Backstrap Is Mushy
General Topic
The last two times that I have cooked some antelope backstrap in my sous vide I ended up with mushy steak. The first time it happened I thought that maybe it was just cooked too long. Normally when I sous vide steak I just put it in the water before I leave for work and then I pull it out and sear it when I get home that evening. I have never had a problem and my steaks were always awesome. Typical time in the cooker is 8-10 hours.
When I had the issue the first time with the mushy steak I thought that maybe I left it in the cooker too long. It was probably 9 hours. Even though I have cooked numerous steaks this way for this long I thought that had to be the issue. Fast forward to yesterday and I had a piece of antelope backstrap prepared and waiting in the fridge. I turned my cooker on and my wife stopped at around 1pm and dropped it in the water for me. It cooked around 5 hours and then I removed it and seared it. The interior of the steak was still mushy.
The only thing I have been doing different is that I have not been cooking it quite as done and have been searing on my grill vs. a hot iron skillet on the stove. Since my grill doesn't get smoking hot I cooked the steaks to 127 degrees the first time and to 130 last time. This allowed me a little extra time searing without having an internal temperature that was about the mid to upper 130s.
I had two antelope in the freezer. The first antelope backstrap portion I cooked (prior to these two that were mushy) was literally the best piece of wild game I have ever had. It was so tender and the taste was perfect. It is possible I ate a backstrap from a different antelope this time vs the last two times.
I have never had this happen before. Sous vide has always been bulletproof. I have never had any other piece of meat cook/taste like this. Any ideas what is going on?
I've found Antelope always to be so tender it doesn't need any tenderizing, just a quick searing. I'd think the sous vide wouldn't be neccesary with it.
No idea if I'm doing it right but when I sous vide I never do steaks more than 2 hours. One to 2 hours works well for me.
bluedog,
They will definitely cook that quick but the beauty of the sous vide for me is to use it similar to a crock pot. It cooks while I'm away and then I just sear when I get home. Cooking antelope this long could just be bad ju ju. I have probably cooked deer and elk this way 100 times and never had a mushy steak.
Reading a little more about this, I wonder if it is simply that the antelope is more tender and it is turning to mush much faster than the elk or deer would? I will try one the next time for 1 to 2 hours and see how that works.
Either that or skip the sous vide completely? Pretty sure it's what's making them mushy.
Sous vide definitely has its place in the kitchen but it is not for steaks in my opinion. I like it for tougher cuts that need a long slow heat to break down all that connective tissue and whatnot. Steaks I like to do on a hardwood lump charcoal grill , hot and fast.
I'm with buckeye....only times I sous vide steak is if I'm having guests and know some like "medium".. I sous vide the steaks and then sear knowing they won't be too rare or the dreaded well done. I sometimes manage well done when attempting medium without sous vide.
Just wife and I... I just grill
I’ve never done any steak longer than a couple hours in the sv unless it’s a tough cut that needs tenderizing.
I like to sous vide them as I tend to overcook. My medium rare stakes end up being well done before I know it. Sous vide just simplifies that for me.
I have seen videos where people sous vide steaks for a long time with no issue. It is odd that it took this long for me to get mushy steaks. It has to be that the antelope is just so tender. Also.....I started reading more and more stuff about sous vide cooking something too long and most people say to not go over 6 hours. Obviously, I seem to be the only person that didn't get the memo on cooking it too long. Thanks for the information.
I'm in the camp of if the cut doesn't have a lot of connective tissue in it, over cooking by any method will ruin it.
No different than cooking on a smoker or pit, The more connective tissue that has to be broken down, the longer it gets cooked regardless of the method of cooking. The only difference being that on a smoker the longer cooking time dries it out rather than making it mushy because you are letting the juices out rather than keeping them in.
I know they are popular, but we could never get on the sous vide bandwagon. I'll take a hot grill, or skillet, for my prime steaks any day. Or a crock pot for roasts and tougher cuts.
Mark, learn how to grill homie. :^)
I can't grill while I am working and not at my grill. :)
You do bring up a good point. I seem to be the only person that is able to screw up sous vide.
It could be that you are cooking them too long in the water, making them mushy. They make sous vide units that have Bluetooth so you can turn them on a couple of hours before you get home, so they are just coming up to temp internally when you arrive. Might be worth a go?
