Great video, in situations like these where the difference is minimal, the ideal thing would be to do whats less cumbersome to you. In my situation, smoking first on the weber smoky mountain then leaving them overnight on the anova oven at 100% humidity (sous vide mode) means that it's easier to simply take them out of the oven, broil them for 5 minutes then serve, I don't do the smoke again part like I normally would if I was using the 3-2-1 method on the smoker. However, if I am serving for guests outside on the grill, it would be more fun for everyone to finish on the smoker that way the guests get the full effect of their food being taken out of the smoker and serving it right away in front of them, so it really doesn't have much to do with taste, rather what's easier for whoever is cooking. Thanks for a great, great video.
When I smoke pork ribs I spray them with apple juice, keeping them moist. But when I smoke a brisket, I spray them when I put them in the smoker and then I drink a few beers, then I spray my brisket again after 3 hours. For my rub on my ribs, it's my own rub. My rub took me over 10 years to get to the perfect rub. All my friends ask me where I buy the rub. But when I tell them it's my own rub, they get very pissed off. As for the brisket I only use kosher course salt and course black pepper. Sometimes I cut some small notches in the brisket and push in some pulled garlic cloves. Gives the meat some extra flavor.
I just did this. I sous vide for 18 hours. Put on the sauce and smoked it. It was good. Not fantastic but still good. I’ve had worse but I’ve had better. Would I do it again? If I was pressed for time the following day, yes. If I had 6 or so hours to spare, I would do the traditional method. But great video and thanks for making it
Great video Steve. Your experiment answers many questions, and concerns about smoking an already cooked meat in sous vide. In a previous comparison video, you did not find that finishing ribs over charcoal to be optimal. However since your latest methods call for smokong/cooking pork ribs to 150 F, It would be interesting to see you finish them with a quick char.
@@SmokeTrailsBBQ I have used it for 3 things now. St Louis cut ribs, Bacon ribs & pulled pork. It worked fantastic on all of them but the pulled pork was the juiciest I have ever made. The trick is getting them off at the right temp to finish whilst in the long hold.
I sous vide all kinds of beef and pork, but never thought of ribs, maybe 'cause I couldn't fit them whole in my water container. But makes perfect sense from my experience. Thanks!
Ok now this is awesome! Now I just need you to test sous vide-ing pork butts, brisket and beef ribs :) It would be interesting to see how much time is needed to get a proper Texas style bark post-sous vide. Less time sat tending an offset = a huge win in my books. One other benefit I can see here is that you now don't need to cook a whole large cut in one go on the offset - sous vide what you want, then get some smoke on it. Trying to smoke a quartered or half brisket in an offset from the start never works out well (dry AF by the time it comes up to the correct internal temp).
Ive done what you did, and They were both very good, only difference i can probably think of is the one i smoked then sous vide had a bit more smoked taste.
I like smoking first for 1-2 hours at 180 degrees. I think the smoke flavor completely penetrates to rib meat during the sous vide cook just like the salt and seasonings do.
Here is my take on it. In my opinion it is easier to bag the ribs raw than to bag them after smoking. Also, if you are cooking for company your guests want to see and smell those ribs on the smoker so you want to SV them first. It is very easy to SV them and then throw them into the refrigerator ahead of time and then open them on the day you want to smoke them. You can let the SV go while you are asleep or at work
ill have to give this a try, i feel like i struggle with consistency on ribs. i like the idea of sousvide 1st then smoke. i also think it opens some doors to seasoning options.... 18 hour marinade with butter and seasonings 1st? endless options.
Well when you sous vide you typically add aromatics to impart that flavor. That being said I would think smoking first would give you all the flavor you want in that bag 🤷♂️
It looks goofy but seems like a pretty solid idea to use much more of the grill space inside the pit That recent video they just released shows how much you can load up and it’s impressive
Smoke BEFORE... less moisture loss. Watch Guga's vid. If you want more smoke, then smoke after as well... I have done this for years now and that is all...
