Techniques HUGE Cote du Boeuf...

[MarcelNL]

My eyes got the better of me seeing the gargantuous piece of Cote du Boeuf at the butchers, so I walked home with a piece weighing a good 2 kilo'sffiguring a larger piece cooks more even ( I do the same with any steak)....it's just that the total perhaps is a bit much for an evening dinner for 2, so I figure I'll wait until Saturday when we are with 7.....so I put it in the fridge at 2'C assuming it'll stay OK until then.

I plan to dry brine it and slow cook it on the BBQ like a Bistecca a la Fiorentino (takes an hour or so), but am open for ideas...

 

[ethompson]

Huge cuts of meat like this are one of the few times you'll catch me advocating for sous vide. Given how expensive nice beef is, its nice to be able to take the guess work out and can make cooking for a large group much less stressful (you're never worried about over-cooking!), just sear before serving. I personally don't love the dry brine technique due to the cured texture it often leaves. Seal it up, choose you're temp, and water bath it for 2-3 hours and you will be good to go. I've done this with a few XL steaks for Bistecca for a group and usually cook/chill the day before, leave on a rack exposed in the fridge over night, then sear over very hot coals right before serving. I season after the initial cook right before putting on the coals.

That said, my absolute favorite way to cook something like this is over wood. Season with salt, indirect heat for a few hours until internal temp is reached, then sear over the coals. This is a much fussier technique as keeping the temperature of the fire low enough and stable can be tricky, but yields a flavor that can't be reproduced with any other method in my opinion.

 

[btbyrd]

As much as I love grilling and live fire cooking, these aren't the most reliable ways to cook something this big. Ovens (or sous vide) are much friendlier in this respect. Sear it off on all sides and then throw it in a low oven, like 225F, and monitor the temp with a probe. Pull it when the core hits like 123F or so, crank the oven as high as it will go with convection and let it get good and ripping. The rost will carryover while you're waiting for the oven to thoroughly soak in therms. Then throw it in and let 'er rip until the crust is looking good.

You can do something similar with sous vide, but I like to go for a higher bath temperature than I would for a standalone rib steak. People like their roasts a bit more done than they like their steaks, at least in my experience. Anyway, maybe cook at 135F or so. Presear as above, then bag it in a 2 gallon Ziplock freezer and let it hang out for four hours (or a few more) in the bath. Pull it out, blot it dry, and let it sit on the counter to cool down a good long while.

While sous vide uniform doneness may be appealing (to some) on a steak, it's weird on a 4kg rib roast. I think people really like a bit of a gradient on the finished product, with some crunchy well done bits on the exterior. That's why I let my sous vide roasts cool off significantly before I do the final oven sear. This also helps prevent totally overcooking things during the final sear. Anyway, after it's rested for a while and your convection oven is cranked to 11 and soaked in pretherms, throw in the roast and pull it when it looks optimally delicious. Alternatively, you could do your final sear/cook over wood or on a grill or something to impart some of those smokier flavor notes. I've done this method for several family holidays, and it's a super easy crowd pleaser.

 

[deltaplex]

Huge cuts of meat like this are one of the few times you'll catch me advocating for sous vide. Given how expensive nice beef is, its nice to be able to take the guess work out and can make cooking for a large group much less stressful (you're never worried about over-cooking!), just sear before serving. I personally don't love the dry brine technique due to the cured texture it often leaves. Seal it up, choose you're temp, and water bath it for 2-3 hours and you will be good to go. I've done this with a few XL steaks for Bistecca for a group and usually cook/chill the day before, leave on a rack exposed in the fridge over night, then sear over very hot coals right before serving. I season after the initial cook right before putting on the coals.

That said, my absolute favorite way to cook something like this is over wood. Season with salt, indirect heat for a few hours until internal temp is reached, then sear over the coals. This is a much fussier technique as keeping the temperature of the fire low enough and stable can be tricky, but yields a flavor that can't be reproduced with any other method in my opinion.

Do you not find the texture of the sous vide steak to be off putting? I haven't had any strips or ribeyes that have been water bathed be able to avoid some additional "bounce" in texture, so I just go direct/indirect on the grill or pan/oven for the big boys.

 

[ethompson]

Do you not find the texture of the sous vide steak to be off putting? I haven't had any strips or ribeyes that have been water bathed be able to avoid some additional "bounce" in texture, so I just go direct/indirect on the grill or pan/oven for the big boys.

I’ve only had issues with ones that were salted pre-bath, I think the bounce you’re describing here, or ones cooked too long mushy, texture is never as perfect as can be achieved with low and slow indirect heat, but the difference to me is fairly minimal and the sous vide convince factor in this use case is just so high I think it’s a worthwhile trade off.

