Astounding Sous Vide Tri-Tip

[CeramicChef]

I had my nephew Shaun over for dinner this evening.  He just finished pilot training down in San Antonio after graduating from The United States Air Force Academy last May.  He's staying with my brother, the one who lives about 100 yards down the road.  You know him, he's the BBQ Mooch who has recycled the same bag of chips for the last nine months!  

 

So I decided to use up a Tri-Tip that I'd had in the refrigerator.  I also decided to give Shaun a taste treat ... he's a bachelor.  I found out today that all he eats every evening is steak, generally NY Strips.  So, I'm thinking it time to put on the dog and impress Shaun, or at least try.  Sous Vide here I come!

 

I decided to use up some rub I'd had left over from a rib cook this weekend.  It was Runnin' Wild's Peach Rub and my brother developed a real like for it when he was over for the rib cook.  Here's a pic of the Tri-Tip on the cutting board with the Runnin' Wild Peach Rub.

 

 

Here is picture of the trimmed and rubbed Tri-Tip after sealing it up with the FoodSaver.  It's now ready for the Anova Sous Vide.

 

 

Here are the Sous Vide parameters as shown on the Anova Sous Vide.

 

 

Fast forward 8 hours and here is the Tri-Tip just out of the water bath and ready to meet Beauty! at 600F.  Notice that there is more liquid now after 8 hours in the Sous Vide at 132F than there was in the previous picture.  More on that liquid in a bit.

 

 

No pic of the Tri-Tip on Beauty! as All us boys were kibitzing and I forgot to take a pic!  You simply can't trust some people!   

 

Here is picture of the Tri-Tip on the cutting board ready for carving after a 5 minute rest (The natives were getting restless!).

 

 

And here is the Tri-Tip after I made my initial cut at the bend.  That's a perfect Medium Rare if I do say so myself.

 

 

And finally, here is the money shot.  We had Mexican rice, refried beans, and guac.  For those who wanted, we had warm whole wheat tortillas for tacos, burritos, etc. for those so inclined.  Sorry, no pics of that either, but I'm told they went down really well!

 

 

And here is a pic of the aftermath of the carnage!

 

 

Now here is the story of the "Astounding" part of this cook.  Shaun cooks his nightly steak on a round griddle with raised runs that he calls a grill!  He also said he has never had Tri-Tip and he likes his beef cooked Medium Well!  Yeah, I know ... Kids, what are you gonna do with 'em, right?  So I told Shaun to trust me and he would be pleasantly surprised.  I took a slice of the Tri-Tip, dipped in the au jus, and gave it  to him.  I said go ahead, take a bite, and if that isn't the best bite of beef you've ever had, I'll cook your share Medium Well.  He took a bite, chewed, took another bite, chewed again, and got this HUGE grin on his face.  "This is the most astounding flavor!  Can I have some more?"  Yeah I said, you can have all you want. 

 

He ate his Tri-Tip just sliced and with the au jus drizzled on the top.  He was too polite to ask for seconds, so I just dished up some of the remaining Tri-Tip on to his plate and he finished off the au jus.  He asked me how I learned to cook like that.  I just smiled.

 

Shaun is coming over tomorrow evening for a lesson on how to cook a NY Strip properly.  I'm also rehabbing my Lodge Hibachi as a gift to him as he travels to his new duty station in New Mexico.  He is one very fine man and I am proud to know this office and gentleman.

[MacKenzie]

CC, what a fantastic cooking lesson for your nephew and it couldn't have been any more successful. Beautiful meal, well done, pat yourself on the back          

 

BTW, it looks and has the texture of med. rare but little does he know it is fully cooked.