This is driving me crazy. How can you tell which is going to taste better if you smother them both with rub and sauce? How about repeating the exercise with just salt and coarse pepper?
Think the sous vide post-smoking makes the most sense convenience wise. It can take time/attention to get the fire, temp, color right. Don't want to mess with all that an hour before serving. Sv though you can just hold it at 150 as long as you need, and it's sitting in smoky juices the whole time. I cut, sauce and broil them for 5 minutes before serving.
Great content, thanks! I'm a bit confused by the sous-vide first method. You mention you sous-vide at 150 degrees for ~18hrs. Then put them on the smoker at 225 degrees for 2/3 hrs, but don't want to bring them over 150 degrees. If you put them on the smoker right after sous vide, they are already at 150. How can you smoke them for another 2/3 hrs at 225, and still keep them around 150 degrees internal? Did I misunderstand? Were they in the fridge for a while between sous vide and smoker? Thanks!
IMO the best way to compare cooking techniques is to use a simple salt only application. Based on my experience I believe smoking first then vacuum sealing facilitates deeper smoke penetration. Bottomline if you like more smoke I suggest smoking first. If you like a mild smoke sous vide first.
Smoke plus long hold at 150 seems like it would be similar to sous vide for long at 150…🤔 I’d think smoke and long hold (especially in butcher paper) would be the better option to preserve the bark and that bbq flavor.
I find when I SV, whatever flavors in there mellow out and even change, not necessarily in a good way. Once I grilled beef ribs, then tried to SV in a bag for many hours to breakdown. The charred flavor mellowed a lot and even had this acrid off-putting flavor. Also the bark gets ruined in the humidity and requires another step back on the bbq. Therefore I always SV first before any other steps.
Do you refrigerate after sous vide? Wouldn’t the sous vide first ribs be at 150 already and then you put them on the smoker and they would go up in temperature?
At 6:40 sous vide first were at 150F, then put on offset at 225F to get color and smoke...2 hours. Rib temp not too much above 150. Seems like 225 for 2 hrs should have some temp rise? I should think finishing temp would be 190 or so.
if you take sous vide ribs out and they are 150 degrees as that was your sous vide temp, when you put on pit do they not rise in temp quickly? Also for the pulled pork you said was juiciest also in the sous vide at 150 for 18 hours and then similar 2-3 hours on pit before a 150ish degree long hold? Thank you
smoke then sous vide. why? the if you have a very good vacuum sealer, the vacuuming opens up pores for deeper penetration of smoke into meat. but if you value presentation and instant tender ribs in the yard with friends then sous vide then smoke grill ;)
the real question is, is this the best way to get the best rib? looks like very poor meat pullback, bark looked weak also. it would be nice to hear a conclusion based on the best rib you could make. sous vide is lazy cooking lol and Im not sure it can produce the best rib possible.
How is it you sou vide the first ribs at 150° for 18 hours and put it on the smoker for 225° for 3 hours and not go over 150° internal when it was 150° coming out of the sou vide? Sorry. Maybe I missed something.
@@SmokeTrailsBBQ Could you build a good bark without overcooking a brisket, after being cooked in sous vide? Someone had told me he does this, but I have not seen the result.
most people dont want tug or a bite on their ribs... i wish you would try a comparison where they are cooked longer with a more tender, almost fall off the bone texture...
I hear you. It's just a lot more work and often not needed. Ideally it would be a blind taste test with other people but I'm just a humble working youtuber trying to crank out videos
I really like how convenient the sous vide first method looks! very cool.
It's super convenient!
Your videos are superb Steve! Thank so much for conducting these experiments!
Thanks man!
Is there a video on how you built the sous vide chamber by chance?
I would also like to see this
I thought I saw a video of him fabricating one. Can’t find it.
@@theH2experience found the video
ua-cam.com/video/-6ocRbEU7io/v-deo.html
@@BarHRanch found it
ua-cam.com/video/-6ocRbEU7io/v-deo.html
@@jonbuettner270 awesome thank you
Great video, in situations like these where the difference is minimal, the ideal thing would be to do whats less cumbersome to you. In my situation, smoking first on the weber smoky mountain then leaving them overnight on the anova oven at 100% humidity (sous vide mode) means that it's easier to simply take them out of the oven, broil them for 5 minutes then serve, I don't do the smoke again part like I normally would if I was using the 3-2-1 method on the smoker.
