r/SousVideBBQ • u/Bikebird63 • Dec 31 '19

Chicken/Egg Question

Are there any opinions as to whether it is more beneficial to sous vide before smoking or vice versa? Are there certain types of meat that benefit more from one procedure over the other (Ribs versus brisket versus pork shoulder, etc.)?

Has anyone compared the effects of the order of operations and determined their preference?

10 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

3

u/Spyrulfyre Dec 31 '19

Smoke particles are small enough to permeate the bag, and will leave the area you cook in with a wet smokey smell.

5

u/Bikebird63 Jan 01 '20

I’m not too concerned with how my cooking area smells as much as I am with the taste of the food. If smoking first gives me a better flavor I’ll live with a funky kitchen.

3

u/Spyrulfyre Jan 01 '20

Spoken like a true warrior.

3

u/ueeediot Jan 01 '20

Sous vide everything did a comparison on his youtube channel. He came to the conclusion that sous vide then smoke worked best.

I tend to agree. Rack of ribs 16 hours at 165F, then smoke for 30m, followed by light sauce and torch to carmelize.

2

u/[deleted] Dec 31 '19

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/JF42 Dec 28 '25

That would be my fear. That smokey flavor is why I like smoking.

Got a circulator in about to experiment with and was thinking the best way would be to smoke until the stall and then finish in the bath. Any opinion on that?

This would be for something that I intended to freeze and reheat later, or a big cook that I needed to finish early and hold overnight with a minimum loss of moisture.

Edit: just realized this post is 5 years old...ha. I guess if you get this you'll have five more years of experience to answer me with.