Corned Beef Sous Vide Report

J

Jerald W

New member
Did the corned beef sous vide for the first time this year (I didn't
have the temperature controller a year ago). I got a "center cut", which
was solid meat with no fat layer running through it, and only a very
thin layer on the outside -- sort of "short football" shaped. It weighed
something short of four pounds.

I cooked the beef in a vacuum bag (the ones sold with the little pump,
for use in the freezer) in a water bath for about 30 hours at 145 F. The
meat threw a couple of cups of liquid (which, of course, stayed in the
bag); I used it, let down somewhat, to cook the veggies.

The meat was tender, but not even close to "falling apart", as it has
been in previous years. I was able to slice it, across the grain,
without any problem; the slices stayed together just fine, but still
could be cut with a fork. Very juicy, too, especially considering the
lack of fat. More flavorful, too, I think.

Brought the liquid to a high simmer, and added quartered Yukon Gold
potatoes, chunked carrots, and quartered onions. While they were
cooking, I sliced half a cabbage into six thin wedges (keeping each
attached to a part of the core), and placed them in a saut? pan over
high heat with a couple Tbsp. of butter. When the cabbage had nicely
browned places all over the bottom, I turned the wedges over, added a
cup of water, reduced the heat, and put a lid on it to let the cabbage
steam for a few minutes.

Very nice. Low-fat, too, because of the cut of meat I got; even the
veggies were less "oily". I'll be doing it the same way again next year.

Isaac
 
On Mar 17, 11:53?pm, isw wrote:
I just left a point cut in the bag it came in. Did it for a little
less than two days. It was good. I bought 2 more small ones and
popped them in for a little more that 48 hours, put them in an ice
bath, then into the freezer, still in the bag they came in. It made
sense to me.

--Bryan
 
On 3/18/2011 12:53 AM, isw wrote:

That's interesting! I had thought of trying to cook in a Food-saver
sealed bag but have never done it. I wonder how the lowest temperature
my oven can go to, 170F, would work. The oven seems to hold the
temperature well.


--


James Silverton, Potomac

I'm "not"
[email protected]
 
"James Silverton" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

That would depends on the cut of meat. The above says is was "football
shaped" so that leads me to believe it was a round, not brisket. That would
be a better cut for this method. The 170 temp may be fine for that, but a
brisket is going to be tough unless you get it closer to 185 internal
temperature. The collagen does not start to break down until it is in the
165 range.

Bagging versus a big pot of water would make it more flavorful though, I'd
think. Would be a good experiment.
 
On 3/18/2011 8:56 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

Well, the oven will hold at temperatures above 170F of course and
possibly heating a pot of water to temperature before putting the bag in
it in the oven would be advisable. I have oven poached Arctic Char and
salmon in olive oil using oil heated to oven temperature and the results
are remarkably non-greasy after blotting off the oil with a paper towel
even if it's not "sous vide".

--


James Silverton, Potomac

I'm "not"
[email protected]
 
In article ,
James Silverton wrote:


I've seen a recommendation of 10 hours at 180 F in a sous vide water
bath. From what I've read, that would make the meat both drier and more
tender than the longer and lower method.

Isaac
 
In article ,
Brooklyn1 wrote:


Absolutely not. In addition to myself, I have a couple of
"salt-sensitive" types here, and none of us felt the meat was anything
but nicely seasoned. Also, none of the reports I've read on sous vide
cooking of corned beef have mentioned it.

Isaac
 
In article
,
Bryan wrote:


From what I've read, there *can* be issues with sous vide methods and
spoilage, but not when the food is consumed immediately after cooking.
It's long-term storage at cool but not cold enough temperatures after
cooking that is the problem, and getting the material cold enough, fast
enough, can be difficult.

I decided that the safest path was to not cook sous vide and store for
later consumption. YMMV.

Isaac
 
On Fri, 18 Mar 2011 10:00:14 -0400, "Ed Pawlowski"
wrote:


Fresh brisket can be cooked in its vacuum bag, however its texture
would be disgusting... but once corned brisket needs to be simmered in
an ocean of water to remove the salt (not just soaked) or after eating
you'll feel like you drank an ocean of sea water. Corning means to
preserve with salt, unless the preserving salt is removed then one may
as well dine on baccala without removing the salt used to preserve cod
fish. Baccala can be soaked because it's not only salted it's also
dehydrated, but will still need to go through several changes of
water.
 
On Thu, 17 Mar 2011 21:53:44 -0700, isw wrote:


Reposting this since I didn't see it show up (damn Blocknews.net
again).


Interesting idea. Brisket cooked to 145F using any conventional
method is still very tough. So if you could cut it with a fork that's
definitely a improvement. I would be curious what plain 'ol
non-corned brisket would be like when compared to oven roasted brisket
cooked to 180F+ to compare flavor differences.

There you go, Kent - that will be your mission. Don't forget the
liquid smoke. None of that Faux Souse Vide you keep fantasizing over,
either.

-sw
 
On Fri, 18 Mar 2011 13:31:53 -0400, Brooklyn1 wrote:


Today's corned beef is nor preserved, it's just wet cured. A shitload
of salt is not necessary. Some brands can be cooked int eh oven right
out of the bag. Comparing it to salt cod is not accurate since the
advent of freezers.

-sw
 
On Mar 18, 6:29?pm, Sqwertz wrote:

That is correct. I cooked one in the bag it came in, and it wasn't
too salty for me, nor noticeably saltier than stuff from the deli.

--Bryan
 
On Fri, 18 Mar 2011 16:43:12 -0700 (PDT), Bryan
wrote:


I've noticed that the corned beef that says it can be baked is less
salty tasting, but people can always look at the amount of sodium per
serving on the label to figure out which one has less salt. Whatta
concept!

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
 
"isw" wrote in message
news:isw-0BC65C.09360518032011@[216.168.3.50]...
I'd like to try brisket in a sealed Ziploc bag in the crockpot on low. On
our Rival, low is just short of 200F, right where you want the brisket to
end up.
The salt concentration in the brisket must be considered. The corned beef
would have to have a low enough salt concentration so it could be cooked
this way without being over salty. Will the standard double Ziploc bag
tolerate 195F for 8 hours? I haven't been able to get a good answer for that

We just cooked a brisket in the rival on "low" for the recent holiday. It
took about 8 hours for the internal temp. to hit 195. It was cooked in
"brisket stock", from the previous brisket, with the salt concentration
adjusted lower. It was excellent in every way.

Kent
 
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