How To Cook Sous Vide Beef Brisket
Beef Brisket is rich in connective tissue. Connective tissue is primarily constructed of collagen, which is difficult to chew. The good news is, collagen can be broken down via the long term application of heat. Even better, collagen breaks down into gelatin, which is unctuous and delicious.
Traditionally, cooking techniques like braising and stewing are used to make tough cuts of beef, like beef brisket amazingly tender and yummy. We have had little choice in the 'doneness' of beef brisket, as braising and stewing require high temperature cooking over a long period of time.
With the availability of sous vide, we can take advantage of persistent, accurate low temperature cooking to achieve unique results. Since we know that collagen starts to break down in the 130F range, we can utilize sous vide over a longer period of time to break down collagen while keeping beef brisket medium-medium rare. This technique can make inexpensive cuts like beef brisket similar to premium cuts of beef. This cut can generally be cooked at temperatures in the medium-rare - medium range of the chart for many hours and up to three days. It is not advised that you go below 130ºF with this type of cut.
Sous Vide Beef Brisket Recipe/Time
The most simple way of preparing beef brisket is to:
- Bring your sous vide setup up to the proper temperature (see chart below).
- Cut it into portions.
- Put the beef brisket into individual bags, along with a cooking fat like butter or olive oil, as well as some salt
- Seal the bag and place it in the water bath for some time.
- Remove the bag from the water bath, and the beef brisket from the bag
Sous Vide Beef Brisket Temperature Chart
| Rare: | 125-130°F |
| Medium Rare: | 131-139°F |
| Medium: | 140-149°F |
| Medium Well: | 150-155°F |
| Well: | 156+°F |
Additional Sous Vide Beef Brisket Recipes
Pastrami Smoked and Sous Vide
A great recipe for making pastrami utilizing the brisket. Brined, hot smoked, bagged with pork fat and slowly cooked sous vide for two days at 64ºC.
Recipe for Sous Vide Corned Beef
Three winning recipes from Cuisine Technologies Corned Beef Contest. There are two sous vide beef brisket recipes, one at 158F for 24 hours and the other for 135F for 48 hours.
Similar Beef Cuts
Sous Vide Brisket PointSous Vide Brisket Flat
Sous Vide Shank Cross Cut