Thanks Ron. You were a great help along the way.
You guys have no idea how much I frequented the forum along the way. I was very concerned early on, and definitely stressed about air pockets. I wound up getting a decent vacuum/seal and after a few days I had probably 80% adhesion. I lost some adhesion when I was looking for the hole because I wasn’t paying attention to the air bubble pulling the bag away from the meat as I pressed looking for the hole.
In the end, everything went well. Perfectly really. That earthy/beefy smell is hard to replicate. I kept smelling it throughout the day after carving the meat and every time it made my mouth water.
I did a reverse sear. In the oven at 250°F until an internal temp of 118°F. Allowed to rest, then back into the fridge to cool for about 45mins. Got the charcoal going and the grill screaming hot, and seared the meat (top, bottom and sides). Unfortunately I did “overdo” one side a bit as there is some brown between the crust and the pink. I shoot for coast to coast pink/red, depending on desired done-ness (I go for medium-rare).
