Corned venison sous vide style

[jetwrnch]

Just did my first attempt. It actually turned out pretty good. The flavor is great, but the meat seems a touch dry. I couldn't find anything on Google, so I used the beef guides as a reference. I used leg muscles with the silver skin removed, so no overly large pieces. 4 days in the brine and about 7 hours in the cooker at 180. Any tips on how the meat consistency should be? Is the dry sensation normal for venison due to the lack of fat? I'll boil the next batch for comparison. My wife likes it, and she's not a venison fan, so progress has been made.

 

[waterman]

any pics?

 

[jetwrnch]

 

[TDW05]

Dang looks good! Doesn't look like it would be dry and looks like you cooked perfectly.

 

[Displaced_Vol]

That's what I was about to say, pic looks anything but dry. Looks good from here

 

[jetwrnch]

I typically cook venison rare to medium rare, so I'm guessing I'm just not used to it at 180. I'm going to try 140 for 48hrs next. It's certainly edible the way it is, just not overly tender.

 

[Nimrod777]

Good to see you discovering the joys of corned venison! I've been a long-standing advocate, but generally find few willing to go through the process, easy as it is.

What internal temp did you cook to? Time and temp you mentioned make me suspect it could have overcooked. Certainly no reason to take it past that 145 degree internal temp mark, unless you're using cuts with a bunch of tendons that need to cook down, as in shanks. Your lower/slower plan might be just the ticket, but don't be a slave to the time, if the temp can set you free!

 

[TAFKAP]

Just did my first attempt. It actually turned out pretty good. The flavor is great, but the meat seems a touch dry. I couldn't find anything on Google, so I used the beef guides as a reference. I used leg muscles with the silver skin removed, so no overly large pieces. 4 days in the brine and about 7 hours in the cooker at 180. Any tips on how the meat consistency should be? Is the dry sensation normal for venison due to the lack of fat? I'll boil the next batch for comparison. My wife likes it, and she's not a venison fan, so progress has been made.

I think this was the last year I'm not going to sous vide my home-corned meat. It's rarely NOT turned out dry. Taste is perfect, color is great, but I've only once succeeded in a roast that wasn't dry. But I've always braised mine in stock....bring to a boil, then pop in a 250° oven for a few hours.

Consistency should be tender because you slice across the grain, but still a bit toothy because it's a tougher working piece of meat. If I'm going to sous vide, I'm packing the meat in a bit of stock and a tbsp of pickling spice. I told my buddy to go 135° for 6 hours, and he said it was perfect.

 

[jetwrnch]

Wow. Only 6 hours? I'll try that. Every reference I found showed at least 48 at that low of a temp. 10 at 180 seems to be the most popular for beef. I added some of the brine and a little more of the spices to the sous vide bag, along with a little beer and balsamic vinegar. Having a chamber vac sure helps.

 

[TAFKAP]

Nah, anything over 12 hours is generally overkill, unless you have just a tough sinewy piece of meat. 8-12 hours should be ample for a cut that's been wet-brine cured for a week