Boneless Rib Roast Sous Vide

I should mention, I did see the prime rib roast recipe in the recipe section. It just didn't seem right time wise.

Everything I've looked at suggests 5 to 10 hours.

I took a look at Sous Vide for the Home Cook by Douglas E. Baldwin to see what he had to say. He says to cook a rib eye roast at 125 for 3-4 hours at 125 or for 8-12 hours at 130 to 140. I couldn't figure out why the longer cook at higher temperature so I wrote to him. He responded that it is a pasteurization issue and that the long cook will pasteurize the meat. Specifically he wrote " Pathogenic organisms can grow at 125 and so the time the meat is at that temperature must be limited".

His recipe called for a 3-5 pound strip, rib-eye or prime rib roast. I hope this helps.

So, if I understand, the shorter time is safer at 125 ?

The shorter time is not safer at the lower temperature.

At the lower temperature, pasteurisation will not occur regardless of how long you leave the meat in, in fact bacteria will be multiplying. So, you have to limit the length of your cook to the time needed to bring it to temperature (and take extra care with food hygiene and quality, and take care not to serve the food to immune compromised individuals).

At the higher temperature, you can pasteurise the meat, limiting the potential danger of most dangerous bacteria, but a longer time is required in order to complete pasteurisation (not just bring it to temperature).

If you really want the meat to be rare, and hence use the lower temperature, I would cut the meat into smaller portions, allowing a quicker cook (and potentially a better crust / centre ratio).

Yeah, I would agree with @LeeW. For something 100mm thick you're looking at at least 7 hours or more which is way too long at 125°F. You can either cut it up or cook it at a higher temperature. I'll commonly cut my prime rib into 2" slabs, it gives a lot of extra crust area.

@Dave, you mention the time in the recipe here didn't seem right, what seemed off on it? Just curious since I've done several with those times. Thanks!

Sorry, that should read "microorganisms", not "organisms".

There is a counter argument that says that the interior of whole muscle pieces/roasts are essentially sterile and therefore only the surface needs pasteurising. In this case it's more about the quality of the butchering and environment as well as the meat.

I think this highlights the issue of the individual's approach to bacteriological risk.

And one additional issue I didn't mention, the roasts are either dry aged, or wet aged. I really don't see much of a problem either way. Although, I do believe the easiest solution is after the aging, just have steaks cut.

I'll get back to you with Related information as soon as possible.

Regard
Ricky :-)

I did a boneless rib roast for easter that was 3 bones thick.(bones removed)It took about 10 hours at 132F to reach medium rare. One thing i will swear by is that 135F for long periods of time is borderline Medium. I know you read that 130-140 is medium rare to medium but thats just not true when it comes to long cooking times via sous vide.I would say 130-134F is medium rare at 10+ hours.

What amount of fat drippings and jus are in the bag after cooking a 4 lb this way?

I use the fat to make Yorkshire Pudding.

We've had really good luck with many pork products (roasts, chops and short ribs) by brining overnight (1/2 cup table salt per gallon of water plus whatever flavors you want to add) and then cooking sous vide at 61 degrees C. for 24 hours. Finish on a grill or torch, then hit with a smoking gun (optional).

The brine adds flavor (I use 2 Tbs barbecue rub and a cup of cheap bourbon per gallon of brine) and that plus sous vide gives you extremely tender and juicy meat that is cooked enough to keep people who worry about underdone pork from freaking out.

Jay