24-Hour Sous Vide Beef Brisket

24-Hour Sous Vide Beef Brisket or how to turn a tough cut meat into a smoky, tender, mouthwatering masterpiece just in time for grilling season!

We cooked up a generous cut of Sous Vide Beef Brisket for this week's instalment of #sousvidesista on Instagram. The footage was from back in the winter, but with the weather warming up, I'd say it's perfect timing!

Grab a nice chunk of brisket, mix up a homemade rub, grind some peppercorn and LET'S GET READY TO SOUS VIDE!

What's A Brisket?

Beef brisket is a tough cut from the breast section, making it a perfect candidate for a low, slow cook, sous vide style. How long and what temperature are a matter of taste and texture. It's usually boneless and sold in one of two cuts:

• Point, which is fattier, more flavourful and the cheaper of the two cuts; and
• Flat, the leaner and more expensive cut.

We've only been able to find the point a couple times, so we generally buy the flat and choose one that is accompanied by a generous bit of fat, throughout and on top. The leaner the cut, the drier the end result, so grab a fatty piece for a more succulent brisket.

Smoking... Pre or Post Cook

Cooking is a matter of personal preference and taste and those can change with mood, season, direction of the wind...

My preference is a smoked brisket, but I've also enjoyed it sans smoking. Back when we made this Sous Vide Beef Brisket, it was too cold and snowy to fire up the outdoor grill/smoker, so we pulled out our trusty Smoking Gun to add a little smoky flavour. No thick, black bark, like that produced with traditional smoking, but it is so handy and a breeze to use!

To contain the smoke to the kitchen, we turn the stove exhaust fan on high and work directly under, or close by. We place the item to be smoked in a sealable bag or plastic-wrapped bowl, leaving a small opening for the smoker nozzle. Then we let it rip for 5 minutes, in this case, then wrap it tightly and allow it to infuse for about 30 minutes.

We have cooked our fair share of meat, poultry and fish and we continue to play with pre and post smoking. My preference is to smoke before cooking, meat in particular - fruits and veggies, I prefer to smoke post-cook, while still hot in the sous vide bag. And if you don't have a smoker, or don't want your house wafting with mesquite, hickory, applewood or some other delicious aroma, there is always liquid smoke.

Temperature and Timing

We have cooked brisket for 12, 24 and 36 hours at various temperatures, depending on our mood and use - tender, fall-apart, meaty, sliceable, succulent.

The second photo from the top may look on the dry side, but it wasn't. Although it wasn't as juicy as the one below, it was meaty, firm and steak-like in texture. We cooked that one at 57.2ºC/135ºF for 36 hours.

We enjoyed it with a green salad and homemade fries, cooked sous vide BTW. Yes, some of the best fries EVAH - a fluffy, melty interior wrapped in a crisp shell. But I digress a little...

The brisket below was also cooked sous vide and that is a crappy photo from a couple years ago. It was one of my favourite - flavourful, succulent, tender amazingness. This one we cooked at 68.3ºC/155ºF for 24 hours. You can also take it to 36 hours without ruining the end result.

We paired this one with polenta, greens and used the bag juices to create a gravy that was the perfect topping for a deliciously, comforting meal. You'll catch a glimpse of that dish in the video below.

So, have you started cooking sous vide? I am pleased to report that I have converted a total of twenty+ friends, colleagues and subscribers/followers. There may be more...if you are one, let a sista know! 😉