I have access to multiple circulators, so last time I cooked steaks for a group I just had the baths at different temps and when it came time to sear they all got the same treatment, all steaks out at the same time to preference, all off a grill while I was still able to have wine and chat without worrying about a few hundred dollars worth of beef.

That said, if I’m cooking for just me or just a couple people, all wood all the way. It’s just a much higher maintenance method.

 

[deltaplex]

So it's the seasoning before sealing in the bag that's the likely culprit in what I've experienced, thank you!

 

[Bear]

I’ve only had issues with ones that were salted pre-bath, I think the bounce you’re describing here, or ones cooked too long mushy, texture is never as perfect as can be achieved with low and slow indirect heat, but the difference to me is fairly minimal and the sous vide convince factor in this use case is just so high I think it’s a worthwhile trade off.

I have access to multiple circulators, so last time I cooked steaks for a group I just had the baths at different temps and when it came time to sear they all got the same treatment, all steaks out at the same time to preference, all off a grill while I was still able to have wine and chat without worrying about a few hundred dollars worth of beef.

That said, if I’m cooking for just me or just a couple people, all wood all the way. It’s just a much higher maintenance method.

How do you get the fat to render on such a big rib roast?

Indirect on the grill with a couple chunks of oak 350-375.

 

[ethompson]

How do you get the fat to render on such a big rib roast?

Indirect on the grill with a couple chunks of oak 350-375.

Never had issues with insuffecient rendering on larger steaks at 130-40 for a few hours sous vide. Note, I'm talking about very large steaks here, not full on rib roasts (3+ ribs). I'm thinking about monster porterhouses, double cut ribeyes, etc.

 

[rmrf]

I like reverse sear better than sous vide. You spend so much time in sous vide trying to get a good crust and, in my opinion, it never gets as good or thick as with reverse sear.

My recommendation is to place it on a rimmed baking sheet with a rack and slowly roast it (as low as your oven goes or 200F). If you have a leave in thermometer, use it. If not, you'll have to open and close the oven. I like cooking to 118 or below and letting residual heat take me to 120-122. Then I let it cool to 100ish and then sear.

If Cote de Boeuf is rib eye in the US, I don't think you need any steam. I would salt the meat 1 hr before you put it in the oven, but with reverse sear this isn't as big a deal because it takes so long for the meat to start getting warm.

For searing, I hate searing in the oven for expensive things. Fry pan all the way. Get a fry pan on medium (NOT HIGH) heat. Just enough to pass water drop test. Get a good amount of oil into the pan and drop the meat in. Flip to the furthest away side every 30 seconds. I like to sit on the fat side for a good minute in between sets of flips to let everything cool a little more. Be careful. It tends to spit a lot.

I personally prefer a SS pan for this because you can see what you're doing. Nothing is going to stick anyways. The meat is cooked and you add enough fat that it doesn't matter.

You can do it in a broiler, but the sear isn't as fast. I can reverse sear steaks this way no problem.

If you like things a little more cooked, I recommend stuffing with rosemary and garlic. At rare though, I don't really like the flavor as much.

 

[MarcelNL]

Cote du Boeuf is rib of beef (1 rib) , reading with interest...so far I think my sous vide is maxxed out with this chunk of a limousin cow and I'm inclined to use the BBQ (indirect heat indeed) but am open to suggestions.

 

[riba]

I'd already dry brine it if it isn't vacuum sealed.
You might wanna tell how thick the cut is. In my experience 2kg Cote du Boeuf isn't overly thick (just 1 rib).
A few weeks ago I cooked a 1.7 kg for my 2.5 person family (just a meat, veg's, potato thing). There i like sous vide (wet aging approach) with a finish on a very hot bbq (WGA, inverted grillgrates) as we all like the same texture.
When cooking for company i do a reverse sear as that gives different textures for guests with unknown preferences.

 

[rmrf]

Cote du Boeuf is rib of beef (1 rib) , reading with interest...so far I think my sous vide is maxxed out with this chunk of a limousin cow and I'm inclined to use the BBQ (indirect heat indeed) but am open to suggestions.

I've done a lot of BBQ rib of beef. They are delicious but I'm not good enough (or attentive enough), even with propane, to keep the temperature steady and below 250F in the face of flare ups. That's why I use the oven. I always got a variety of 'doneness' from rare to medium well when I did it on the grill. Now, if you do it on a smoker, that's probably another story... I've never heard of smoked rib roasts though.

