Sous Vide cooking. Char b4 or after water bath??

[MinnBobber]

Hi,

it seemed better to me, to char a steak or fish AFTER the waterbath as the char would be fresh etc. Like fresh off the grill flavor and smell.

Searching today for an Ahi Tuna sous vide recipe, and some say it's better to char at the beginning BUT before charring place the item in the freezer briefly (like 30 minutes) to partially freeze it.
---Then char it and the very minimal depth of outer surface will char cuz meat is partially frozen to start. This seems like a VERY GOOD plus for this technique. Almost all of the interior will be the same nice pink/ bordering on reddish. Char won't sink in deeper/ won't cook interior past pink.

Anyone do it this way, char before water bath? Thoughts?

My main concern/question would be how does it effect the quality of the char? With the char soaking in juices for hours, does it get mushy/ weird/ degrade in some manner?

 

[Delta3DStudios]

Fascinating. We have always char'd after cooking in the sous vide. But I think it depends on the meat. I could see it working better for something like fish which doesn't really cook too long in a sous vide.

I have a feeling that charing the tuna before cooking in a sous vide will help add a better flavor to the meat as it cooks, it all comes down to personal preference. I'm certainly going to suggest the idea to my wife - I'm sure she'll jump at the chance to try something new.

Tonight we're having Short-Ribs. Been cooking in our sous-vide for 72 hours so far at 134F!!!

 

[MinnBobber]

@Ratchett ,

I'm giving it a go, charred Ahi Tuna before water bath. Dry rub recipe I found online.

Sour cream, red wine vinegar, cilantra, lime juice, jalapeno pepper dip sauce I found online.
In the bath now at 127 F.
I was tempted to go 120 but I think my wife likes it not so rare.

Better flavor: I'll see as I also poured a little of the coconut oil I used to char onto the tuna/dry rub.

Your short ribs should be awesome. I did some for 48 hours and they were best ribs ever. I think I'll do 72 hours next time.

Pork porterhouse steaks were on sale so I had them cut a 3" slab to try. Pork is difficult to bake/fry/broil/grill and get the innards done and not overcook the outer
With sous vide I SHOULD be able to get perfect interior and I'll sear the exterior. Maybe Sunday dinner?

EDIT--it came out pretty good but a little more done/cooked than I like it. For me, I'd try 120 F next time.

 

[2 Cycle]

I always char after. My reasoning is pre charring cooks the outside layer. Since I want a nice finish after sous vide and will always sear afterwards no matter what, I feel a second sear cooks this outer layer too much.

 

[MinnBobber]

BRISKET SOUS VIDE ???

Sorta hot to try a Sous Vide Brisket for a small family get-together. 5 people.
A bold move or a stupid move, don't know as I've never ever cooked a brisket before
so this will be an experimental virgin shot.

Anyone ever done this? Tips?
It seems like 134/135 F for 50+ hours is my plan.
The "other " recipe was for 165F for shorter hours so "low and slow" wins.

I have no smoker and don't like a thick burnt crust anyhow, so a quick sear on a 500F grill.
This should be right in the sous vide wheelhouse as it's a thick thick cut and you cannot overcook
it with sous vide. NOTE: I'd say about 90% of the brisket I've had WAS overcooked.

 

[Ramahs]

@Ratchett ,

I'm giving it a go, charred Ahi Tuna before water bath. Dry rub recipe I found online.

Sour cream, red wine vinegar, cilantra, lime juice, jalapeno pepper dip sauce I found online.
In the bath now at 127 F.
I was tempted to go 120 but I think my wife likes it not so rare.

Better flavor: I'll see as I also poured a little of the coconut oil I used to char onto the tuna/dry rub.

Your short ribs should be awesome. I did some for 48 hours and they were best ribs ever. I think I'll do 72 hours next time.

Pork porterhouse steaks were on sale so I had them cut a 3" slab to try. Pork is difficult to bake/fry/broil/grill and get the innards done and not overcook the outer
With sous vide I SHOULD be able to get perfect interior and I'll sear the exterior. Maybe Sunday dinner?

EDIT--it came out pretty good but a little more done/cooked than I like it. For me, I'd try 120 F next time.

Wow. That doesn't even look cooked at all.

 

[BestBuds]

BRISKET SOUS VIDE ???

Sorta hot to try a Sous Vide Brisket for a small family get-together. 5 people.
A bold move or a stupid move, don't know as I've never ever cooked a brisket before
so this will be an experimental virgin shot.

Anyone ever done this? Tips?
It seems like 134/135 F for 50+ hours is my plan.
The "other " recipe was for 165F for shorter hours so "low and slow" wins.

I have no smoker and don't like a thick burnt crust anyhow, so a quick sear on a 500F grill.
This should be right in the sous vide wheelhouse as it's a thick thick cut and you cannot overcook
it with sous vide. NOTE: I'd say about 90% of the brisket I've had WAS overcooked.

I would think it will turn out like roast beef. Also, the crust is mostly seasoning and juices escaping to form that bark. If you don't dry rub the brisket and maybe during the stall wrap it in foil,it then will be nice and soft like a brisket should be. Is a smoker something you would want? You can make one out of a few Terra cotta planters and a hot plate. For like $25.
Let us know how it turned out.