# Time for sous vide prime rib



## BilboBaggins (Dec 21, 2021)

I'm planning on cooking a 5# prime rib in the sous vide for Christmas and finishing it off with a hot sear. As I'm looking around this forum and other recipe sites, I see a lot of confusing information about how long to let it cook. Most of the folks on here mention doing theirs for anywhere from 24 to 48 hours. Most recipe sites say around 6-12 hours and going longer will make the meat mushy. So, I though I'd ask the "pros" what y'all think!


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## sandyut (Dec 21, 2021)

I wouldn't go 24-48 on prime rib.  I go that long on eye of the round which is tough and has no fat.  I would go more like 8 hours.  Temp wise, not sure if you have picked that setting yet.  I would do 133-137.  No less than 133.  Not over 138.  Thats just how I like my beef.  below 133 is getting close to dangerous.  I have SV steak at 131, but its pretty rare and not everyone likes it like that (IMO they need help bahaha).  I believe 131 is the low temp cut off for safety too.


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## BilboBaggins (Dec 21, 2021)

Thanks for clarifying, 

 sandyut
. That makes sense. The Joule app recommends 136 for the temp.  I’ll do that temp for 6-8 hours.


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## SmokinEdge (Dec 21, 2021)

I’m going to SV an 8#er for Christmas. 135* for 6 hours. Then sear it over screaming hot charcoal.


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## rbnice1 (Dec 21, 2021)

I do them every year.  But mines bigger....  Here are my notes from last year which was my best prime rib I have ever had in my life.

Smoked 230F for 4-5 hours till internal of 129.  Sous Vide for 30 hours at 133.5F

Here is this years prime rib trimmed and rubbed.


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## rbnice1 (Dec 21, 2021)

Last years:


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## Inscrutable (Dec 22, 2021)

131*F is the lowest temp killing off the bacteria, and then time governs how significant/complete (looking for 7 log reduction). With a steak, I SV at 131.5, for about 2 hours (depends on thickness) and the subsequent reverse sear takes the temp up several degrees for a perfect med-rare. BUT a thicker cut won’t get to that temp deep in the cut, so may need to goose the SV temp up closer to desired finish temp, maybe 133-135, and the sear won’t overtemp the center.

Tis the season to be experimenting with a rib roast, huh?  Have been musing over how to combine smoking with SV, and 

 rbnice1
 and ‘King + Duke’ methods both sound promising … on first read I worried 

 rbnice1
 long smoke would over cook a significant outer band, but doesn’t appear so in the photo …


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## dls1 (Dec 22, 2021)

BilboBaggins,

We normally do our primary Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve, and this year I’m doing two entrees, one of which is a prime grade prime rib roast, around 6 ½ lbs. I’m undecided about the cooking method at this point, but if I choose to cook it sous vide I’ll do it as I have many times in the past for around 6 hours at 125°F, which I consider medium rare.

When I see some of the very extended double-digit sous vide cooking times some people recommend for sous vide cooking of cuts like prime rib I’m a bit baffled and wonder what their source material is for they recommendations they make. The one thing that’s certain is that they don’t take into consideration the enzymatic action effects on the meat’s proteins, specifically, the enzyme known as cathepsin.

Cathepsins begin to break down proteins around 122°F. The breakdown is a long process, and cathepsin activity is still going on during a lengthy cook at 130°F, or higher. Therefore, you would not want to cook a cut like prime rib for a long period of time sous vide. These enzymes are active, and too much time in the presence of tenderizing enzymes can make meat’s protein, which is quite tender to start, mushy. Some of the extended cooking times recommended might be fine for a crappy and tough low grade cut of meat, but not prime rib.

Bear in mind that the temperature that you choose to cook your roast sous vide at is the target *core* temperature of the finished roast. How you start the cooking process can influence the overall length of time involved. If you start with a cold roast straight from the refrigerator in tepid water, it will take significantly longer to reach the core temperature than if you start with the roast at room temperature in water pre-heated to the core temperature.

Good luck.


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## rbnice1 (Dec 22, 2021)

dls1 said:


> BilboBaggins,
> 
> We normally do our primary Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve, and this year I’m doing two entrees, one of which is a prime grade prime rib roast, around 6 ½ lbs. I’m undecided about the cooking method at this point, but if I choose to cook it sous vide I’ll do it as I have many times in the past for around 6 hours at 130°F, which I consider medium rare.
> 
> ...




Be as baffled as you like but I have cooked 10 or so prime ribs hybrid smoked then sous vide.  These have all be full boneless packers from sams, prime grade.  I have tried many different times and temps.

Just 3F or 4F higher can make the meat mushy and died out even at a shorter cook time.  And at the lower temps but longer cook time you get more tender but not as dried mouth feel.  

It is a balancing act to get the best product for what you like.  With a small roast like your using I would probably not go as long as I do for ours but I would still go much longer then you do.  Again I like my prime rib to be fork tender, but not mushy, and mouth feel to be super juicy.


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## BilboBaggins (Dec 28, 2021)

So, here's the update.  I smoked the PR for about 4 hours to an IT of 130. Then I vacuum sealed it and put it in the fridge until the next day. Christmas morning it went into the SV set at 136 for 7 hours.  Then, I let it rest about 10 minutes and then put it in the oven at 500 for about 10 minutes to get a crust.  It came out amazing.



























I also made Dutch's Wicked Baked Beans (https://www.smoking-meat.com/dutchs-wicked-baked-beans), sweet potato pave, cornbread, and teriyaki-bacon green beans.















Thanks, everyone, for their help.


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## pushok2018 (Dec 28, 2021)

The PR looks amazing. Nicely done!


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