Hot take: I sous-vided a chuck roast for 36 hours and it felt like cheating

I was trying to mimic the texture of a prime rib for a dinner party in Portland without the price tag, so I cooked a 4-pound chuck roast at 135F for a day and a half. When I seared it, it sliced like butter and tasted like a $100 cut for maybe $25. Has anyone else had a protein that transformed way more than you thought it would with that kind of time?

3 comments

3 Comments

carter.ben21d ago

That "uniform, soft feel" is why I always finish mine under the broiler for a few extra minutes to get more of that dry heat texture on the outside.

leo_murphy21d ago

My neighbor in Bend tried that exact method last winter. The texture was tender, I'll give you that, but it lacked the real beefy flavor and crust of a proper prime rib cooked over fire. That long bath just gives it a uniform, almost soft feel that misses the point of good meat for me. It's a neat trick, but the result is its own thing, not a replacement. The soul of a roast comes from the dry heat and the fat rendering differently.

eva_thompson107h ago

Honestly @leo_murphy, that "soul" you mention is just the taste of smoke and regret from a dried-out roast.