Sous vide beef porterhouse roast Help

That's strange that it isn't more tender since it should be pretty tender to start with. Maybe it's just that specific piece that is tougher than usual. It sounds like you're doing it right and 5-10 should be great for a normal porterhouse.

Sorry I don't have a good explanation but it sounds like what you did should work.

And I'm glad you're enjoying the book so far!

Hi Jason
Thanks for your reply.
It is nice to get some input from someone with experience. I have friends who re interested in sous vide as a method of cooking but haven't taken idea any further.

I am trying to wow some some friends with some fabulous meals to push them to join the sous vide way of cooking.

The meat I am buying is from a butcher not supermarket and it is supposed to be good quality and it has marbling through the meat.

I Have read the thread on this forum suggesting that the cheaper meats are better suited to the sous vide treatment.

Anyway enough Rambling, down to business.

I have this now frozen rolled piece of porterhouse, its weight is 1.5kg
it is 9cm/3.5inch thick and 17cm/6.7inch long.
I want the meat to be rare so ill cook at 56C/133F.
Because the meat is frozen do I cook for a minimum of say 6Hrs ?
or should I be looking at the thickness chart and cooking for a minimum time of 10.5Hrs.

I eagerly await your/someones reply.
Laurens

PS
I have confirmed my cooking temperatures and temperature stability with two different digital thermometers.

Hi @Laurens, sorry for the delay in getting back to you. For something that thick you'll definitely need the longer cooking time based on thickness since the middle won't reach temperature for about 10 hours.

Hi Jason, don't worry about the delay, i not expecting immediate responses, I'm really happy to be able to get some input/guidance from you.

I followed the cooking time instructions from your Sous Vide Sirloin Roast Recipe.
I defrosted the porterhouse for about 12 hours and then in to the sous vide
at 56C for 18hrs, then on to the BBQ grill to brown the outside of the roast.
approximately 250mls of juice came out if the bag (I used this for a mushroom sauce, also used the sous vide to make the filling for a Key-lime Pie)


The consistency of the meat was interesting, it was dark pink and firm, not as juicy as I was expecting. the meat almost had the texture of corned beef only chewy.
does this mean I have over cooked this meat?

I'm not sure if my expectations of this method of cooking are too high.

I have another porterhouse roast in the freezer, do you have an idea on what I should do differently?

Thanks
Laurens

Unfortunately I don't have much experience cooking porterhouse roasts so it's hard for me to give you specific advice on them. It might have been overcooked but that usually results in an almost mushy texture, not the cured texture you mention.

I'd suggest trying a different kind of meat, maybe a sirloin or chuck roast / steak and see how that turns out. That might at least give you a decent baseline for what to expect.

I think a porterhouse roast would be a little difficult to do, just like a tenderloin roast, due to the fact that it's so tender you don't really want to cook it too long. But if it's in a roast, you have to cook it long enough to reach the middle.

Sorry I don't have more experience with that specific cut!

Hi that sounds like a great suggestion about getting sirloin or chuck roast / steak and give that ago. I think I will turn the porterhouse roast into steaks and cook them by thickness.

Interesting side note, I had leftovers of last nights roast for dinner tonight I had the slices were about 1/2 inch thick. I fried them in a regular fry pan to a doneness of medium, grey with a hint of pink in the very center, the meat was far more enjoyable tonight both in tenderness and flavour.

Thanks again
Laurens