Go to the Recipe: Sous Vide Barbecue Brisket
Oh that is rad! I do something similar with chuck roast in my sous vide. I've found 147*F to be my magic number. Cooked for 24-30 usually. Never tried smoked salt though. Just liquid smoke and some pepper laced bbq sauce for a finishing glaze. I'll be doing this before the summer ends.
I'm a big fan of Meathead and the gang! Glad they gave the thumbs up!
Thanks again!
Outstanding! Any advice if we wanted to use a smoker instead as the final step? I assume all of the steps would basically remain the same remain the same, omit the liquid smoke during the brine, same sous vide cook followed by a smoke at a super low 149F for 6-8 hours should do the trick? Opinions?
smoking before cooking sous vide is usually the preferred order for this according to most folks, and has been my experience as well. And yes, 150 - 160 range for about 6 hours is consistent with the method Ive been using from Modernist Cuisine
Irony.......Have a brisket in rhe bath right now and will finish for dinner tomorrow. :-)
A different approach to brisket, inspired by the sous-vide class (with some shameless self promotion): Roumanian Steak! http://foodperestroika.com/2015/06/14/roumanian-steak-and-its-accompaniments-from-romania-and-beyond/
My personal experience, as well many of the notes I have gone over via Modernist Cuisine and ChefStep BBQ class prefers smoking after cooking for the majority of BBQ tasks. For example I greatly prefer smoking beef and pork ribs after cooking sous vide. With that said, I haven't tried brisket yet - with the exception of when I made the pastrami made famous by Modernist Cuisine (similar version here at ChefSteps) which followed your recommendation of smoke followed by sous vide cook. But that order is only logical for the pastrami, the rub should appear wet as if it freshly came out of a steamer from a Lower East Side Kosher Deli in NYC. It is not logical to me however to get an amazing bark from the smoker and then cook the meat sous vide - that defeats the purpose in my eyes.
Is there any reason I couldn't put the brisket in an ice bath out of the sous vide cooker, and then do the second glaze and oven roast later? That would allow me to take this to a big dinner at someone else's house.
I really like these sorts of modern rethinks of basics. Great stuff! Question: is the oven step entirely for the bark and if so should the brisket be chilled to reduce futher cooking? Will it warm through sufficiently as the bark forms?
This is awesome and I can't wait to give it a try ... Do I sit on a lawn chair in the kitchen in front of the sous vide drinking beer for 24 hours while it cooks? Cause that's the real point of BBQ amirite?!
im betting this technique would work great on ribs, and shoulders as well.
i cook a BUNCH of things sous vide and often toss them into the freezer and thaw and reheat them later with no real difference in quality. if you are just putting this in an ice bath to stop the cooking and reheating later im sure it would work out just fine.
if i were you i would give it a test with something else at home like ribs to see how you like the results.
This should work fine, but I recommend bring the brisket back to temperature in a sous vide bath before proceeding with the glaze.
Chef Steps: I'm a little confused, should we follow the cooking instructions in the video, or the instructions in the written recipe? The cooking times and temperatures are different, and I'd like to know which would actually give the result that you're aiming for. In the written instructions, you suggest cooking at 300 F/149 C for about an hour or until the crust starts to develop, and then if desired, 390 F/199 C for another 5-10 minutes for extra bark development. In your video, you suggest putting it in the oven at 250 F/125 C for 3-4 hours. So which way is the better way?
Yes, could you give the English scale as well as metric? Eliz
SMART!
What about turkey brisket?! It's possibile in your opinion/experience?
Thanks a lot.
Daniele
Can't wait to try. Can you enlighten me a bit on the dangers of the nitrates in too low of a Ph? I thought nitric oxide had health benefits to the liver. From your statement of the rapid decomposition into a concentrated - are you concerned about combustion in a heated water bath? Or is there toxicity concerns? What is a safe ph level for the nitrates if we want to maximize the liquid smoke?
If the levels of nitric oxide isn't a toxicity issue, then I would assume we'd be safe to finish or reheat the brisket in a smoker? Also, what about up the liquid smoke for injecting in the center and using a diluted brine or liquid smoke free brine with the nitrates on the surface?
There are two schools of thought on that. One test found that smoking before Sous Vide delivered quite a bit less smoke flavor. I do it like In TheCards, Sous Vide then smoke on very low because the brisket is cooked. I omit the liquid smoke but next time I will add the curing salt.
Click the "scale recipe" at the top. You can change the units there. For ingredients like the curing salts using grams would be more accurate though.
Brian, Sorry about that. I updated the text to clear up the confusion. If you're in a rush you can roast for a shorter amount of time and if the bark doesn't develop as much as you want, you can crank the oven at the end to help it along. The technique described in the video is really amazing though, so go with that if you can.