However, if I am serving for guests outside on the grill, it would be more fun for everyone to finish on the smoker that way the guests get the full effect of their food being taken out of the smoker and serving it right away in front of them, so it really doesn't have much to do with taste, rather what's easier for whoever is cooking.
Thanks for a great, great video.
How are we not discussing that BBQ Freak hat?! When’s the Smoke Trails merch coming!?
Oh sweet I had this question
What a great video! I’ve been wondering which way is better. Now I know it doesn’t matter. Thank you!
Thanks for watching!
@@SmokeTrailsBBQ I love how you’re diving in and combining different techniques to find the best bite of bbq. Keep up the great work!
When I smoke pork ribs I spray them with apple juice, keeping them moist. But when I smoke a brisket, I spray them when I put them in the smoker and then I drink a few beers, then I spray my brisket again after 3 hours. For my rub on my ribs, it's my own rub. My rub took me over 10 years to get to the perfect rub. All my friends ask me where I buy the rub. But when I tell them it's my own rub, they get very pissed off. As for the brisket I only use kosher course salt and course black pepper. Sometimes I cut some small notches in the brisket and push in some pulled garlic cloves. Gives the meat some extra flavor.
I just did this. I sous vide for 18 hours. Put on the sauce and smoked it. It was good. Not fantastic but still good. I’ve had worse but I’ve had better. Would I do it again? If I was pressed for time the following day, yes. If I had 6 or so hours to spare, I would do the traditional method. But great video and thanks for making it
Nice!
Great video Steve. Your experiment answers many questions, and concerns about smoking an already cooked meat in sous vide. In a previous comparison video, you did not find that finishing ribs over charcoal to be optimal. However since your latest methods call for smokong/cooking pork ribs to 150 F, It would be interesting to see you finish them with a quick char.
Great idea!
I used your method of the long hold for the 1st time recently & it worked so well. Definitely what I will do from now on. Thank you Steve. Al
Cheers man! For ribs?
@@SmokeTrailsBBQ I have used it for 3 things now. St Louis cut ribs, Bacon ribs & pulled pork. It worked fantastic on all of them but the pulled pork was the juiciest I have ever made. The trick is getting them off at the right temp to finish whilst in the long hold.
I sous vide all kinds of beef and pork, but never thought of ribs, maybe 'cause I couldn't fit them whole in my water container. But makes perfect sense from my experience. Thanks!
Thanks for watching!
I knew I was in the right place when you started with a couple of my favorite resources: Modernist Cuisine and Meathead.
Ok now this is awesome! Now I just need you to test sous vide-ing pork butts, brisket and beef ribs :) It would be interesting to see how much time is needed to get a proper Texas style bark post-sous vide. Less time sat tending an offset = a huge win in my books.
One other benefit I can see here is that you now don't need to cook a whole large cut in one go on the offset - sous vide what you want, then get some smoke on it. Trying to smoke a quartered or half brisket in an offset from the start never works out well (dry AF by the time it comes up to the correct internal temp).
Yea that would be interesting to try. I think if I took the brisket up to 190-200 I could get some good bark on the smoker
I do a lot of cold smoking before sous vide. After the meat is cooked, I put a good sear it.
Can’t wait to try this! And the brisket method.
Ive done what you did, and They were both very good, only difference i can probably think of is the one i smoked then sous vide had a bit more smoked taste.
I like smoking first for 1-2 hours at 180 degrees. I think the smoke flavor completely penetrates to rib meat during the sous vide cook just like the salt and seasonings do.
Great experiment as always! I wonder how a brisket would work with this method
A great question!
