SV adventure was going to be a Chucky.


I seasoned up my Chuck Roast and vac sealed it and in the fridge.

The next day I decided to brown it first, so out of the bag and on the grill, then back in the bag

After 22 hours in the SV It was ready

I took it out of the bag, patted it dry and cut a slice off the end.

Popped it in my mouth and it was Chewy, Dang, not again. I’m thinking “What am I doing wrong? Maybe my SV is not calibrated correctly. Gave my wife a taste, she said man it has a great flavor but a little chewy. About then I was ready to throw the Roast and SV in the trash. She said get your slicer out and slice it up. So out came the slicer, and I started slicing. A little way in I grabbed another slice, WOW ??  This was fall apart tender and fantastic.

I went ahead and sliced it all up, some of the Best Roast beef I ever had. Made a couple of pieces of toast, piled on the Beef and dowsed with gravy, and some mashed taters on the side. OMG it was fantastic.

Two nice hunks of meat










Getting ready to Seal








First Slice






Slicing it up





Sous Vide in Action





All Sliced Up





My Plate






Thanks for looking,


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## dirtsailor2003 (Oct 8, 2017)

Looks tasty!


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## griz400 (Oct 8, 2017)

nice stuff there Gary ... point as well .. love them sammies


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## pc farmer (Oct 8, 2017)

That looks fantastic Gary.


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## chopsaw (Oct 8, 2017)

You throw that out , and I'm hangin out by your trash !! Awesome .


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## SmokinAl (Oct 8, 2017)

Great job Gary!
Glad you decided to get a SV.
They take some trial & error, but I'm sure it won't take you long to figure it out!
That final plated shot looks fantastic!

Al


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## gary s (Oct 8, 2017)

Thanks to all of you, I'm learning on the SV, any help or comments are appreciated

Gary


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## rambo1964 (Oct 8, 2017)

That's last shot is to die for... man I'm starving now and craving that.  Good luck on the SV I know it won't take you long to figure it out. 

Daniel


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## b-one (Oct 8, 2017)

That looks great,I'll take two please!


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## Bearcarver (Oct 8, 2017)

Looks Great to me, Gary !!:)

Try a Chucky that looks like a Big Steak---Big Difference.

That plate looks Mighty Tasty Too!!:p

Bear


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## gary s (Oct 9, 2017)

I was worried, but it came out really good, I'll look foe one the ones you buy Bear
I've got one more of those (2 pack)

Gary


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## troutman (Oct 9, 2017)

I'm not an SV guy but chucks seem to be a cut that best benefits from it.  I need to take the SV "plunge" soon :)


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## idahopz (Oct 9, 2017)

Man, that last pic with the beef and potatoes smothered in gravy has me droolin' ;)


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## gary s (Oct 9, 2017)

Gary


idahopz said:


> Man, that last pic with the beef and potatoes smothered in gravy has me droolin' ;)



Thanks I trying to learn about this SV cooking


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## retfr8flyr (Oct 16, 2017)

I never sear first with anything I am doing SV. I don't know why the ends were tuff and the rest wasn't but it really looks good.  If you want to try something new, get a big hunk of London Broil, actually top round, season it all up and SV for 10 hrs at 130°. Pull it out and dry it well, then put it on a 500° grill for about 1 minute a side to sear. It will come out like expensive steak. Give it a try, it's one of my favorites.


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## gary s (Oct 16, 2017)

Thank's for the info

Gary


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## Bearcarver (Oct 16, 2017)

retfr8flyr said:


> I never sear first with anything I am doing SV. I don't know why the ends were tuff and the rest wasn't but it really looks good.  If you want to try something new, get a big hunk of London Broil, actually top round, season it all up and SV for 10 hrs at 130°. Pull it out and dry it well, then put it on a 500° grill for about 1 minute a side to sear. It will come out like expensive steak. Give it a try, it's one of my favorites.



That's almost exactly what I tried.
It was a Top Round (only about 1" thick), that they like to call "London Broil".
Somebody else here did it for 10 hours, so I tried 10 hours.
It was very tough. Next time I get one like that, I'm trying 18 hours.