 

[MarcelNL]

the cut is about 5-6 cm thick or 2 inches

 

[riba]

With guests I sometimes finish on a hot bbq chimney starter.
I prefer finishing on (inverter) grillgrates myself, but guests like the show

 

[MarcelNL]

strated the dry brine yesterday and plan to attempt to sous vide to 48'C or so, to sear it off on a very hot BBQ...

 

[Michi]

strated the dry brine yesterday and plan to attempt to sous vide to 48'C or so, to sear it off on a very hot BBQ...

At 48 ˚ºC, it will be very rare. Not a problem, provided you want it that way.

 

[riba]

Just FYI, ime you don't really raise the core temperature when your bbq is hot enough.

I saw I mistyped, i meant warm aging with sous vide instead of wet aging. Might be interesting to try?

 

[MarcelNL]

ah good to know the BBQ does not rais core temp so much, in the past I've seen core temperatures rise much more than I expected...although those were far smaller chunks of cow.
Will aim for 51'C then, hoping to end up with 52-53...

Plan on adding triple cooked chips, fried in Kidney fat, something like a green salad for ease of mind. Reduction of port and stock with fresh green peppercorns infused with some vadouvin and shallot and thyme to go with it.
Now only to get a beast of a red wine to go with it, thinking of an Alarie, Cairanne

 

[MarcelNL]

Just FYI, ime you don't really raise the core temperature when your bbq is hot enough.

I saw I mistyped, i meant warm aging with sous vide instead of wet aging. Might be interesting to try?

warm aging? does not ring a bell, do you care to explain?

 

[Jovidah]

Personally I'd favor low and slow in the oven over SV if time isn't a constraint and you only have one piece to manage.
Oven tends to dry out the outside (which is what you want), SV tends to wet it all up. Much more annoying to get a proper crust on it after SV.
If you do choose SV, do a pre-sear... to get the outside halfway going. Makes finishing it easier.

Also, don't underestimate how long it'll take to heat up such a big piece, especially on lower temps. I don't have any specific guidelines or formulas, but I do remember that everytime I did a larger piece I was surprised by how long it took and vastly underestimated it.

 

[riba]

warm aging? does not ring a bell, do you care to explain?

Sous Vide Warm Aging Revisited

Six years ago I blogged for the first time about a technique that I called “warm aging”. Aging is a technique that is used to improve the texture of meat and sometimes also to give it m…

stefangourmet.com

 

[MarcelNL]

yeah the amount of time needed is tricky, yet there are some guides that have helped me.

 

[deltaplex]

I'd recommend against sous vide if you've already salted it

 

[MowgFace]

Personally I'd favor low and slow in the oven over SV if time isn't a constraint and you only have one piece to manage.
Oven tends to dry out the outside (which is what you want), SV tends to wet it all up. Much more annoying to get a proper crust on it after SV.
If you do choose SV, do a pre-sear... to get the outside halfway going. Makes finishing it easier.

Also, don't underestimate how long it'll take to heat up such a big piece, especially on lower temps. I don't have any specific guidelines or formulas, but I do remember that everytime I did a larger piece I was surprised by how long it took and vastly underestimated it.

You can always Deep Fry for a proper crust, haha.

 

[MarcelNL]

I'd recommend against sous vide if you've already salted it

Ooops, I forgot about that....so it's the oven then...thanks for catching that glitch!

 

[ethompson]

Can’t go wrong with the old reverse sear! Enjoy!

 

[Lars]

#weneedpictures

 

[cooktocut]

Alternatively, you could always use sous vide to get it to the proper internal temperature, then use a cold smoke for an hour to dry out the crust, then sear it. This is my preferred method for most proteins.

 

[ethompson]

Alternatively, you could always use sous vide to get it to the proper internal temperature, then use a cold smoke for an hour to dry out the crust, then sear it. This is my preferred method for most proteins.

Same logic behind my preferred sous vide method of cook, flash chill, leave uncovered in fridge overnight. Gives time to dry out the exterior and also for the myoglobin to reoxygenate so you can avoid the grey they sometimes comes with vacuum packed meats.

 

[Brian Weekley]

Hmmmmm … I’ve tried most method of cooking joints of beef.

Here’s what I’m doing now.

Dry brine … 48 to 96 hrs depending on size of joint.
Sous vide cook in Anova Precision Oven …
Cooking temperature 124F to 132F, to 124F to 129F internal, 100% steam
Sear 5-15 minutes convection cook at 425F, 0% Steam
Serving temperature 126F to 134F internal temperature

Example pics …