Here is my take on it. In my opinion it is easier to bag the ribs raw than to bag them after smoking. Also, if you are cooking for company your guests want to see and smell those ribs on the smoker so you want to SV them first. It is very easy to SV them and then throw them into the refrigerator ahead of time and then open them on the day you want to smoke them. You can let the SV go while you are asleep or at work
ill have to give this a try, i feel like i struggle with consistency on ribs. i like the idea of sousvide 1st then smoke. i also think it opens some doors to seasoning options.... 18 hour marinade with butter and seasonings 1st? endless options.
That sounds tasty!
i'd love to hear how this works out.
Another great video, I may try and apply this to pork steaks. Would be a easy way to get to fork tender.
great idea!
Well when you sous vide you typically add aromatics to impart that flavor. That being said I would think smoking first would give you all the flavor you want in that bag 🤷♂️
Whats your take on the Goldee offset smoker
Never used one so I couldn't say!
It looks goofy but seems like a pretty solid idea to use much more of the grill space inside the pit
That recent video they just released shows how much you can load up and it’s impressive
Smoke BEFORE... less moisture loss. Watch Guga's vid. If you want more smoke, then smoke after as well... I have done this for years now and that is all...
This is driving me crazy.
How can you tell which is going to taste better if you smother them both with rub and sauce?
How about repeating the exercise with just salt and coarse pepper?
I'm that good!
Think the sous vide post-smoking makes the most sense convenience wise. It can take time/attention to get the fire, temp, color right. Don't want to mess with all that an hour before serving. Sv though you can just hold it at 150 as long as you need, and it's sitting in smoky juices the whole time. I cut, sauce and broil them for 5 minutes before serving.
I love how the flakey salt just falls onto the ribs when you open the smoker. Love it.
Great content, thanks! I'm a bit confused by the sous-vide first method. You mention you sous-vide at 150 degrees for ~18hrs. Then put them on the smoker at 225 degrees for 2/3 hrs, but don't want to bring them over 150 degrees. If you put them on the smoker right after sous vide, they are already at 150. How can you smoke them for another 2/3 hrs at 225, and still keep them around 150 degrees internal? Did I misunderstand? Were they in the fridge for a while between sous vide and smoker? Thanks!
You should do some ultrasonic Sous Vide'ing
Never heard of it!
@@SmokeTrailsBBQ look into it. I think it's the future of Sous Vide
Thanks for the test and info.
Thanks for watching!
Smoke after and use pink salt in the rub. The pink salt creates a "faux" smoke ring.
It’s “let’s get smokin” and not “let’s get boiling” for a reason 😂
Thanks for this one. Haven’t tried this yet but have wanted to.
Lets get boil-smoking!
@@SmokeTrailsBBQ 🤣” let’s get smoiling” 🤣
Great video! What temperature was the soup vide cooking done at?
awesome experiment!
Thanks!
IMO the best way to compare cooking techniques is to use a simple salt only application. Based on my experience I believe smoking first then vacuum sealing facilitates deeper smoke penetration. Bottomline if you like more smoke I suggest smoking first. If you like a mild smoke sous vide first.
Great idea!
Great video! Do you prefer sous vide or smoke/long hold method?
Smoke plus long hold at 150 seems like it would be similar to sous vide for long at 150…🤔
I’d think smoke and long hold (especially in butcher paper) would be the better option to preserve the bark and that bbq flavor.
It's pretty similar but the long hold in a holding chest washes the bark off a bit less than a sous vide bag submerged in water
What’s your thoughts on just smoking them until a solid bark is formed then freezing them in vacuum bag to sous vide later?
Yep that'll work
I find when I SV, whatever flavors in there mellow out and even change, not necessarily in a good way. Once I grilled beef ribs, then tried to SV in a bag for many hours to breakdown. The charred flavor mellowed a lot and even had this acrid off-putting flavor. Also the bark gets ruined in the humidity and requires another step back on the bbq. Therefore I always SV first before any other steps.
Now try smking first then pressure cook. hat would be interesting for those folks that like mor of an "overcooked" or fall off the bones approach.
