Pre-cold-smoke steak cook planning


 
J

Jonas-Switzerland

TVWBB Fan
Partner and I usually get asked to cook the christmas dinner. I got inspired to maybe do a picanha:


I want to pre-cold smoke it and then sear it.

Thing is, we may do the cook at my parent's house, where I only have access to a Q Grill. I can sear there, but the cold smoking would need to be done before.

My plan currently is to salt&pepper the picanha and cold smoke it in my WSM in one piece for about 2 hours. Then vacuum seal it, and keep it refrigerated for... Probably a week. Then take it to the Q grill, cut it up and sear them

I am paranoid about the cold smoke. It may be too warm, and my WSM may get over refrigerator temps. That's why I want to salt the picanha while I cold smoke it.

Next thing which worries me is having a salted&peppered picanha for several days vacuum sealed. Something will happen, but I am not sure what. I also don't want to dry brine the picanha for several days, because that surely does not go well... unless I can do some sort of dry aging, which I also have never done...

Has anybody tried a pre-cold smoke and delayed sear of a steak? Suggestions?
 
IDK if a cold smoke on that cut of meat is a wise idea. Remember it's from the sirloin so not exactly known for tenderness. My advice would be to get a tenderloin (I imagine over there it will be VERY costly). I've been to Switzerland a few times. Have a friend who lives there. He tells me it's the most expensive country in Europe to live in. IDK how true/not true but I do remember our $$$ did not go very far there as compared to being in Italy or Germany. But that's a side note.
Honestly if you can get a tenderloin (hell you don't even need to worry too much about grade you can even do "select grade" rather than "choice or prime". If it's a "pismo" take it out of package. Get all the scrap off it, trim and tie it. Do your cold smoke, vacuum seal it, then do your real hot sear on that. Then serve as a nice carpaccio type prep.
 
Not the biggest fan of tenderloin in a BBQ/steakhouse context. Its good, but IMO not worth it. But good criticism, because other people in my family pick tenderloin above everything else.

But it would basically have the same issue, I am not sure a prolongued salt+vac seal would produce some strange textures or flavours. Maybe I have to buy two sacrificial steaks and do an A/B Test :)

I was not worried about the picanha tenderness. I did do a similar piece years ago and it was tender. But then I also used long sous-vide cook followed by a quick grill. The result was tender, but IMO sous vide does not produce any good flavours.
 
Yeah, long "salts" you may see me referring to them as "pickling" or "corning". As to me it's what's actually happening. While I LOVE a corned beef or pastrami, having it done to a nice steak? Not my cup of tea. On the tenderloin you could do that cold smoke, then a very hot fast sear, and you would have a very fine textured result and honestly to my way of thinking an absolutely wonderful carpaccio prep
 
I smoke my NY steaks when frozen. And I add SP around 15 mins or so into the cook. Smoke session last ran around 90 minutes and then I rested the steaks before sear.

I’m betting you know what cold smoke means. So I think you can do this cook as you’ve described.

I wouldn’t do an extended cold smoke session so as to avoid the danger zone of 40-120F for any extended period of time. Bacteria growth is my only concern with your process here.
 
Get a smoke tube and get it burning about 15 minutes before you cook the steaks, put the tube in there and start cooking, don't cut them up till you get ready to eat so they don't dry out, use wood or chips or pellets. You might do a practice run on 1 before time to tweak the seasonings.
 
That sounds like an amazing plan, picanha is perfect for Christmas dinner! For the cold smoke, using a smoke tube and ice trays can help keep your WSM below 40°F for safety. Salting before smoking is smart, but to avoid over-curing during the week in the vacuum seal, consider light salting for the smoke and finishing the seasoning before searing. Cutting into steaks just before grilling on the Q is a great idea for a perfect crust. If you have time, a small test run could help fine-tune everything. Your family is going to love it, good luck!
 
Suggestion: use smoked salt for the curing process before doing the cold smoke session. And you can make rosemary salt, smoke that to make smoked rosemary salt. The dry brine with that salt and then cold smoke the beef.
 
Alright, I did the order for christmas.

Since we are enough people, we ordered two cuts. A picanha, and a tenderloin...

...kobe beef tenderloin...

Because we aren't gettting any younger.

My current plan is to do a traditional cook with the picanha, probably cut it steaks, do a 2 hour sous vide session, and then a quick sear on the Q.

The kobe tenderloin. Is a bit more intimidating. Maybe a simple salt n pepper rub, reverse sear at 250 in the oven and then the Q...
 
Pre-cold smoking a picanha is a great idea for a unique Christmas dinner. Monitor the temperature during cold smoking to avoid cooking the meat. Vacuum sealing is a good preservation method but consider freezing for longer storage. Salting before cold smoking is beneficial but avoid prolonged dry aging in a vacuum-sealed environment. Cold smoking a day or two before the event and refrigerating is a safer option. Good luck!
 
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