How can one apply enough smoke flavor to stuff they Sous Vide?

[emuleman]

As many of you know I have been having a blast cooking various meats perfectly with my Sous Vide machine. I absolutely love being able to cook stuff to the perfect temperature, as well as cooking stuff at a much lower temperature than normal for a longer period of time to achieve different consistency's I have never tried before. Cooking pork ribs for 36 hours at 145 degrees will give you a completely different texture and taste than cooking it the traditional way. But the only problem is how can one get enough smokey flavor on stuff you want to Sous Vide without overcooking it?

Will a frozen piece of meat adsorb smoke? I figure you could smoke something straight out of the freezer at a lower temperature for a couple of hours without having it in the "Danger Zone" for more than two hours. Then it could be vacuum sealed and cooked Sous Vide. I have heard that frozen meat is difficult to smoke, but would attempting this provide any type of smoke flavor at all, or is it a waste of time? If I smoked it without it being frozen at a lower temperature you would run the risk of having the meat in that "Danger Zone", and I certainly don't want to get anyone sick. I think if I could smoke first, and then finish with Sous Vide I would be able to make some fantastic stuff that simply wouldn't be possible cooking it the traditional way.

So how does one apply enough smoke to meat that you are trying to cook at a lower temperature without overcooking it? Any suggestions or ideas you might have would be appreciated.

[barleypop]

I may be wrong but I don't think frozen meat will absorb smoke from burning wood, might have to resort to the liquid god! BTW I picked up a gallon of apple wood liquid smoke from amazon for cheap.

[dcarch]

This is what I do:

I use a compact refrigerator, installed a circulation fan inside and a 500 watt halogen light bulb running at 300 watts with a dimmer. The light bulb is controlled by a PID controller to maintain precise interior temperature. The light bulb can actually keep the temperature almost to as high as 212F because the refrigerator is very well insulated.

I use a smoke generator to pump smoke into the refrigerator. It's like a sous vide cooker using hot smoky air instead of hot water.

works very well.

dcarch

[dward51]

I know at the Serious Eats site, they do a lot of upscale sous vide stuff. They use liquid smoke in the sous vide bag as it is a natural smoke in water. I've not tried it, but generally if they post it in their "how to" its going to be right. They offer multiple methods of finishing, from the oven to a grill or smoker. They even do sous vide pulled pork and ribs!!!

[tadowdaddy]

My thought/opinion.. you don't intermingle the two, unless you're doing something like wings. Then, sous vide and finish them over hard wood. You'll get that flavor by finishing over wood. However, you're never going to get the from the smoker flavor that you get when you smoke something from start to finish when you SV first.

[strength_and_power]

My thought/opinion.. you don't intermingle the two, unless you're doing something like wings. Then, sous vide and finish them over hard wood. You'll get that flavor by finishing over wood. However, you're never going to get the from the smoker flavor that you get when you smoke something from start to finish when you SV first.

This pretty much sums up my experiences. I haven't tried the liquid smoke route yet but I did try some dry hickory smoke powder from Savory Spice Shop. I can't say the smoke flavor was very noticeable. Good luck


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[curious aardvark]

the smoke powder is a lot better than the liquid.
Much easier to use and you can gradually increase the amount till it hits your taste point.
The liquid stuff can be hit and miss and is much stronger.

I guess you could always cold smoke for a couple hours before sous viding.

[Mark R]

I cold smoke heavy for 45 min. then sear-very hot fire, then chill. Bag and hot tub. IF it is smoke I'm after. Not the same as traditional smoking, but better than none.

[emuleman]

This is what I do:

I use a compact refrigerator, installed a circulation fan inside and a 500 watt halogen light bulb running at 300 watts with a dimmer. The light bulb is controlled by a PID controller to maintain precise interior temperature. The light bulb can actually keep the temperature almost to as high as 212F because the refrigerator is very well insulated.

I use a smoke generator to pump smoke into the refrigerator. It's like a sous vide cooker using hot smoky air instead of hot water.

works very well.

dcarch

Wow, what an interesting idea! You should consider marketing that, sounds like a great way to sous vide and smoke at the same time!

[emuleman]

I know at the Serious Eats site, they do a lot of upscale sous vide stuff. They use liquid smoke in the sous vide bag as it is a natural smoke in water. I've not tried it, but generally if they post it in their "how to" its going to be right. They offer multiple methods of finishing, from the oven to a grill or smoker. They even do sous vide pulled pork and ribs!!!

I have checked out that website, and they do have some great recipes, I even tried the smoked baby back ribs in the sous vide using liquid smoke.

http://www.smoked-meat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43250

Although they came out delicious, something about that liquid smoke that just doesn't provide the smoke flavor you get by smoking it with real wood. I think cold smoking for a few hours before cooking sous vide will be the best option, but with summer approaching it is difficult to do this now, and I am afraid of being in the danger zone for too long. Guess even an hour of traditional smoke would be better than nothing. I will continue experimenting until I find the right combination.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

[Bearcarver]

I have checked out that website, and they do have some great recipes, I even tried the smoked baby back ribs in the sous vide using liquid smoke.

http://www.smoked-meat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43250

Although they came out delicious, something about that liquid smoke that just doesn't provide the smoke flavor you get by smoking it with real wood. I think cold smoking for a few hours before cooking sous vide will be the best option, but with summer approaching it is difficult to do this now, and I am afraid of being in the danger zone for too long. Guess even an hour of traditional smoke would be better than nothing. I will continue experimenting until I find the right combination.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Lets not forget that many people, including me, use approx. the "3-2-1" and "2-2-1" Methods for smoking Pork Ribs, so even when we Smoke Ribs they only get about 2 or 3 hours of smoke, so Cold smoking for an hour or 2 should be fine.

If it's real warm out, fill a couple jugs with water 3/4 full & freeze them---Then add them to the Smoker or cardboard box or anything else, with an Amazing Smoker for smoke.


Bear

[Slanted88]

I cold smoke heavy for 45 min. then sear-very hot fire, then chill. Bag and hot tub. IF it is smoke I'm after. Not the same as traditional smoking, but better than none.

yep...do the cold smoke...then sv...then hot...gonna try yo method... after sv to hot