I got a good deal on a couple frozen American wagyu tri tips yesterday. I cooked one last night at 131 for 5 hours then seared about 90 seconds per side. I cut across the grain on both sides but it came out extremely tough and chewy. Borderline impossible to eat and extremely disappointing.
What’s the move with the second one? Longer cook, higher temp, both?
by HungryAsparagus
14 Comments
**This is a generic reminder message under every image post**
Thank you for your picture post to r/sousvide. We want to remind everyone of Rule #5. Posts should be accompanied by something to foster discussion. A comment, a question, etc is encouraged.
If you’ve posted a picture of something you’ve prepared, please explain why in a comment so people can have some sort of conversation. Simply dropping a picture of food in the sub isn’t really fostering any discussion which is what we’re all aiming for.
Posts that are a picture with no discussion can and will be removed by the mods.
Thank you!!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/sousvide) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Picture of the inside?
What did you use for secondary temperature measurement? (To confirm the temperature was right)
Personally for this thickness, I don’t go over 3h. But still, the recipe you posted should have worked. I guess the temperature was off.
My guess (emphasis on guess) is that the fat content of waygu requires more time or higher temps to render properly. I’d try 134 for 4-5 hours, followed by a quick ice bath before searing it off.
I cook tritip a lot. It’s the cheapest way to feed steak to a family of 5. Anyways, I always cook it the same way. 137 for 2-3 hours. Then sear it over hot coals or in my cast iron. It always comes out great every time I do this.
I would agree with some of the folks here. Raise temp a bit and only go 3 hrs max. You said you got two…give the second one a try using that method and report back. The “overdone” one you have still has a lot of uses!
135-137 for 6-7 hours has always been solid for me.
After much research on here and Chat GPT to get a double down, I cooked my first tri tip at 137 for six hours. It was marvelous.
https://preview.redd.it/lirp9r9xxxcg1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7c66397a5ca51e01104fa86f536797584c396bb1
The higher temperature and long cook render all of the fat properly. It’s a must.
**Edit** – I also pan sear in a cast iron skillet and baste with generous amounts of butter and thyme.
Anything under 8 hours, You’re going to get a chewy like consistency. Even if it’s wagyu it’s still a working muscle. Tri tip is chewy in general. The sweet spot for me is 135-137 for 12 hours. That will get you pull apart tender brisket like. Bigger tri tip can def go longer. U can try 8-10 hours for a tender steak like consistency.
I like 137 for tri-tip especiially if you’re slicing it to be eating like a steak. If you’re Slicing thin for sandwiches or plan on reheating then i’ll do a lower temp like 130.
If someone just did a tri tip at 131 for 5 hours like OP and it came out tough just like OP, can you SV it again at a higher temp? For example, imagine it was so tough that not much of it was eaten and 2/3rds of the original meat is still intact. Asking for a friend.
My temp on tri-tip is 135, give it a rest and a hard sear. I also prefer to reverse sear tri-tips on a pellet grill for best results. If you are doing sous vide pat it dry, rest it in the fridge or an ice bath for a little bit, then I do a dry sear with cast iron, lather some butter on the meat and do another quick piping hot sear.
Edit: 2-4 hours sous vide time should be plenty for a sirloin or tri tip, but I also don’t wagyu
I’m in the minority from reading these comments but I do 127-128 for 8.5 hours, pat dry, then finish with a sear on a hot grill. I’ve been happy with the results!
Checkout my post from last week. Tri tip turned out great
Maiden voyage and it was amazing.
I cooked a Tri-Tip today. I was shooting to SV 3-4 hrs, work happened and it went over 6 hrs. I was concerned being a rookie, but it turned out fantastic
Tri-tip is a surprisingly tough cut that IMO needs 8 hours in the sous vide to melt down the connective tissue that’s wired all through it. I do 8hrs at 135, but you do you on temp. Sear it hard on all sides and slice.