I have a smoker. What modifications might be needed to finish this in the smoker, rather than oven? I guess I primarily like the idea of the 24h sous vide for tenderness, but I would prefer to finish it in the smoker, and avoid the pink salts. Or, would it be better to smoke first, then sous vide? I seem to recall that myoglobin takes up smoke better before sous vide.
Hey it's your Saturday, Rory. Do you!
I live in Austin, Tx and I eat bbq once a week or after exams (since I am a student, eating bbq is like a ritual to me ) I have been to La bbq, Franklin's and any other places. The rub they use is just combination of salt and pepper. I hope you guys come down to Austin someday and enjoy amazing Texan bbq.
Which smoked salt you guys were using for brine / rub? I find bs they are not all created equal and would like to try this with a good one.
I an avid BBQ'r who lives in Austin, and would normally be quick to disregard a prep like this. However, you guys are great and Meathead has BBQ cred--really intrigued to give this a try!
Thanks for your question, Daniel: The lower the pH, the faster the nitrite salts will decompose into nitric oxide, the active compound that forms the smoke ring. What you want to avoid is creating a puff of concentrated gas that is dangerous to inhale. Generally, we don’t recommend introducing nitrites to any liquid with a pH lower than 5.0. (Note: This can also be an issue when you’re introducing pickling salts to a pickle brine.)
These concerns aren’t an issue, however, with smoking and cooking the meat, as the nitric oxide will react with the meat, forming the pretty pink smoke ring we’re after.
I've chatted with Chris about this, who agrees that it's generally best to smoke after you cook sous vide if you want that deeply smokey, barbecue-pit flavor (which we definitely do with brisket!). Smoking before you cook sous vide can be more convenient, but the smoky flavor tends to me more mellow—depending on your tastes, it may not be smoky enough. As it happens, our Barbecue class is now free. It's full of amazing tips and techniques on these such matters.
It's generally best to smoke after you cook sous vide if you want that deeply smoky, barbecue-pit flavor (which we definitely do with brisket!). Smoking before you cook sous vide can be more convenient, but the smoky flavor tends to me more mellow—depending on your tastes, it may not be smoky enough. The curing salt is totally optional.
I think you guys have officially jumped the shark with a recipe that uses liquid smoke (gag). However, I have enough respect for everything on this site and appreciation for all I have learned here, that I will take one for the team and give this recipe a try. Stay tuned.
How would you adjust this if you were only using a 2nd cut brisket? Just scale the recipe and shorten the oven time? Or is it too flat a piece to achieve similar results?
I'm not sure if this is what the boys used for this particular recipe, but one of our favorite smoked salts at ChefSteps is the Bonfire salt from Saltworks (http://www.saltworks.us/bonfire-smoked-sea-salt.html#.Vb2oMRjBzGc).
Changomarango: Let us know how it turns out. I think the look on Meathead's face at the end of this video kind of says it all. It's really tasty.
If its simple enough, how about a chefsteps recipe for smoked salt?
Fellow Austinite here! La Barbecue (at least while John Lewis was there) used more than just S&P. You can see what he used in this interview here (very bottom of the interview): http://www.tmbbq.com/interview-john-lewis-of-la-barbecue/
But generally, yes: S&P-only seems to be the way it's been done traditionally, and that's what Franklin says he does.
As you have shown smoke rings can be artificially induced which is why it isn't used to judge good bbq. What you made is boiled meat not bbq which requires long slow cooking on a pit. It might be good but it isn't bbq.
Do you think this temp/time would work well for a cut like featherblade? I like Brisket but with the size of a whole one I think I'll struggle with my 1/2 gastronorm 200mm SV unless I seperated the flat and point and rolled it up? I'm planning on finishing on the smoker and was thinking 3-4hrs at 100-110C
Do you vacuum seal the brisket or just leave it in an open bag with water displacement for the 24-hr bath? It looks like it's just water-displaced in the Step 8 photo.
Brandon, it's simple, you just smoke a moist sea salt for hours in a good smoker. But that's a bunch of work, and you can buy really great smoked salt that has already had the job done. We like Bonfire salt from the Saltworks company.
It might not be BBQ, but its also not boiled.
The brine time will be shorter, but other than that the recipe should work fine.
would this same technique work with Baby Back Ribs?
Chef Steps: Does the brine and/or sous vide times stay the same with a smaller cut? Lets say an 8lb piece. It doesn't change when I adjust the recipe settings drop down. Just wanted to make sure. Thanks. I just got in a long discussion with my "traditionalist" friend about this method. Let's just say, he won't be trying this method. We live in Texas and have been practicing doing briskets the Aaron Franklin method lately. The results have been very good for both of us. I'm curious how this method compares in results. Meathead sure liked it, so that says a lot. I'll have to give this a try.
