Sous vide korean tacos

Hi everybody,
Kind of new here so I'll shortly introduce myself by the way (sorry I'm not using the Newbie section but running out of time right now...), I''m a french bloke that lives in the UK and plans to get a street food van running shortly, hoping to use the sous-vide technology for turning cheap cuts into delicious juicy stuff!!!
So here is my issue today: I'm currently trying to make a version of the Kogi's truck -in L.A- korean beef taco, I've got everything right so far, but the meat

I've tried two different cooking time for the short ribs, 85c/12H for the first time, and 71C/24H for the second. The thing is both times the meat wasn't as flaky as I wished and far from looking like the samples we can see there: http://www.chefsteps.com/classes/sous-vide-cooking#/short-ribs-time-and-temp mine looking more cooked/less pink than these. So I now wonder if I'm doing anything wrong? I don't do anything special though, just vacuum pack the meat and put it in the bath... I've also done a couple of pork belly recipes that have been successful (although these were brined before cooking) and have checked that my water oven's temperature is accurate. Any ideas? I can't use any longer cooking time because it just won't be practical for the business, 24H being a maximum...
What other cut could I use, I've been thinking chuck? Something fat and juicy would fit well in my recipe, any suggestions?
Cheers

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Comments

Brandon_34695

Are your cuts a similar thickness to the example? Thickness of product makes a big change in cooking times. It is also important to think about Korean butchery, because they break it down in different ways.

Just my two cents as a Korean food and taco fan, shredded sous vide beef is not really the kind of texture I'd be looking for as a customer. BBQ short ribs are an amazing product that probably isn't a good fit for SV. Sliced thin and are marinated with pureed Asian pear (plus other flavorful things) to tenderize before a short sear on the grill. You can always use something like pineapple, but it would be faster acting and you'd have to pull the product before it was just mushy. Lots of sugars in the marinade make a pretty dark crust. Seoul taste for beef usually tends towards well done, but you can consider the meat is basically brined. Americans still prefer beef to have some gradient of pink inside. Searing off some Kalbi on a flat griddle won't really take much longer than putting a crust on a batch from SV, I think.

Oxtail and pork shoulder are two common Korean ingredients that I think would translate well to Sous Vide. A friend of mine also made a perfect bo ssam in a pressure cooker.

I am happy to help further if would like to chat about traditional preparations or modern ideas.

mipopette

I was not really looking for a flaky piece of meat as an end product to put in my taco, was just trying to tenderize the meat through sous vide cooking and was well surprised to get completely different results from what I had seen on here. None of the butchers around here would cut ribs across bones, so I thought I'd try to -pre-cook & soften up bigger pieces, then work them, not sure if that was a great idea but it seemed like one at the time! My cuts were a little bit thinner (1/2inch) than the ones shown on the videos, that could have been part of the issue. Would there be any other cut that you would think of as a replacement to short ribs?

Brandon_34695

I definitely wouldn't replace short ribs with another product, I am just suggesting the results might be better if they are cooked a more traditional way.

They cook in minutes, the SV step seems like extra complication to me. You'd still need to sear it off anyway.

Brandon_34695

If I had my heart set on using SV to cook Kogi style BBQ tacos, I'd just put a probe into some of the (sliced, marinated) meat and cook until it reached 57C, would not take long at all, and then sear the hell out of it. It might shave a minute or two off of service.

ren_74229

I cook short ribs or chuck (~8cm max thickness) en papillote in the combi oven 160C/325F 100% humidity for 2hrs 20 minutes. Though, I'm guessing given the method, I'm reasonably certain that the humidity is optional. Nothing in the packet except the meat and whatever dry seasoning.

This yields meat that is juicy (also yields a significant amount of jus), and when fried a la minute nice crispy browned exteriors. It'll take on whatever flavors you want to give it...and you can use the jus to fortify any sauces.

I know this isn't the SV solution that you've asked for (nor is it how Roy makes his tacos), but given what you describe as your goals, perhaps this would be a practical prep/service recipe for you? Try it at least once and see if the results are to your liking.

Edit: just reread your post...Perhaps you could post pictures of your cooks and maybe that would help someone here diagnose why your results are differing.

mipopette

Unfortunately I haven't got any pictures of the cooked cuts, since they didn't live to expectations I didn't bother taking out the camera etc...I'll give a try to your recipe though, I'm looking for something practical in term of prep/service and that could be it.