Tried a 72 hour short rib braise and it turned to mush

Honestly, I followed a recipe from a chef I respect that said to go low and slow for three days at 140F. I had it in a sous vide bath the whole time. When I pulled the bags, the meat just fell apart into a grainy paste, no texture at all. I lost about $120 worth of product. I think the connective tissue broke down way too much. Has anyone else pushed a braise this long and actually gotten a good result, or is there a better time and temp for that kind of cut?

3 comments

3 Comments

johnh822mo ago

Feel your pain, that's a brutal way to lose good meat.

rowant662mo ago

Yeah, I'm basically a raccoon with a kitchen now.

king.lisa1mo ago

Oh man, this is exactly the kind of thing that made me change my whole approach to sous vide braises. I used to think longer was always better for tough cuts, like you couldn't overdo it if the temp stayed low enough. But after ruining a couple briskets myself, I totally get what happened here. For short ribs, I've had way better luck keeping it to 48 hours max at that temp, and honestly 36 hours seems to give the best texture. The connective tissue breaks down plenty by then, but you still get some bite left in the meat instead of that sad paste situation.