• Do I want the seasoning to permeate (and possibly alter the taste) OR do I want it as an accent?

Most often dry brine my steaks because I love the flavor enhancement to be throughout, so using the sousvide helps accelerate and most consistently will enhance the whole steak. On the other hand I like a dry tellicherry pepper grind to sit on top of the steak to offer the floral accent. There are certain proteins that I want to change the taste (like pork and chicken) so I usually throw a whole bunch in the bag to change the flavor profile.

I have no idea if this has been discussed before, but I am actually going to fire up the sous vide tonight. I began to ponder about when to season here lately. I usually have been seasoning when I bag it to cook and then seasoning again prior to searing. Has anyone done a side by side taste test of doing the process I just described vs. not seasoning prior to cook and ONLY seasoning just prior to searing?

I have done the seasoning before and after and the winner is… depends on which seasoning!

Salt definitely before bagging. Pepper either way. Herbs like thyme and rosemary before bagging. Garlic I prefer after. Butter or oil ONLY with confit.

As far as a brisket fitting in a Walton’s meat lug, it might or might not. A flat or a point would be no problem at all. A full brisket should work, but a large one might be a tight fit. I’ve seen some 18-20 pound monster briskets, lately, and I might be worried about keeping enough water in there! LOL

Actually, the larger issue with the meat lug is mounting the sous vide wand. The rim of the meat lug is too broad for just about any wand to mount with its own attached “holder thingy” (I’m not quite through my first coffee, so cut me some vocabulary slack LOL). It shouldn’t be much of a job to rig something up to hold the wand where it needs to be, but that’s something you’d want to deal with before go time.