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I want to start a discussion to see if any of you have experimented with Sous Vide to "cook/cure" meat. I'm the typical (well maybe not typical) home smoker so I don't have access or the ability to smoke meats for 24 to 48 hours at a time. While I'd like to make Proscuitti Ham I don't have the smoke house that would be required using Rytek Kutas method of preparation. However, I do have the ability to Sous Vide for extended periods of time and then apply smoke for four to eight hours either cold or hot, then do a controlled air dry in a dedicated refrigerator. I've used this approach for Brisket (Texas style and Pastrami, sous vide 36 hours then smoke 4 and have had excellent results). Could this approach be applied to dry cured meats, using long low and slow sous vide then smoke, then controlled drying?



Thoughts? Recommendations? Ideas?

I haven't tried this so understand that this is just what I would try, not that what you propose wouldn't work. My inclination would be to cold smoke (using cure #1) then sous vide, then dry further if desired. It seems that the meat takes on smoke flavor (in my opinion) before it is cooked. There is nothing to indicate your sequence wouldn't also work.

NCPaul wrote:I haven't tried this so understand that this is just what I would try, not that what you propose wouldn't work. My inclination would be to cold smoke (using cure #1) then sous vide, then dry further if desired. It seems that the meat takes on smoke flavor (in my opinion) before it is cooked. There is nothing to indicate your sequence wouldn't also work.

Thank you for your response. Yes I know this is a bit unconventional of an approach but might work for those of us who live in urban homes and not on a plot of land. If you are suggesting cold smoke how long per lb of meat? Yes this is something I could do but don't want to go beyond 12 hours.

I had also thought about adding a bit of liquid smoke during the sous vide process to add flavor, but would use it very sparingly.

I typically cold smoke overnight, start at 10 PM finish at 6 AM using my Weber grill.

NCPaul wrote:I typically cold smoke overnight, start at 10 PM finish at 6 AM using my Weber grill.

I have a Bradley with a cold smoker attachment. I can set that up and run it from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. with no problem.
Thanks for the input, I'm off to Smart and Final (Cash and Carry in other parts of the country) to buy some ham. I'll document the process and take pics as I go to see how this all works out.

My gut feeling is that the sous-vide would cook the meat and you'd have a cooked ham rather than an air-dried ham.

Do you particularly want smoke flavour? Most European air-dried meat isn't smoked. The great hams - Parma, Serrano, Bayonne - none of these is smoked.

Phil

wheels wrote:My gut feeling is that the sous-vide would cook the meat and you'd have a cooked ham rather than an air-dried ham.

Do you particularly want smoke flavour? Most European air-dried meat isn't smoked. The great hams - Parma, Serrano, Bayonne - none of these is smoked.

Phil

Rytek's recipe calls for the following:

Initially cure ham in 36-38*F. rubbed with cure mix (including #2) press/flip etc for 55 to 65 days.

* Place ham in 130*F. smoker hold for 48 hrs
* Increase temp to 140*F. hold for 2 hours
* Increase temp 10* each 1/2 hour until temp reaches 170*F.
* Hold at 170*F. two hours
* Allow temp to drop to 120*F. then hold for 8 to 10 hours.

After all of that remove from smoker rub with dry rub and hold at 70-75*F for 30 days

It is the whole middle part I'm trying to bypass by Sous Viding. It would seem that he is speeding up the drying process by apply heat in the smoker. I've seen other recipes where it can take up to a year or more to get to the final product. My wife won't let me use my drying room (down stairs shower) for that long to hang hams.

Thoughts

Don't suggest getting a more understanding wife, that is off the table

Don't suggest getting a more understanding wife, that is off the table

At a local pub, I was asked how I wanted a steak cooked. I said: "Like winning an argument with my wife". "Rare it is Sir", was the reply!

This seems to be some form of accelerated drying process, but one that worries me a little. I don't like the idea of holding the meat in the danger zone, but not fully cooking it, or on the other hand, nor do I like the idea of air-drying cooked meat, which I assume parts of it will be. That said, Rytek Kutas's stuff is usually pretty sound, so I guess that the only way of finding out would be to try it.

Phil