[mk1]

looks great!!!! I am hungry...again

[egmiii]

Yum! I love to cook steaks sous vide. I currently don't own a Kamado (yet), so I've had to improvise when it comes to the sear. Have you seen the Searzall before? I bought one a few weeks ago and love it. It's an attachment that goes on the end of a Bernzomatic TS8000 torch that turns the intense blue flame into a wider infrared burner. Since it's hand held, you can evenly brown all sides of the meat, especially the more oval cuts like a tri-tip. The biggest advantage over a hot skillet or grill is the intense heat (several thousand degrees). Only the very surface is browned. You won't get that thin layer of gray overcooked meat. And since the fuel is fully burned in the housing, the torch taste is eliminated. I am in no way affiliated with the company, just a happy customer.

[CeramicChef]

CC, what a fantastic cooking lesson for your nephew and it couldn't have been any more successful. Beautiful meal, well done, pat yourself on the back          

 

BTW, it looks and has the texture of med. rare but little does he know it is fully cooked.

 

MacKenzie - thanks for the kudos.  I appreciate it.  My nephew couldn't believe how tender the meat was!  I told him it just wasn't cooked to death!

[CeramicChef]

looks great!!!! I am hungry...again

 

mk1 - the only problem I had with last night's cook .... THERE WERE NO LEFTOVERS!  Now I'm starving looking at how delicious it was!  Thanks for the kind words.

[CeramicChef]

Yum! I love to cook steaks sous vide. I currently don't own a Kamado (yet), so I've had to improvise when it comes to the sear. Have you seen the Searzall before? I bought one a few weeks ago and love it. It's an attachment that goes on the end of a Bernzomatic TS8000 torch that turns the intense blue flame into a wider infrared burner. Since it's hand held, you can evenly brown all sides of the meat, especially the more oval cuts like a tri-tip. The biggest advantage over a hot skillet or grill is the intense heat (several thousand degrees). Only the very surface is browned. You won't get that thin layer of gray overcooked meat. And since the fuel is fully burned in the housing, the torch taste is eliminated. I am in no way affiliated with the company, just a happy customer.

 

egmill - I've seen those Searzall but have never felt the need to go grab one.  I guess you'll just have to do until you can get a KK on the patio.  All the best to you until that day!

[tony b]

Yum! I love to cook steaks sous vide. I currently don't own a Kamado (yet), so I've had to improvise when it comes to the sear. Have you seen the Searzall before? I bought one a few weeks ago and love it. It's an attachment that goes on the end of a Bernzomatic TS8000 torch that turns the intense blue flame into a wider infrared burner. Since it's hand held, you can evenly brown all sides of the meat, especially the more oval cuts like a tri-tip. The biggest advantage over a hot skillet or grill is the intense heat (several thousand degrees). Only the very surface is browned. You won't get that thin layer of gray overcooked meat. And since the fuel is fully burned in the housing, the torch taste is eliminated. I am in no way affiliated with the company, just a happy customer.

 

Right after I got my Anova, I looked into the Kickstarter for the Searzall. With all the chefs that they had endorsing it, I knew it was the real deal; but at the same time wondered if I really needed it?  Glad to hear that it works as advertised!

[tinyfish]

Great job CC, that tri tip was cooked perfectly.

[CeramicChef]

Tiny - I'm living proof you simply can't screw up a Sous Vide cook!  If I can do this, then anybody can cook like a world class chef!  Thanks for the kind comment.  

[egmiii]

@tony b, Granted I don't own a KK yet, so I can't speak from experience, but I have a feeling that I'll continue to use it for quick sears even when I do own the KK. It does such a good job, and is up to temp in 5 seconds. I'm just too lazy to spend 15 minutes getting a roaring fire going in a KK to only utilize it for less than a minute. Seems like a waste of charcoal and effort. But who knows, maybe I'll change my tune when I have one.

 

That being said, I am dying to try smoking the meat for an hour or two before the SV cook. Then pull it when it's within 10-15 degrees of the SV cooking temp. I have to imagine the smoke flavor will bring the SV cook to a new level.

[tony b]

Get a basket splitter for your KK, that way you can do quick, high temp sears without blowing through a lot of charcoal. It also helps getting to sear temps faster, since it forces all the airflow through the one side. Works great!