I think 68C would be way too high for baby back ribs - I usually do pork ribs @60C for 48hrs before finishing on a smoker
What about incorporating a smoking gun into the recipe?
There's a small discrepancy between written recipe and video do you use smoked paprika or chipotle powder in the spice rub?
Just finished mine and it turned out great!!!! Subbed Pimenton de la Vera for the chipotle powder and used dark brown sugar to really pronounce the molasses notes. Also i used powder hickory smoke in the molasses, liquid amino glaze, thinned with a bit of water.The lighting was horrible in this picture but we were hunger. I will definitely be using this recipe again!!! Thanks guys.
This looks great, and I cant wait to try it. Two quick questions for you though. When you talk about a brisket, do you mean 1st cut, 2nd cut, or a big brisket with both cuts still attached? Also, about halfway through the recipe in both the pictures and video it looks like there are two briskets...do you cut the brisket in half here, or are you just making two portions of the same brisket recipe for demonstration purposes?
Can you recommend any particular stores for smoked salt in bulk? The bonfire salt that was recommended would cost about $120 for an entire recipe's worth.
That Bonfire salt costs $14.95 for 2.5 ounces. Your recipe calls for 19 oz of smoked salt - that works out to just under $115 of smoked salt in the brine. I love the bonfire salt too, but that's outside my range. Other suggestions? Or advice on how much powdered smoke to mix with salt (eg, the hickory or mesquite smoke on a maltodextrin base available places like Spice House) to approximate your recipe?
Love this site! This is petty, but I hate the MS Spell Checker. Just can't beat human proof reading. At step 4, adding Prague Salt...
Ladle a small about of brine... Should read "small amount of brine".
For freezing, would you suggest icing down the brisket, then draining out the liquid then resealing or would you just freeze with the liquid still in the bag?
Alex: Chef Ben suggests going with Robusto—that's what he uses in development. You can get it in bulk at SaltWorks.
Chef Ben suggests using Robusto, which is what he used in development. You'll find it at SaltWorks.
Oof, fixed. Thanks for pointing that out, Keith.
Looks great, thanks for sharing the recipe, Chris. Always fun to play around with ingredients in the rubs to hone in on your own favorite mix.
Hi Mike, Yup, the chefs used the water displacement method in the video and clipped the sous vide bag to the side of the bath. We have a set of guidelines for packaging—hope it's helpful.
Hi,
I have a urgent question. I calculated my time wrong and I'm in panic mode haha.
So my brining will be done tonight but I only have 15 hours to sous vide the brisket. It's 5.5lbs brisket. Can you give recommendation for the temperature to get almost the same texture as you get from 24 hours sous vide?
Thank you!
Amout?
Delicious, well worth the effort.
As the days progressed in the preparation of this recipe, my hopes rose that this was going to be a worthwhile effort. Wow! Was I wrong! All of the 6 people who ate this agreed that it was a tremendous waste of a beautiful brisket. The good news: the flavor of the meat was pretty good. Even though I despise liquid smoke, it was muted, but this tasted nothing like traditional smoked brisket. The flavors from the brine were pleasing, but there was a lack of the deep, concentrated beefy taste that characterizes a properly smoked brisket. The bad news was that meat in the flat was completely dried out. I tested a piece before the roasting stage and it seemed perfectly moist, so I'm thinking it dried out in the oven after 3 hours. The point, as expected, was moister, but nothing special.
The bark was crispy, but was so thick, its strong flavors overpowered everything else. Everyone ended up cutting off most of the bark.
I've smoked a few hundred briskets over the past 30 years and been doing SV for about 10 years, so I doubt this was as execution problem. I made the smoked salt from scratch in my smoker and followed the recipe precisely, with exception of subbing Steen's Cane Syrup for the molasses.
I wasn't expecting this to be identical to or better than traditional smoked brisket. But I was expecting something delicious. How disappointing!
Similar experience here. I only cooked the flat and it turned out extremely dry and overpowered by the bark. For me I think the meat lost most of its moisture during the SV phase: after 24 hours it had released a ton of juices. I never get that much liquid when I do 63C for 72 hours like MC recommends.
Too bad.
Beauty!
I can 100% guarantee your recipe went off the rails.
I have made this twice now with astonishing results. With my second attempt, I put the sous vide brisket up against one off the green egg. We had 18 folks over to the house for a blind brisket and beer tasting. The sous vide brisket won with 15 of the 18 possible votes.
You must of erred at some point- I've cooked and consumed a variety of brisket preparations and this one stands out in many, many ways.
For those interested- the winning beer was Brooklyn Local 1 from the Brooklyn Brewery. It was a very "clean" drinking brew.
