What is the Best Way to Combine Smoke and Sous Vide - Ask Jason

Note: The following article is an edited transcription from the video.

There's been a lot of talk lately about sous viding and smoking.

Darrin Wilson runs a great Facebook group called Fire and Water Cooking which covers both smoking and sous vide. I recommend you check out his group if you're looking for some good tips about stuff like this.

But in general, you're trying to combine smoke and sous vide. You're adding flavor through the smoking process and you're tenderizing through the sous vide process. You can either smoke before or after the sous vide cooking; they both have their benefits. I think the pre-smoke infuses it with a little bit more flavor. Where the post-smoke doesn't go quite as deep, but you do have the new smoke on it as you're pulling it out and your finishing it on the grill.

• Sous Vide Smoked BBQ Ribs Recipe
• Sous Vide Smoked BBQ Brisket Recipe
• Smoked Sous Vide Brisket Recipe with Bourbon BBQ Sauce

Usually when I'm doing ribs or brisket, I sous vide them first until it's completely tender then I chill it fully and I put it on the grill or smoker. I only smoke it long enough for the meat to come back to temperature. By the time it actually reaches serving temperature, the meat has a good smoke flavor with an enhancing aroma. Plus, I've been enjoying my friends and family outdoors while the brisket's been cooking inside for 36 hours. It lets me pretend like I'm doing a big barbecue thing!

Whether you're smoking it before or after, the main thing you want to make sure is that the internal temperature of the meat doesn't get higher than what you're going to be sous viding it at. For example, if you're going to sous vide a prime rib at 131°F (55°C) for medium rare, you don't want to smoke it on the grill until it's 150°F (65.6°C) internally. The prime rib will become overcooked, so be sure to take it off the smoker at 130°F (54.4°C) or below.

The same holds true if you're doing ribs or brisket or pulled pork. Whatever temperature you're going to sous vide it at, pull it off the smoker before it hits that temperature, so you still get all the benefits of sous vide.

If you like this you can get more than 85 inspiring recipes to get you on your way to sous vide success. It's all in my best selling book Modernist Cooking Made Easy: Sous Vide - Get Your Copy Today!

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