Are rare beef roasts and Joule mutually exclusive?

Christmas dinner was disappointing. We like our beef rare. Prepared a three inch thick, one bone rib roast in the Joule at 131F (no lower because we feared bacterial food poisoning) for three hours 15 minutes. Used a probe, too, which reached the targeted temp in that time. Then did a quick sear on the grill. The meat turned out only modestly pink and not nearly edge to edge.

We're still not getting the hang of Joule for rare beef of any thickness, especially for what is considered the "tougher" cuts, like a Denver steak (from the chuck). Ruined one of those sous viding it for 18 hours. Meat was near mush.

Seeing pearls of wisdom. Thanks.

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Comments

brian_martin2001

So, it really depends on what you're cooking and how you want to cook it.

With your rib roast, how thick was it (ish)? You say you like it rare, but you cook it above the rare suggested temperatures:

Rare: 122 °F / 50 °C

Medium-rare: 129 °F / 54 °C

Medium: 136 °F / 58 °C

Medium-well: 144 °F / 62 °C

Well-done: 154 °F / 68 °C

If you cook Medium-rare to medium temperatures, you're not going to get rare results.

With your Denver steak: while it does come from the chuck, it is far more tender than say a chuck pot roast.

I'd say do a bit more research into what you are cooking, how you are cooking it, and what you are trying to achieve compared to how you are cooking it. Good luck.

tshewman

First, most will let you know cooking rare (e.g. 50C) for more than 4 hours goes against the grain due to potential FBPs. If you want to see an oven method, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlGBBOR1Mo4

Chris Young posted on this and advised the producers of the show (this was when Chris was at TFD) against this. Now, all that said, I've done this recipe using SV on at least a dozen occassions. That said, in addition to the searing (usually I'll do Stove stop sear precook and use a torch for the hard to sear areas and nooks and crannies), I also blanch (83C for 3 minutes) so there's no cooking the inside, then cook 50C for 24 hrs (then sear again obviously). One huge "BUT" is you need to make sure the roast has not been jaccarded bc that's way FBPs can enter the roast. Now, this is NOT an endorsement to do this. This is simply a review of options, cautions and my personal experience. hope that helps.

whenric

In addition to what others have said, make sure to let the surface of the meat cool quite a bit before grilling. If it is already at eating temp throughout, it is very easy to overcook during the sear.

I will often sear before SV, then SV, then cool (sometimes in the freezer to hasten), then sear again.

jason.r.whitworth

Rare is 115 to 120°F.

So yea cooking it to 131 will be not rare. Next time try cooking it to 115-120.

This is true of any kind of cooking method, Joule, Sous Vide or not.

Something very tough like short ribs can handle a long cook. Something like a filet only needs to hit internal temp (like an hour or so). I dont really know what a denver steak is like, but generally anything you could "grill" like a steak is too tender for an 18 hour cooktime.

wolfiegirl

If you want to take that tough cut of beef to places it never dreamed of being, you have to raise the temp up (yes, up). At 131°, the meat may be cooking but it's not being tenderized. Instead bump up the them to 133-134°. Yes, it will still be rare but those couple of degrees will make a HUGE difference in the ability of the water bath to break down the connective tissue that makes the meat tough. Don't be afraid that 133-134° is going to take you to medium country finish either.

Trust me when I tell you I too am a rare steak eater! With sous vide you can get the best of both worlds.....rare and tender....if you're willing to take a deep breath and start again! I'll tell ya what....go buy a ribeye. Not an expensive one so you don't feel like you're tossing good money after bad. A nice choice cut is good enough for this experiment, just be sure it's at least an inch thick. Take it home, weigh it. Whatever that weight is (in grams of course), use it to determine what 2% of that is, weigh out that amount of kosher salt and sprinkle that salt ALL over the steak...top, bottom & sides. (for example a 350 gram steak would require 2% or 7 grams kosher), place it on a rack and let it hang out in the fridge at least 8 hours (24 would be better). When time is up, dry the steak off and sear that bad boy! (carbon steel or cast iron is best but NO non-stick!). Then pop the salted and pre-seared steak into the vac bag, seal it up with just a bit of olive oil (2-3 teaspoons will be plenty) and drop it into a 133° water bath. Start the cook.

Time will be determined by the steak itself. Some cuts are just bloody beautiful and some cuts should never have been born....in other words not all cow meat is created equal. But rule of thumb, at 133°, cook for at least 4-5 hours. At the end of that time, pick the bag out of the water and give it a couple pinches. Does the steak feel tender or is it still fighting a little? If it feels nice and tender, remove it from the water. Still not quite right? Let it continue to cook another hour or two. REMEMBER YOU'RE LEARNING HERE SO PATIENCE IS KEY! I've had Prime I ribeye steaks cook for 8-9 hours without a worry. How? Because I know that the internal temp cannot go above the set temp of 133°. I also know (from many experiments and TONS of reading) that at the tad higher temp of 133°, the connective tissue (aka collagen) is slowly giving up the tough-noogieness and melting into complete tenderness. Once you're satisfied that the ribeye is tender to your liking (remember that this is cooked to what YOU prefer), then pull it from the water bath, take it from the bag, dry off the steak and give it one short, hot quick final sear (maybe 30-45 seconds per side) and it's ready to be enjoyed.

I can't stress enough how important it is that you keep track of all your cooks from start to finish. Eventually you will hone in on the key elements that are very successful for YOU! This is important for all your sv adventures too, not just steaks. You will be richly rewarded if you keep track!

There are also several other things you can do, including using fish sauce or fish salt and warm aging techniques. But first it's best you keep after it and perfect your knowledge and ability with using sous vide to take you to the highest level of achieving beautifully cooked proteins. I would suggest that you ditch probe. It's not necessary if you understand the principal of sous vide!

Let me know if you have any questions or if I missed/skipped something you don't quite understand!