# Tough meat!



## realoldnick (Aug 13, 2019)

Amazing. I have sous vided some meat and made it tough! I post this in the hope that it may help someone else and also to hear what you guys have to say. (apart from I told you so.)

The story is that I had some silverside (bottom round to the US guys?) and some "budget rump", which is to say off an older animal, with tougher muscle and stronger/more gristle. I have sous vided both of these in the past with great success.

So I cooked them low and slow (say 56C/133F for 10+ hours). They were quite edible. NuOrmally I would have gone longer to get it tender,but not dried out.

BUT....I decided to make a curry and to actually cook the meat, cubed, in the (already cooked to soft) vegetables and fluid. 
Mistake #1. I did not render down the curry to a really thick sauce.
Mistake #2. Pretty mush see Mistake #1; it meant the meat was stewing at a low temperature, rather than sous videing. I know that stewing can either seriously dry out lean meat (too high a temp and for too long) so it is stringy dry although fall-apart. I know that stewing low and slow can turn even reasonable, if lean, meat into rubber, and I think this is what happened here..

I am now sous videing the meat without any water and with some oil, after jaccarding the cubes (watch the fingers folks!). I am awaiting the outcome.

Any comments? Be appreciated to know if my theory has any merit. And any other ideas to fix it...if not, the dogs await with anticipation....

Hey! Nobody _did_ tell me so, yet. So I suppose the one I do not want to hear is "well duh!


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## mike243 (Aug 13, 2019)

I have a cheap SV unit ordered and will be here in a day or 2, will be looking and watching any thing related to learn lol,


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## Bearcarver (Aug 13, 2019)

10 hours isn't going to tenderize much of anything.
I have found 21 hours does a good job on Eye Rounds, and some Chuck Roasts do better with a 30 hour Swim.
So far, never had anything Dry Out.

Bear


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## krj (Aug 13, 2019)

I have to agree with Bear here. 10 hours on a tougher cut of meat isn't really going to give you results I believe you're looking for.

Also, I'm not entirely sure it's scientifically possible to dry out a piece of meat using sous vide unless it was super dehydrated jerky going into the bath lol. You can however turn a piece of meat mushy by going too long with SV, but this again depends on the cut of meat.


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## hoity toit (Aug 13, 2019)

I agree with Bear on his post. I even go 24 hrs on the tough cuts of meat. A brisket I recently did for 24 hours came out perfectly tender at 165 and then I finished it of in the smoker taking it on to 205 so the small membranes would separate.

HT


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## daveomak (Aug 13, 2019)

http://www.douglasbaldwin.com/sous-vide.html

Read and follow Doug Baldwin's directions...   He's the go-to guy for sous vide..


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## realoldnick (Aug 13, 2019)

Maybe I was not clear. I have successfully cooked both types of meat in the past and had really nice results. 
After the ten hours sous vide, I then cooked the meat in the curry, for maybe another ten. It was tougher after the second cook than it was before.


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## S-met (Aug 13, 2019)

I think you were perfectly clear on both posts. But there is a lot more missing info.

133 for 10hrs... a thick roast you would be smoking at 225 for 8-10 hrs whereas a thick steak could be 90 min. 135 for 10hrs on sous vide is barely touching this cut.

If its a tough cut with lots of connective tissue, you either need to cut thin against the grain and cook hot&fast, or low&slow like bbq/braise. I probably would have done 150-165 for 8-20hrs with that cut.135 might l take 40hrs to break down the collagens 

How thick were the cuts?

How different was the meat?

Are you sure it was the same cut? There is a wide range from different parts that can be classified as the same cut (point vs flat, clod vs roll, etc.) There is a wide range of "round" as it goes from the tail to the shank and its tenderness is semi-variable depending on the animal.


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## realoldnick (Aug 14, 2019)

sigh....I have been cooking sous vide for 3 years and have done literally hundreds of cooks of all sizes and types of meat.All have been pretty good results, with many really spectacular ones.

My question is:
- has anyone experienced what I did? I cooked meat in a watery stew and it got tougher.


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## daveomak (Aug 14, 2019)

Recommended by Baldwin...   Sous Vide is a science...

For tough but flavorful cuts of beef–such as top blade, chuck, and top round–season the meat and cook in a 131°F (55°C) water bath for 24–48 hours. This is the lowest temperature at which (insoluble) collagen denatures (dissolves) into gelatin, at higher temperatures the denaturing occurs more quickly (Powell et al., 2000; This, 2006).


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## Bearcarver (Aug 14, 2019)

realoldnick said:


> sigh....I have been cooking sous vide for 3 years and have done literally hundreds of cooks of all sizes and types of meat.All have been pretty good results, with many really spectacular ones.
> 
> My question is:
> - has anyone experienced what I did? I cooked meat in a watery stew and it got tougher.




Maybe nobody else has tried.
In all of my research (Internet, YouTube, Books, etc.), I have not bumped into anyone adding anything to the inside of the bags, other than Seasonings, Butter, or a little marinade. I don't believe an SV is meant to do Stews.

Bear


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