[dk17hmr]

There's hasn't been a good food post in a little while so here's what I made this weekend for the first time.

Beef short ribs.





I used a basic salt cracked black pepper rub, cooked it for about 26 hours in my Sous Vide at 150°, stuck it in the fridge for about 2 hours to cool down, and than smoked it over white oak for about 3 hours at 225°.

The only way I can describe the end result is meat butter. It absolutely melted in your mouth and fell off the bone.

I have been precooking most of my smoked meat in the Sous Vide and cooling for several hours to several days in the fridge prior to finishing, so it's cheating, but if you go by the low and slow Q mantra it doesn't get any better.

 

[Terry N.]

Looking good! We do the Korean-style beef short ribs - (LA) Kalbi, cut lengthwise. I'll take some pix next time I cook some - if I can remember that long.

 

[charlie sterner]

looks fantastic. I need to try to find some dino-bones (beef ribs with the meat left on). Been awhile since I've done beef. Been reading about the Sous Vide. Need to try it.

 

[Kentucky Fisherman]

Great looking ribs, Doug! I've been reading about sous vide and am trying to get my head wrapped around it. I'm definitely a low and slow smoker, so the concept of lengthy cooks at low temp absolutely makes sense. And you're spot on with the simple salt and pepper rub for beef. What I can't figure out is how you got incredible looking bark and char with only three hours of smoke. Was that smoking period low and slow as well, or did you perhaps put those ribs over some fairly hot coals, along with the oak?

 

[JRinKY]

Looks good.
I am going to order this the next time I go to McDonald's.
With a Hot Fudge Sundae of course.

 

[dk17hmr]

I have a Sous vide cooker, but have done the beer cooler method. The cooker is the way to go. I use it 3 to 4 times a week. We preseason a lot of our meats before vacuum packing and freezing. That way I can turn the Sous Vide to the desired temp at lunch time and throw a frozen chuck of meat in before going back to work. Dinner is mostly done by the time we get home than just a quick trip on a screaming hot grill and get around whatever else we are having. It’s nice because the safe temp for foods is based on an instant number not a consistent temp for several hours so I can cook chicken at 150 for 5 hours and have a moist tender piece of meat that is safe to feed my 1 year old.

Again more cheating because I have two little boys and we are an active family I dont have time to babysit a smoker for a really long cook so I have a propane box style that I use chunks in, mostly wood liberated from my dads or my uncle Mikes firewood piles. I don’t use a water pan so the meat is pretty much in the heat.

Since the meat has cooked for so long at a relatively low temp prior to going into the smoke, the fat is already for the most part rendered and it is soaking and cooking in its own juices inside the vacuum bag. I believe that helps the bark having more of the render fat on the surface.

I have been doing whole pork shoulders in the smoker for about 5 hours at 225 than vacuum packing them and putting them in the Sous vide for 20 to 30 hour at 165 and than pulling them for sandwiches........never had any complaints about them either.

 

[TinMan]

We've done the similar process with chicken breast, cook in Sous Vide for several hours, then a quick sear/grill on the outside. Moist inside and tender. Great for winter time.