Do you refrigerate after sous vide? Wouldn’t the sous vide first ribs be at 150 already and then you put them on the smoker and they would go up in temperature?
You can dunk the bags in ice water first
At 6:40 sous vide first were at 150F, then put on offset at 225F to get color and smoke...2 hours. Rib temp not too much above 150. Seems like 225 for 2 hrs should have some temp rise? I should think finishing temp would be 190 or so.
What was the temp you sous vide at and the time. Must have missed it in the video
It was 18 hours at 150 degrees
@@edwardprokopchuk3264 thanks
Hi Steve...great info as usual!
Could you give us some details on the steam sous vide holding chest you have there?
Did you buy it or build it?
Thanks
There's some info in my texas bbq secrets video from last year and a detailed tutorial on my patreon
@@SmokeTrailsBBQ Thanks Steve!
if you take sous vide ribs out and they are 150 degrees as that was your sous vide temp, when you put on pit do they not rise in temp quickly?
Also for the pulled pork you said was juiciest also in the sous vide at 150 for 18 hours and then similar 2-3 hours on pit before a 150ish degree long hold? Thank you
If I accidentally got them up to 170/180 for the smoke first method, would that be the temp I sous vide at and adjust the time shorter?
Hi Steve, new Smoke Squad member here. How do I access Smoke Squad content?
Hey man, there's a pin linked in patreon to get into the discord chat
BOTH!!!!!
For the sous vide first, did you let them rest before putting them in the smoker or they went straight to smoke?
I'm convinced sous vide first is the way to go. Smoking later just seems to make the texture better.
I swear I’ve seen you on Stranger Things!
I'm the demogorgon
smoke then sous vide. why? the if you have a very good vacuum sealer, the vacuuming opens up pores for deeper penetration of smoke into meat. but if you value presentation and instant tender ribs in the yard with friends then sous vide then smoke grill ;)
Offset vs reverse flow brisket video with tips for each?
One's coming out soon
Thanks!
You the man! thank you!
How about smoke before and after!
the real question is, is this the best way to get the best rib? looks like very poor meat pullback, bark looked weak also. it would be nice to hear a conclusion based on the best rib you could make. sous vide is lazy cooking lol and Im not sure it can produce the best rib possible.
I think it is if it's executed well. I think a good sous vide then smoked rib could beat a fully smoked/wrapped up to 190+ rib.
How is it you sou vide the first ribs at 150° for 18 hours and put it on the smoker for 225° for 3 hours and not go over 150° internal when it was 150° coming out of the sou vide? Sorry. Maybe I missed something.
Ice bath after sous vide
@@SmokeTrailsBBQ ahhh ok. Thanks man!!!
How long were they smoked for once SVd?
What temp on the sous vide if I do it first, then smoke till done?
150 for 18 hours
did you leave the silver skin on? And if so, why?
Same experiment but with brisket? 🤔🤔🤔
Now there's an idea
@@SmokeTrailsBBQ Could you build a good bark without overcooking a brisket, after being cooked in sous vide? Someone had told me he does this, but I have not seen the result.
@CoolJay77 I have not been able to but I could give it another try
Why are using the Joe and not Beefy Luigi
Just easier and more fuel efficient unless I'm cooking alot of meat
@@SmokeTrailsBBQ so you don’t see any noticeable differences in outcomes?
Why go through all that trouble. Smoke for two hrs wrap and cook for two more done.
What sauce did you use at the end?
A blend of a few sauces with some maple syrup added. Kind of a competition style sauce.
@@SmokeTrailsBBQ thanks! I have my ribs in the sous vide bath now. I will smoke them later for a bit. I’ll let you know how they go
Do you live in Alabama
Canada
most people dont want tug or a bite on their ribs... i wish you would try a comparison where they are cooked longer with a more tender, almost fall off the bone texture...
Not my preference but I know alot of people like it fall off the bone. I just find it mushy and flavorless
Do a blind taste test
I hear you. It's just a lot more work and often not needed. Ideally it would be a blind taste test with other people but I'm just a humble working youtuber trying to crank out videos
Thanks!