Page 51 - Sous Vide Que

A - Tender Cuts
“Tender Cuts” includes foods that are relatively tender and are usually cooked to less than 160°F when not cooked sous vide. Pick the doneness temperature you like for any food in the Tender Cuts group on the chart and the cooking time depends mostly on thickness. Yes, fat content, connective tissues, and water content are factors, but let’s not complicate things by throwing those variables into the works.
So, how do you like your steak? Medium rare, medium, medium- well, or well-done? And pork chops? Welllll, if you’ve never tasted a pink pork chop cooked to 135°F to 145°F (medium) you have never tasted pork. Even though it is pink, it is perfectly safe. Chicken? You have been forced to destroy it all your life because the contamination rate is so high (90% of all chicken has pathogenic bacteria according to Consumer Reports). That’s why you must cook it way past well-done to 160°F. Just lowering it a notch to 155°F, or heaven forbid, 150°F, where there is still some pink to the flesh, and you are in for an all new experience.
B - Tough Cuts
These are the big tough barbecue cuts like pork ribs, pork shoulders, beef briskets, and beef ribs. These are hardworking muscles and notoriously tough cuts that pitmasters typically smoke roast between 225 and 275°F for a long time until they hit an internal temperature of 190 to 205°F. Fortunately, sous vide is incredibly good at breaking down these tough muscles and making them tender. Hard core pitmasters are amazed at the texture of barbecue cuts cooked sous vide. Unfortunately, although the flavor profile can be excellent, nobody will mistake sous vide que pork or
How long to cook foods in the Tender Cuts group? Here’s a rule of
thumb: Use the chart above to pick the same temperature you like
when cooking conventionally and cook sous vide at about 5°F less
for about 90 minutes per 1” thick, then sear or smoke. Taste it and
make adjustments on the next cook.
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