 

It's OK to quick smoke/sear meat BEFORE doing an SV cook, but I wouldn't over do it. The main point of SV is to evenly cook the food to the desired temperature/texture. If you did 90% of the cooking on the KK  and just finished it in the SV bath, I think you'd be missing the point, But, I've never done a cook this way, so what do I know?

[CeramicChef]

tony - I've done Sous Vide cooks with sears done both before and after the SV. At this point my guests and I much prefer the sear after the SV part of the cook. I think it's the solid Maillard crust that makes the difference.

[tony b]

True. The downside of searing before is that you lose the crust; the flavor's still there, but the texture's not. Have you ever done BOTH - before and after? Might have to experiment with that one.

[CeramicChef]

True. The downside of searing before is that you lose the crust; the flavor's still there, but the texture's not. Have you ever done BOTH - before and after? Might have to experiment with that one.

tony - as a matter of fact I have done the before and after sear. I really do like just the sear after the SV. Both really didn't seem to do anything, at least to my taste buds. I'll just stick with the after SV sear. And use the au jus for a little bit of heaven to to grace the cook!

[tony b]

  on using the jus from the SV bag. Makes a great addition to a pan sauce or to sauteed mushrooms! 

[bryan]

! How to use juices after sv braising * KK 6/03/2015 bryan

 

Found on stefangourmet.com
I don’t like to throw away food and when I’m cooking:
I definitely don’t want to throw away any flavor.
So when I brown meat, I always deglaze the pan to make a sauce out of the browned bits that have gotten stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Until recently I had not figured out how to use the juices that are left in the bag (after cooking something sous-vide.
Especially when braising meat for 2-3 days.
(there can be a lot of juice and since it obviously has a lot of flavor it bothered me that I didn’t know how to use it)
Many sous-vide recipes simply mention “make a sauce from the bag juicesâ€, but don’t tell you how to do this.
CON When you heat the juices to make a sauce:
The juice will curdle and you get a lot of nasty looking scum.
(What stopped me from finding the solution until recently was that I wanted to use all of the juices for a sauce. Unfortunately, that is simply not possible as
the proteins in there have only been cooked to 57C/135F, so it is unavoidable that they will curdle if you heat it any further)
PRO solution is simple:
1- Remove most of the scum with a slotted spoon as you usually do with scum on a stock.
2- Line a sieve with paper towels (or a cheese cloth) and filter the juices.
3- What is left is pure meat juice with a lot of flavor in it.
(perfect for adding to a sauce)

It is not a problem that the meat has cooled a little while you were doing all of the above steps.
(because now you can brown the meat and then take the meat out and deglaze the pan with the strained juices to make a quick sauce)

For a fancier sauce:
Sauté chopped garlic with a few thyme sprigs and a bay leaf for a minute in the fat left in the pan.
Deglaze the pan with wine.
(white wine for white meat, red wine for red meat)
Add the strained juices.
Let it reduce a bit over medium heat and then strain.
(If you like you can make it a bit thicker by whisking in some small pieces of cold butter)

 

I like this site for go to sous vide.

Check out his Tenderizing by warm ageing.

[MacKenzie]

Byron, quite often I make a soup with the bag juices and it is always delicious. I just wing it. That juice sure does curdle and I wouldn't serve it to company but for me it is delicious

[bryan]

Byron, quite often I make a soup with the bag juices and it is always delicious. I just wing it. That juice sure does curdle and I wouldn't serve it to company but for me it is delicious

There just has to be a lot of good stuff in there.

[tony b]

For a lot of my sauces, the protein "curdle" doesn't interfere all that much, especially if you're adding something like a Dijon into it. My problem is that I'm almost always just cooking for me, so there's not a lot of jus in the bag. If I did the paper towel strain, I'd lose about half of what little there is (couple of tablespoons) to absorption by the towel - wouldn't be worth the effort.