Like mentioned above, the long slow process is breaking down connective tissue and making it mushy.
Matt,
I have a Bluetooth unit. The USDA guidelines for meat are super conservative. I wonder how long a guy could leave a cut of meat in the sous vide water safely at room temp? I have left meat out on the counter to thaw all day and then cooked them with no issues.
You should be able to thaw the steaks, leave them in the fridge until you get home. When you come home heat up a skillet to medium high, season the steaks if you didn't already, throw 'em I. The skillet, cook them for about 3 minutes on each side (or less depending on your preference) and then eat them.
fdp,
No doubt I could do that, but I like the sous vide as it is perfect temperature every time. Pan frying is hit and miss for me.
"as it is perfect temperature every time"....but in this case that isn't true at all is it? If it's a temperature thing just use a good meat thermometer. But I have to admit I don't cook any kind of meat (no matter the type or size) using a thermometer at all.
If I Sous Vide a game steak, it's about an hour and a half, at about 125 (depending on thickness).
I noticed early on, that the long-term Sous Vide recipes get a "mushyness" to them.
I question whether 125 degrees would kill bacteria, so I doubt that leaving it at room temp for a number hours really changes anything.
When you sear it, the exterior should get hot enough to kill any bacteria. You have somewhat different concerns with muscle cuts versus ground (the bacteria should largely be on the outside versus throughout the meat).
Holding the cut of meat at the target temperature for too long a period of time would serve to over cook it as well.
"I question whether 125 degrees would kill bacteria, so I doubt that leaving it at room temp for a number hours really changes anything. "
Bugs die at 160F. Seems to me that holding meat for a long time at room temp (or 125) would *increase* bacteria growth.
my rule of thumb for sous vide is 1 hour per inch, at 135 for steaks. I have done bone in, boneless, filet mignon, and even up to a 5" 7# Porterhouse. Never an issue with mushiness. That only happens when it stays in too long. You do get a grace period of about an hour, but anything past that is just waaay too much time in the sous vide.
Mark, a wifi pellet grill is your better solution. Sounds like you're overdoing it with the sous vide. When I reverse sear, I pull the steaks off a 116-117 degrees tent, and then, cook to 132 at the hottest heat my Traeger will do.
“Bugs die at 160F. Seems to me that holding meat for a long time at room temp (or 125) would *increase* bacteria growth.“
Bacteria dies at 135 deg if held at that temp for a little over an hour.
Deer backstop gets mushy after 2 hours as well. Learned that the hard way. It's just too long.
APauls,
I have cooked deer for 10 hours in a sous vide and never had a mushy piece of meat. That being said....I understand that anything over a few hours is wasting time and more than likely degrading the texture of the meat.
I fail to see the need to cook a prime piece of meat that has little to no connective tissue for any great length of time.
The process is handy in a commercial restaurant environment where you may need to drop a cut of meat on a grill and cook it in 2 minutes, but outside of that it makes -0- sense to me.
I tried sous vide on backstrap a few times...once at about 8 hours and once about 4 hours (both were that mushy texture) and then finally was good I think like 90 or 120 minutes. The thing is though, backstrap is so amazing and so easy to make fantastic using about any method I just don't see the need for sous vide on it. Doesn't really make sense to me.
It's a little bit like hammering in a screw. It works, but there are better tools for the job. Now if you're talking shank or something that's a whole different story.
I'm with Grey Ghost. Skillet, grill or Dutch oven for cooking meat. I have considered trying a sous vide heating element for maintaining mash temp when brewing beer in real cold weather but decided it was a gadget I didn't need. An extra sleeping bag on the mash tun works fine.
"The thing is though, backstrap is so amazing and so easy to make fantastic using about any method I just don't see the need for sous vide on it. Doesn't really make sense to me."
Agreed....
I like my steaks rare or blue (blue is below rare). No need for the SV. That said salmon and chicken thighs are unreal in the SV. Salmon is almost to soupy - way better then dry when cooked almost every other way. I do chicken thighs & western style ribs until they are close to done then grill to add favor. Tender, juicy and not overcooked.
I only cook with charcoal when grilling.
I prefer it because it cooks to the exact temperature I want. I cooked a backstrap on the grill last night. It turned out great but I still prefer the sous vide as I think it makes a more tender juicier cut of meat.
