Sunday, October 23, 2011

Sous Vide Brisket @ 64°c for 72hrs

I figured that this cut must be similar in structure to the short ribs that I blogged about a few days ago, but reading further online it seems this cut is much tougher. The advice seems to be to cook it at a higher temperature than other cuts of beef, but reading of others experiences it seems like time is a greater factor in breaking down those tough fibres and turning them into jelly.
On a recent trip to the states I loved the American version of corned beef, and I'm hoping that the brisket turns out like that. 

Well, it didn't turn out like American corned beef. I think it would have been fairly close if I'd have cooked it at around 57c, as the meat was beautifully, meltingly tender. I treated it like a roast dinner and made a gravy, roast potatoes, roast carrots and leeks in a mustard and cream sauce. I cooked for Emma and my Mum, who always says my food is nice even if it's average! Emma was impressed even though she cut all the fat off. The best thing about the brisket was that the whole thing was edible, with no chewy gristle. I suppose this is testament to my excellent butcher (Allan Bennett Ltd, Codsall) 
I've read that brisket is a rubbish joint to sous vide as the quality is so low. That's where I read 
that it's best to cook the joint at 64c so as to break down the tougher fibres in the meat. I'm pretty 
sure that with good quality brisket, like the joint that I had, one could cook it at 57c for 3 days and 
get a firmer, juicier result. Having said that, the joint turned out nearly as good as the short ribs. 
Massively tasty, juicy and soft. A right result, as we say in this part of the world. 
P.s, I'll have to blog the roast spuds too as they were awesome. Also, appologies for no pictures.

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