Bear


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## GaryHibbert (Oct 16, 2017)

That chuck looks absolutely delicious my friend!!!  Great job with your new toy.
I have zero interest in sous vide and don't plan to get one but.......I'd sure eat some of that!!!!!
POINT
Gary


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## gary s (Oct 16, 2017)

Thanks Gary

Gary


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## retfr8flyr (Oct 16, 2017)

Bear, that must have really been a tough piece to begin with. :)  The only problem I have with doing very long cooks with steak like meat is the meat tends to lose it's texture. I tried various times with the LB cuts and anything over about 12 hrs made the meat kind of soft feeling, without the texture of steak. For me the 10 hrs is kind of the sweet spot. Give your long cook a try and see what you think. BTW I looked at your sig and I was at Pleiku, Chu Lai and Qui Nhon 67-68, C Troop, 7th Squadron, 17th Armored Air Cav.


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## Bearcarver (Oct 17, 2017)

retfr8flyr said:


> Bear, that must have really been a tough piece to begin with. :)  The only problem I have with doing very long cooks with steak like meat is the meat tends to lose it's texture. I tried various times with the LB cuts and anything over about 12 hrs made the meat kind of soft feeling, without the texture of steak. For me the 10 hrs is kind of the sweet spot. Give your long cook a try and see what you think. BTW I looked at your sig and I was at Pleiku, Chu Lai and Qui Nhon 67-68, C Troop, 7th Squadron, 17th Armored Air Cav.



Yup---Could have been the meat. When I get another one, I'll probably try 18. Then if that's too long, I'll drop to 14, and adjust from there. That's my normal procedure to try to find my sweet spot, but like you say, an extra tough piece of meat can mess that method up. Thanks for your reply.

My brother was in Qui Nhon 16 1/2 months in 65-66, as an MP "66" MPs.

Welcome Home!

Bear


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## johnmeyer (Oct 17, 2017)

I am really surprised the chicken came out no better than "so-so." I've done chicken breasts several times, cooked to 143, and they were the best white-meat chicken I've ever had. I would never make chicken for chicken salad any other way. 

SV is all about temperature and time. Most of the focus is on temp, but time is also really important. Some people think you can cook almost forever, but the meat will start to get mushy if cooked for too many hours. On the other end, at the low temps involved, you definitely need to make sure it sits at the final temp for long enough that the meat beings to break down and get tender.


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## Bearcarver (Oct 17, 2017)

What chicken came out so-so. Everything on this thread is "Chuck Roast".

While you're here, John, Have you run across a "Pasteurization" chart in Fahrenheit??
All I have found are Celsius.

Bear


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## johnmeyer (Oct 17, 2017)

bearcarver said:


> What chicken came out so-so. Everything on this thread is "Chuck Roast".


It is in the second paragraph of the original post. He started by talking about other SV cooks he's done and
then said, "_First thing I did was chicken, turned out OK, not exceptional but tender, juicy and OK." _So, I was responding to that.


bearcarver said:


> While you're here, John, Have you run across a "Pasteurization" chart in Fahrenheit?? All I have found are Celsius. -- Bear


It depends on what you are looking for. There is this one that I've posted before:












20150610-sous-vide-chicken-guide-pasteurization-ch



__ johnmeyer
__ Dec 13, 2015





It shows pasteurization at different temperatures (in F), showing how long the food must be at that temperature in order to be safe.

Is this what you were looking for?


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## Bearcarver (Oct 17, 2017)

Not really,
The one I liked was a Box Table with the Type of food & the Thickness & the time it needs to be safe.

Did me absolutely No Good, because the Thicknesses were in "mm" and the Temps were in C°.

Those two things, along with Soccer were not taught when & where I went to school.

Bear


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## johnmeyer (Oct 17, 2017)

bearcarver said:


> Not really,
> The one I liked was a Box Table with the Type of food & the Thickness & the time it needs to be safe.
> 
> Did me absolutely No Good, because the Thicknesses were in "mm" and the Temps were in C°.
> ...


OK, based on your description, I found this one:

Polyscience Temperature Guide


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## Bearcarver (Oct 18, 2017)

That's more like it, John!  "Inches" & "°F"
Saved the Link.

Thanks.

Bear


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## smokeymose (Oct 26, 2017)

I haven’t been all that impressed with pork in mine, either, except for some Char Siu I made with pork shoulder. I think it has to do with the fat content. A long cook with beef (or butt) lets the fat meld with the meat. Next time cook first and then sear and see what happens. 
You might also let it cool just a tad before searing so you don’t overlook it on the grill....
BTW; What temp did you SV it?


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## smokeymose (Oct 26, 2017)

I meant over cook, not overlook. Sorry.


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